I love suggestions on topics for my newsletter editions. A big thank you to everyone one who writes in with ideas which go directly to my queue of prompts.
Today’s edition is dedicated to a colleague who I worked with for years. She wants me to explore the importance of first impressions when you launch your personal brand to the world.
As the popular saying goes, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
Are you making the most outstanding first impression on everyone who matters? Or at least everyone who you think matters?
Did you know that we form a judgement about a new person in less than seven seconds of meeting them? It’s probably even fewer than seven seconds when forming a judgement about someone’s website or social media post.
So first impressions are make or break. Etch yourself in someone’s brain forever or blend into oblivion never to be recalled with a warm emotion ever again.
In this edition, I’m sharing seven ideas of what makes for strong first impressions. This is based on my own judgements of hundreds of people I interview face-to-face or online and whose websites, social media posts and other materials I look at. I’ve reflected on what works and what doesn’t. Especially what gets me in the first seven seconds.
Light up me up with your smile. Not just a fake social media kinda smile but a deep inner smile that arises from within. Show a genuine pleasure to meet me. You can’t imagine how effective the smile is. Every single time.
Look me straight in the eyes. Don’t shy away from eye contact. Your full confidence and self-belief can be relayed in just how comfortable you are with looking me in the eye.
Be pleasing to all my senses. Look sharp (helps to wear something distinct that will help me remember you), smell good (no BO please!), give me a firm handshake and be ready to make a strong first statement. Shabby clothes, poor hygiene, weak handshakes are all highly off-putting.
Your first sentence should make me stop in the tracks and pay attention. There is no time for fumbling. Whether it is introducing yourself with just your name or offering another sentence or two to break the ice, make sure you’ve done the prep.
Be crisp thereafter when you speak and don’t lose me to my phone. Don’t ramble. Watch for any signs of distraction or disengagement and quickly change tacks to keep me hooked.
Exude positivity and enthusiasm. Say it from the heart. Talk about things that truly excite and energise you. Envelope me with your genuineness and warmth.
Shine the spotlight on me. The best way to keep me hooked is to cleverly show you’ve done your HW and to talk about me and not you. Ask me questions. Get curious about me. Counterintuitive isn’t it? Works like a charm. And if you’ve not done your research, at least be genuinely interested in me in the first instance rather than dishing out your sales pitch.
If we take these principles and apply them to launching your personal brand online to make a strong first impression, the top tips would be as follows.
Start with the innate confidence and belief that you have something unique to offer the world.
Define your personal brand in terms of benefit to your audience not in terms of what you provide. What is the value you bring to others?
Think of developing a brand mantra. It should be short and punchy and leave the audience wanting to learn more about how you can help them. Tony Robbins says “Transform your life” and when you want more he offers “close the gap between where you are and where you want to be.” Another good example if you’re intimidated by the largeness of Tony’s brand mantra is one used by an every day copywriter: “I use the power of words to help you increase your online revenue.”
The aesthetics matter. Whether it’s your website homepage or first few social media posts, choose a colour palette, typography and photography style that is pleasing to the eye and also on point with how you want to portray yourself. Simpler the better to cut through the clutter. A personal favourite is Ingrid Fettel Lee’s Aesthetics of Joy which is so easy on the eye.
Iterate, iterate, iterate. Nothing is more effective than building something, showing it to people to gauge first impressions and then taking on board feedback to make it better. That’s the easiest way to remove the fear of introducing your baby to the world and chewing your nails in anticipation of what people will say.
Over to you now:
What kind of first impressions are you making on people? How intentional are you being about every opportunity you have?
Which of these ideas might you adopt?
Might you revisit your personal brand to optimise it to make a strong first impression?