Whether you’re creating visuals for your own business, personal blog or Instagram, a great way to personalize your content is by including images of your face. Let’s face it (pun intended), people want to see the person behind the account! In the world of social media, this isn’t just a good practice, but a proven science. A previous study done by researchers at Georgia Tech has determined that out of 1.1 million photos they studied on Instagram, images that include human faces have a 38 percent higher chance of being liked than ones without. Additionally, they have a 32% higher chance of attracting comments from your followers. Engagement is the goal of every social media user, so what better way to create it than posting yourself every now and then?
Most business owners have already put time and money into doing headshots with a hired photographer, so why wouldn’t you want to get your moneys worth out of them? Showing a picture of yourself not only humanizes you, but creates a sense of empathy and connection with your followers.
Thankfully, there are a ton of fun and unique ways to incorporate your headshot into your content.
So let’s jump right in!
1. Profile Pic
The first and probably most obvious choice is to create a crisp engaging profile pic. A general rule of thumb is for your face to take up no more than three quarters of the canvas. Any closer, and you’ll risk it cropping weird! In Snappa, we have tons of Profile Pic templates to choose from, where you can add some playful vector doodles, or use our safe zones to see how your image will be displayed as a circle (for apps that display them that way, like Instagram).
2. YouTube Thumbnail
Another major platform where faces attract clicks is YouTube. You probably already know that nearly every single YouTube thumbnail out there currently includes an image of someone’s face, whether they’re showing a surprised look, a toothy grin, or an on-theme action shot. Your YouTube thumbnails are your first impression, and like in all online content, your first impression is everything!
You can use Snappa’s circular crop tool and throw your image on a trendy warped grid template like the one above! Make sure your text is nice and big so it’ll be legible on the smallest devices.
3. Instagram Post
As we mentioned earlier, Instagram thrives off of images with faces. If you’re going to post a blog post anyway, why not throw in your headshot as a background image for the Instagram post? A custom thumbnail made just for Instagram will show that you aren’t just spamming the same graphic everywhere, but are creating a wide range of visually interesting content.
Take away the color of the image, and pair it with a fresh script font, and suddenly you have a work of art on your hands!
4. LinkedIn Post
LinkedIn has established itself more than ever as a place for founders and thought leaders to dive into conversations of all kinds. All subjects are fair game, but we definitely see recurring theme of posts regarding marketing, finance, small business tips, and of course those hobbyist economists who just simply can’t keep their thoughts in.
A custom thumbnail for your LinkedIn post will command attention and show your authority on the subject, in a way that’s respectable and professional. We love using the color overlay tool in Snappa to create a red tint for background images! Red not your thing? No worries, swap the color with something more in tune with your branding.
5. eBook Cover
If you’re marketing an eBook, you know that people indeed do judge a book by its cover. With how flooded the industry is, creating a striking eBook cover has never been more important than now.
A template such as this one offers a professional and warm approach to your cover. Swap the background image with your headshot, adjust the brightness and contrast as needed, and suddenly you’re a literary genius. We love the use of dark green as the text color in this design, as an alternative to black or grey.
6. Email Newsletter Header
If you’re the face behind the company’s on-going newsletter series, then it’s about time you show yourself! Whether you’re writing a personal thought piece or newsletter, or simply creating welcome greetings as a part of your on-boarding, it’s always a good idea to add an image of yourself.
Don’t want to come across too formal for your audience? Then why not try this template above which has a playful Polaroid-esque frame paired with some scrawled text.
Simply crop your image as a square, and throw it overtop the white border, and your image will shine. This is especially helpful if you’re representing a larger organization, and want to highlight someone specific, or simply give your customers a reminder that there’s a down-to-earth person behind the organization.
7. YouTube Banner
Last but certainly not least, YouTube banners these days often incorporate an image of the creator. Using Snappa’s circular crop tool again, we simply placed this image overtop an existing template that had similar colors.
Some people prefer to keep their YouTube profile pic as their logo, and then include an image of themselves on the banner, or do it the other way around! Remember there are no rules, and the best visuals are ones that will feel natural and appropriate for your specific context.
Final Thoughts
By now, we hope you’re brimming with inspiration! If you’re wanting to establish yourself on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or as a breakout author, you’re all set up to take your visuals to the next level. In all of these cases, we used the same free stock image from Unsplash. How much more captivating will your graphics be once you add your own personal headshot?
If you liked any of these above designs, you can click on them to use them in Snappa for free! Snappa has thousands of templates, vectors and illustrations, and millions of stock images are added regularly. Get started here. What was your favorite design we featured? Let us know in the comments below!
