Social media provides great opportunties for businesses to promote themselves online.  However, like anything on the Internet, they also can damage your reputation if you aren’t careful about how you use them.

Your profile pic should always be carefully chosen, as this is the visual representation for you and your business online.  Here are a few things to avoid:

• Too “fun” of a photo.  You definitely don’t want to post that photo of you with your drinking buddies in Mexico — no matter how relaxed of a business you have, this is not the professional impression you want to make.
• A photo of you casually dressed.  C’mon, this is a business profile pic, so treat it that way!  Have a professional-looking photo of yourself in a suit, or at least business casual attire.  Basically, your photo should be of yourself the way you’d want to look when going to a very important client meeting or even to a job interview.
• A photo that highlights your flaws.  If you have a receding hairline or thinning hair, don’t post a picture that emphasizes these flaws.  Or better yet, consider hair replacement surgery before getting your picture taken — hair replacement systems are improving all the time, and could be a permanent solution to a difficult problem.

Remember, your profile pic is often the first glimpse potential customers have of you on social networking sites, so make sure that your pic is professional!

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