HI Dea

Good question!

While having a caricature of yourself can be fun, I would always recommend having an image of yourself, especially when first starting out on social media / online.

It helps build trust, which is a main goal of social media. It also just humanizes you – something that many businesses forget when using social media.

Cheers!
Russ

I agree.  I always prefer seeing the real person’s face.  The only exception would be a logo, which of course, you cannot use on a FB personal profile.  Not only is the element of trust involved, but it also shows that the person took the time to fill out their social profile… a plus in my book.

No problems, Dea. Happy to help!

….You all know where I stand with this debate

I have to admit, it is a cool avatar @thatsocialdude – however, my personal preference would still be to see a “real” picture.  I guess it all comes down to preferences…  

It comes down to what you want to achieve, @deairby. If you want to build a brand around a fake name (like ‘That Social Dude’) then having an avatar is perfectly acceptable.

However, I would be much less likely to deal with That Social Dude as I cannot tell who he is (no offense, Dude ). Like I said before, it comes down to trust.

If you wanted to build a blog to re-sell, for example, having a persona is a good idea as it allows you to remain annonymous and then sell the blog off at a later date with no hassles. (An example of this is a guy who calls himself Blog Tyrant and he does this quite successfully).

However, if you are trying to position yourself as a professional in an industy or niche then you are better off using your real name and photo.

At least, that would be my suggestion.

Russ

Hey @deairby @lisaschulteis @russellallert!

I really enjoy this debate! I am a strong believer in having a personality behind your brand, and as long as it is congruent and consistent, you can really create an impact.

I have been talking to some really professional (and sometimes too professional!) people and starting off the conversations with “Hey dude!” and immediately get great responses with my character/persona. I can certainly tell you that this would not fly as well with my personal photo.

When does the real-me person come in? Well, when we take the conversation offline and “in person” I can personally tell you that the in-person conversations tend to be so much fun after connecting with clients!

Rock on dudes!  

Interesting perspective, @thatsocialdude

@deairby I use twitter to sign into SME so this picture is also my twitter picture and it’s obviously me but my name is my company. I like it like this because everyone gets to see me and connect with me as a real person with a real face. I use my business name simply because my name is not the brand thus not the first name I wanted displayed.

@thatsocialdude @lisaschulteis @russellallert @deairby @kc_kreative Very interesting (and funny) thread going here. While I agree mostly with the side advocating the use of a real picture in ordre to build trust, I can certainly see the point made by that social dude. I guess it all depends on context and on your brand.

One great example that comes to mind is the mascot used by Banff, in Alberta (Canada). Ever heard of the Banff squirrel? It started out in 2010 as an online campaign where the destination would promote its usual scenery – the Canadian Rockies, snow-capped mountains, pristine lakes, mounties, etc. But then they added this squirrel into the equation, disrupting web banners, making puns in videos. Completely hilarious! You can still follow the Banff squirrel on twitter as close to 10,000 followers do right now.

My point is, if played well and with a proper dose of humor, an avatar, caricature or mascot can do the trick. But it really depends on what it is you “sell”. In the case of Banff, it’s funny and it plays its role of tour guide for the destination, so to speak. If you’re consulting firm or someone offering services, it’s not as obvious. But I would not discard it, like I do automatically on twitter and I see the egg, with no bio under it…

@deairby Why thank you my dear

Dudes, I should just roll with it!

@deairby @thatsocialdude @fredericgonzalo What a terrific conversation. Glad to learn about the image in message tip. I’ll pay more attention to the formatting bar from now on.

Yes, an appropriately positioned avatar totally works. Love the squirrel! I think the branding needs to be done before or as part of a social media presence for the trust to be there. 

On another note, the Twitter spammers often use photos so having one is not a given connection. I try to review all accounts that I can before connecting (or keeping it). Even LinkedIn has its share of spammers apparently.

could not agree with you more about the professionalism for the photo @karenataylor you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression

@kc_kreative good point on the spammers using photos…Beware the web!

And, yes, this has been one fun thread.

I’m thinking I see it! @thatsocialdude

I’m assuming that the business fb pages are “places” pages? I’m still trying to get it all figured out. Seems like someone said you couldn’t use a logo. Where am I getting that? @laurachristianson

@deairby @thatsocialdude  The major advantage I see “That Social Dude” having is that his brand is less egocentric than a brand with a picture and a name. This will really help if Social Dude want to sell his business… Anyone that purchases the business can be the Social Dude. Not everyone that purchases my business can be Amy Hall… (although there are quite a few out there. lol)

Social Dude has set himself up a more professional business model, which can be resold or even franchised…even though he is just a ‘Dude’.

Great points @amyhallbiz!

I would like to vote in advance to name this the SME Thread of 2012!

@russellallert thanks for pointing me here. I definitely prefer a photo, but really find it unconvincing and off-putting when there isn’t even a unique avatar uploaded. Opting for the “house” image seems to fly in the face of SM.

@deairby totally  agree that in business networks they need to represent  well. So, it depends on what you do as a business.

I just really do not like no personalization (eg the SEM dragonfly, or the FB empty head)

Great, fun thread!

If a person is online for simply personal socializing, I don’t think it much matters.

However, if someone is trying to do business online or trying to establish themselves as a person to turn to for answers or help…..

Let’s just put it this way,

I may do business with you, but I’m not going to do business with your cat…

 :) Well, maybe you are a character! @moinshaikh

@thatsocialdude I love your stuff

Real face is the way to go….unless your business is creating avatars

Speaking of photos vs avatars ……….I have tried to insert a photo to replace the dragonfly and followed a suggestion in another thread but it didn’t work when I tried.  I just tried here to insert it using the “insert image” but if just asks for a url – which presumably wouldn’t just pick up my photo?  Any help would be much appreciated please….

Real avatar! I like to see the people I am connecting with! 

Here is the real version…just for good measure of course

Hey Allison,
 I love playing with design and do as well grapple with using my actual face in profiles although attempting so here, it’s not showing up. lol
I agree it’s enjoyable and for me a passion to play with the graphics and design.

I know many do like to see and connect with a real person. I am trying to take this into account.

I have become very aware of things like facial recognition and some are very up in arms about it but will have to find my comfort level and work with clients where they are as well.

Rebecca

Allison, my opinion is most people do not mind animated avatars. I mean, I have been using one for a long time and it has not appeared to have stopped our fan growth. I personally feel that it is more about engagement than the avatar. Once I started talking to people more and more, that is when I actually saw my fan base just explode. Commenting on EVERY comment. Started about 2 years ago and was stuck on about 650 fans and as soon as I started engaging…we shot up to over 30,000 pretty quickly…now we are over 54,000.

Also, setting real expectations…with social media, it has to be organic. Don’t ever force it. It takes consistency. I am going on 2.5 years and have 54,000 and have worked hard and been VERY consistent. We do not miss one single day of posting.

Hope this helps a little.

Personally I think a picture of yourself is better till your branded. Once your branded anything is fine really.

This is all very well and I’d like to show a photo but I cannot see how to upload one. I do not want to use a URL to an existing site as they do not fit with this site. Does anyone know the trick?Tks