Does Your Brand Inspire Confidence or Confusion? w/Lisa Craig

Speaker A: Welcome to Powerful Women Rising, the podcast for female entrepreneurs playing by their own rules and growing their businesses their way. Uh, join business relationship strategists and your host, Melissa Snow, as she brings you practical perspectives and candid conversations. Each episode guides you to make smarter decisions and take bold action as you build a business that's both profitable and aligned. Because the world is a better place when powerful women rise together.

Speaker B: Hey, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Powerful Women Rising podcast. I'm your host, Melissa Snow. Please mark this day down in history. This is maybe the first time ever that all of the animals in my home have left me alone long enough to record a podcast interview. Thank you. Thank you. Round of applause. I, um, will say my smoke alarm started beeping in the middle of my interview, so that was super. But. But the animals stayed away until right now, literally. If you could see me, I'm in my office with two dogs who keep annoying me. I don't know what they want me to not be on this computer. And two cats who keep walking in front of me and sticking their butt in my face and standing on the keyboard. And, uh, let's get this over with as fast as possible, people. Okay? If this is your first time ever listening to the podcast, welcome. I'm your host, Melissa Snow, founder of Powerful Women Rising. We are all about helping female entrepreneurs grow their business through real relationships and connections. We do that inside the Powerful Women Rising Connection Network, which is a super fun online community where we have networking events and other opportunities for you to connect with other female entrepreneurs who want to support you in your business. They want to refer you, they want to share opportunities and resources with you. They want to give you ideas and advice and support you however they can. And it is just the coolest place because we attract some of the most awesome women. And I've completely created what I wish I would have had when I was growing my business. So I just love it so much and would love for you to join us. If you, uh, would like to check out one of our networking events, there's a link in the show notes for you to purchase a guest ticket. There is also a promo code. I think it's podcast. I don't know, maybe PWR podcast. I don't know, man. Look in the show notes. I'll give you the promo code to come to the event for free. Okay, without further ado, let's move on to today's episode. This is a really interesting conversation that I had with Lisa Craig, who is a master brand photographer and fractional marketing strategist. She helps women entrepreneurs align their visuals, messaging and marketing so they can show up with more clarity, confidence and authenticity. She has been a photographer for over 20 years. She's been in marketing for over 30. And she brings such a practical, grounded perspective on how to build a brand that feels human and trustworthy, even. Even in a world that is becoming more and more shaped by AI. So this is obviously a huge topic. We only scratch the surface of it, but I love it because Lisa shares some really practical tips and things that you can start thinking about when it comes to your branding, whether it is photography or your website or the copy that you're writing and sharing on social media. Um, just different ways to think about how you're showing up and how you're presenting yourself and also how you're using AI because let's face it, it's not going anywhere. You love it, I love it. It makes so many things easier. But there's also things that you might be doing that are eroding trust with your audience or costing you brand recognition. And Lisa is going to give you some ways to identify that and tell you exactly what to do instead. Hello, Lisa. Welcome to the Powerful Women Rising podcast.

Speaker C: Hi. So good to be here.

Speaker B: Yes. I'm so excited to have you here. It's always fun to have a guest on the podcast who I met through networking, since that is my thing. And I talk all the time about how many opportunities and connections and collaborations, collaborations and things can come from networking. So I love to have proof of that when I get to have somebody who I met through networking on the podcast. So, so excited to have you. Before we dive into the things that we're going to talk about today, tell everybody a little bit about you and about what you do.

Speaker C: Okay. I'm Lisa Craig with Lisa Craig Photography and Marketing. And basically I help brands elevate themselves through high quality photography and also marketing. So I help them dial in their mess messaging, do their social media or other marketing as well as have really great brand photos that they can use in all of those materials.

Speaker B: I love that. And we were talking before we started recording. Obviously you've got to be in the same place as somebody when you are photograph, when you're photographering them. Apparently that's a word when you are photographing them. Um, but you were saying a lot of the things that you use in your business to make people look good are also applicable when we're talking on zoom and we want to look good, right?

Speaker C: Yes, for sure. Like for instance, when we're on zoom. All too often, people are looking at the people on the screen, and that makes it look like you're looking down on them. Instead, you should be looking at the little dot on your screen or wherever your web. You know, the webcam is. Look at that. And then it's the equivalent of looking at the person.

Speaker B: That's hard.

Speaker C: It's a really great way to. Then you make eye contact. If you're looking at the screen, which is what we most want to do is look at the people, then you aren't making that connection. And that can also create problems when, uh, you know, they're like, how can that person could never look at me? And the thing is, they're trying, but our instinct is to look at the person's face.

Speaker B: So, yeah, that's a great tip, especially for, like, virtual networking or something like that. I could imagine people are like, well, that was an awkward conversation. She was looking down the whole time. And you're like, what? No, I wasn't.

Speaker C: And you know, a trick, too, that I use is sometimes I just get a little sticky note, um, one of the little tiny ones, and I will draw a little stick person and put it right above my, um, webcam so that I make sure that I'm looking at the stick person.

Speaker B: Yeah, that's smart. Yeah. Because it is. It feels weird to not be looking right at you.

Speaker C: Yeah, it does. And, uh, we're so used to. In our communication, we're used to taking our cues. Whether somebody's nodding that they are in agreement, or, you know, we're. We're just looking for those cues. And if we are looking at the dot, we don't see those cues. So you just. You just have to go with it. Um, you have to focus on that. And especially if you're wanting to make an impression or a connection with somebody, looking at the camera is important. Yeah, I love that.

Speaker B: So I know that there's a lot about photography that is about proportions and where you position somebody and where they put their arm and how they put their hand and all of those things is very important. Important. But I also know there's so much more to it, especially when we're talking about branding photography. Right. Because this isn't like my JCPenney family shot. This is. I want to be telling a story. I want to be conveying who I am, what my business is about, what my values are, what it feels like to be on a call with me, um, what it feels like to work with me. So what are some of the Most common mistakes that you see female entrepreneurs specifically making when it comes to their branding photos.

Speaker C: Well, I think first and foremost you have to treat your branding photos as an asset for your business. It's not just, you know, a bunch of, like, fancy pictures. It's not that those pictures are, uh, what will lend credibility to your business and show your potential clients what it's like to work with you, whether you are relatable, whether they are going to trust you. All, all of that goes into the brand photos. So the biggest mistake comes when you, um, maybe are working with a photographer that doesn't actually plan your session ahead of time. They just show up and start shooting. I like to plan. I have a pre planning session where I walk people through every photo we're going to take. But it's all based on what are the goals of your business? What are you, uh, like, where are you going this next six months or this next year? Do you have a product launch? All of those things I take into account. And then together we collaborate to create the shot list. So by the time we are walking into the photo shoot, like the next week or two weeks later, we know exactly what we're doing and we can stay targeted. So I would say that that's really one of the biggest mistakes is people sometimes just jump in, they get some photos, but then they don't even know how to use those photos.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, that's, that makes total sense. And having gone through all of the stages of like, I can take headshots myself with my iPhone, which were, you know, good enough for what they needed to be at the time, to having, you know, a full package with a branding photographer where I did four shoots with her a year and always had updated and new things and, and very different experiences of those. But I'm thinking, like, for me as a business owner, I think that it's a good chunk of change to get branding photos right. I won't say it's expensive because that's relative, but it's not free. And, and so tell me why. If I'm listening to this podcast, I'm like, branding photos sound great, but also I could probably like ask Chat GBT what pictures I should take. I could set up my tripod and like, take some pictures of myself at my computer. I could use one of these AI photo generator things and create some branding photos for $30. So why wouldn't I do those things? Why would I have a whole brand shoot?

Speaker C: Well, first I have to go.

Speaker B: Yeah, I know I should have said, please don't take offense to this question,

Speaker C: but, uh, okay, so, uh, first off, you're 100 spot on. Brand photos are not. They are an investment. But so is getting a website, so is getting good systems in your business. It's all regarding, like how do you present your business in the most professional manner because you want people to also pay top dollar for your services and ChatGPT's pictures and other AI pictures and your selfies and all of that, those are not the best reflection of on your brand. What they are is a shortcut. And I put the air quotes on it because when you shortcut your business, the biggest question that comes in my mind as a client is when is she going to shortcut me? And you don't want to do that. So in businesses that are high trust businesses like real estate, financial planning, uh, coaching, anything like that, you need to earn trust first and you're not going to do that. Number one, if your picture doesn't even look like you, or if your picture is so old that it looked like you 20 years ago or 10 years ago, you need to have it be real and authentic like you are. And you want it to reflect the quality of the work that you do for your clients. So you want to match that. And yes, it's an investment. Um, and you know the, the old saying about you get what you pay for. That's totally true with brand photos. Now there is an alternative and the alternative is still get brand photos. And you can get different packages, some are more affordable than others. And then learn how to do some of your own photos where you might be sitting at your desk or something like that. And I offer training for people so that they can take better photos of themselves and use those, they sprinkle those in, not all the time, but they would sprinkle them in to extend their regular photos, their regular brand photos. Uh, so you can do some of that on your own, but never use an AI picture to represent your brand or to represent yourself.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: Now if you're going to do an image, say you have a product, maybe it's uh, okay, say you have a wine product because you know who doesn't like wine? And if you want to take a picture of the wine bottle or the wine label, then you can probably fudge that a little bit using some AI, that type of thing. But if you're trying to show what it's like to work with you, make sure you're showing what it's really like to work with you as the real person, not the fake person.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, that makes so much sense. While you're talking, I'm thinking of something that keeps coming up in a lot of business conversations I've been having is the client experience. Right. And we think about the client experience starts the first time that they connect with you. Whether it's the first time they meet with you or they see you on social media or they go to your website, that is the beginning of the relationship that you're going to have with that person. And so if you think about your photos in those terms, how do you want to present yourself in the beginning of that relationship? What do you want them to think about you, to feel about you, to believe about your business, to, um, think about what it's going to be like to work with you? Right. And all of those things are a, ah, representation of, of the photos that you have.

Speaker C: Yeah. And every client. Well, okay, 98% of the clients that you're going to work with, they have already been watching you for however long. And it, uh, isn't just one time. They've been watching you for months or at least, you know, a few weeks, but they're watching you. So what are they looking at and what have you given them to look at? Because the trust in that relationship with your potential client happens long before you even know that they are a potential client. Yeah.

Speaker B: Ah.

Speaker C: And that's what you need to, you know, pay attention to. And that's why you don't want to shortcut or, you know, kind of cheap out on, uh, you know, what you use to represent yourself.

Speaker B: Yeah. So when it comes to marketing in general, not necessarily photos, although that's a part of it, how do we make ourselves as a brand feel real and relatable and authentic and trustworthy?

Speaker C: Well, so one of the things that I do, and I try to do this in, like, my photo shoots, but I encourage my clients to do this. And that is you have to show the various sides of your personality. And sometimes we are silly and crazy, and maybe we say the words that everybody else wishes they would say, but they just think them. But we say them sometimes or, you know, we just do something fun. And I think that's important to show all the different facets of you in all of your marketing. You know, you can still be fun. I mean, if business is just going to be boring, we're doing it wrong. I think it should be fun. This is what we're doing the good majority of our day. We should be having fun. And we should also have fun with our clients. We can still Be serious. But why not?

Speaker B: Have fun.

Speaker C: So I, I like to, like, show different facets in their social media. They can show, uh, oh, you know, tonight I' to go listen to a concert in the park. And that's okay. It does not have to be all perfect, posed and photographed. It can still be you because it shows that. Oh, you like to go to concerts too. So do I. What kind of music do you like? You know, and it, it prompts all these other questions. So make you want all of your marketing to really be authentic and, you know, showcase just the different elements of who you are. But why people would relate to you and, um, you know, why it would be cool to work with you.

Speaker B: Yeah, I think that's great advice because on social media especially, and often on people's websites too, I see this, like, all business, all the time. Right. And, uh, if we think that if we post pictures from what we did on Friday night night, or a picture of me hanging out in the hot tub or playing with my dog or whatever it is, that people won't take us as seriously or, you know, people will think that we don't take ourselves seriously or we're not professional or we don't know what we're doing. And I really think that it's that balance of personal and professional, like, let me see you as a real person and as a business owner. That is what connects with people.

Speaker C: Yeah. Like, like for instance, so the hot tub idea, uh, you could do a picture of yourself in the hot tub on Friday night, and you've got your glass of wine and, you know, your dog is like, hanging out next to the hot tub. You could do that picture. But what you could do in the post is say, sometimes when I'm working, it's not at my desk, it's with a glass of wine and it's in my hot tub. And it's a way to show them a little about yourself. But you can still kind of relate that to your business.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: Or sometimes when I get stuck, my best idea comes when I'm sitting in my hot tub. A lot of people say it comes when you're in the shower and you can't write it down.

Speaker B: So, yeah, don't post pictures of that people.

Speaker C: Yeah, don't post pictures of that. People don't want to see that. Or maybe they do, but that's not what you're selling. So. Yeah. So I think, uh, you can do other things. Now, would you want to post maybe if you had drank too much? That's probably not the best Idea. So I would say no. So you have to be discerning about what you're doing, but you can still, uh, you know, it doesn't have to be all businessy all the time.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Be discerning and I think be intentional too. Right. I think for some people it's like I'm going to post all of the political stuff because if somebody doesn't agree with me, I don't want to work with them. Like this is how people can self select in and self select out. Right. And that's, that's a choice and everybody is entitled to make that choice. But just having that awareness and being intentional that like people are going to have thoughts, people are going to have feelings about whatever it is that I post. And I feel okay with that. I feel good with that because this is an important part of who I am.

Speaker C: Yeah. And you. So just to make sure that I don't misrepresent this, but you get to, uh, you can show who you are. So if you are, um, you know, of a specific religion, you can still show that, uh, you know, you don't have. The idea is you still show who you are. Yeah. I do believe that we should be honest and um, not necessarily, um, you know, post everything we think or everything we do. But, you know, don't like, don't lie about who you are either. Be authentic. You know, if you, you know, despise, uh, Purple People Eaters, then, you know, you probably shouldn't be, you know, on the street hobnobbing with the Purple People Eater. So I think it's all about, you know, showing who you are. If you're a foodie, then show, show that whether you're cooking or maybe you're at a cool restaurant and you want to share this cool menu that you see, you can share those things and those are perfect ways to let people get to know you.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And I think the, the point that you bring up too about, like, if this is something that you're strongly opposed to, maybe don't post pictures of yourself doing it. I think, think part of how we build trust with people is consistency. Right. And that's where that authenticity piece is really important because I should get the same experience of who you are when I meet you at a networking event that I get when I look at your social media, that I get when I look at your website. Right. They're going to be different content. You're going to be presenting yourself in somewhat different ways. But I shouldn't feel like I had A conversation with you, or we sat down and had coffee for 45 minutes. And then I look at your social media and I'm like, is this even the same person? Right. Like, I think that's an important aspect of it too, in terms of building trust through that authenticity and consistency.

Speaker C: Yeah, that, um, underlined that for sure. It's, it's all of that. I think the other piece is especially on social media when, uh, don't just ask people to like and interact with your things, you need to do that too. And all too often, uh, you know, I see it all the time. People are trying to sell me their things, you know, their, their courses and their, you know, whatever their programs are. And yet they never, like, they advertise to me all day long, but they don't ever interact on my social media. And to me that makes me feel like, oh, you just want, you want me, but only when I am actually going to buy something from you. Yeah. Um, and I want to know that you see me not just when you want something from me.

Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Because ultimately marketing is about creating connections with other people. Right. Whether they're potential clients or collaboration partners or whoever it is. And it's very hard to create a connection with someone when it just goes one way. So I know that you are not completely anti AI. What are some of the ways that entrepreneurs can use AI in their marketing without losing their authenticity and starting to sound like everybody else?

Speaker C: Yeah, uh, now that's a great question. I love that. I think I, uh, love AI. So I use it all the time, especially when I'm doing social media for clients. However, AI is really great to avoid the blank page, the dreaded blank page when we don't know what to say and we don't even know where to start. So I would use it for that. But after you get whatever it generates, just know that everything it says is now robotic. It's a pattern that is very recognizable, uh, in AI. Um, so you need to go in and now make it sound like you, because while it might sound good, it still isn't you. Yeah. So like AI does all these long like run on sentences or they'll all of a sudden throw in like 15 really short ones.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: And, uh, that, that's a telltale sign. So you need to, um, make sure, don't just copy paste, but be intentional about. Would I actually use that word? Like, you know, if there's like I use a word called bomb diggity. Yeah, I use that all the time when something is awesome. I'm like, that's the bomb diggity. Well, the other day I asked Chatgpt to tell me something and it, and then it came up with and that's bomb diggity. And I'm like, no, that's not. Because it knew I used that word, but it inserted it in such a manner that I would never use that word in that, uh, uh, context.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: So I'm like, no, that is not bomb diggity. You know, so I think you just have to make sure that, uh, talks like you, you know, that whatever it spits out, you need to convert that. Use it as a tool, not as the thing or not as the authority.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: Because you're the boss of you, not the AI.

Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. I love to use it to generate ideas. I love to use it when I'm stuck on something. I like to use it when I have said something in, in like three sentences that I'm like, I know this could be said in one sentence and makes so much more sense, but I can't figure out how to put that sentence together. Very helpful for all of those things. Saves me tons of time with that. But yeah, the copy and paste is, I think, where people go wrong or copy and paste and change a few words.

Speaker C: Yeah. And they think it's okay. Now the thing that most people don't know is the algorithms on all the social media. They will, uh, ding you if they recognize it as AI.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: And that's, it's interesting because each of the tools has their own AI tool, but if it sounds, uh, or looks like AI to the bot, they're going to ding you and they will stop showing that content. Uh, so you don't want to do that. And it's the same with email. If the email, if you send out an email and it's a copy paste, it will likely end up in somebody's spam filter. Yeah.

Speaker B: Ah, because that's good to know.

Speaker C: It's going to get marked as AI generated.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, that's very good to know. This is awesome. This is really helpful, I think, in terms of just thinking about your brand in the bigger picture, whether it is your branding photos or how you're showing up on social media or an email or whatever. And, and this conversation about AI is obviously not going anywhere. We're going to continue to have these conversations, but I love having people like you who can talk about the positives of AI, but also the limitations of AI and why. The real core of why we want authentic photos, why we want real branding photos of Ourselves and why we want to be showing up on social media as ourselves and saying words that we would actually say. Yeah, go ahead.

Speaker C: One more thing about that.

Speaker B: Absolutely.

Speaker C: You would not trust somebody else to go meet a client that is about to write you a $10,000 check or $100,000 check. You're going to go to that meeting yourself. Whether it's on zoom, whether it's on social media or on a phone call or in person, you're still going to show up, up as yourself. Your clients deserve you, and that's, that is your silver bullet. People want you and you have to focus on that. Uh, and don't like, don't get all like, wrapped up around, but AI sounds better, but. No, it doesn't. It sounds like, sound like you.

Speaker B: Yeah, it sounds like a robot that. Yeah, I think that's great, great advice. And, uh, yeah, you are the one thing that no one can copy. Right. Like, I have noticed since I started Powerful Women Rising and doing these speed networking events have become very, very popular. So many people in my circle and that I know on social media have also started doing virtual networking events or starting a networking group or doing a thing. And I used to get so bent out of shape about it in the beginning, like, oh, she's copying, copying me. Because, you know, no one else has a networking group in the whole universe, only me. And, uh, I realized, like, people can do the exact same thing as you, but they will never be you. Like, that's the one thing that people can never duplicate. They can never copy, they can never take away from you. And that's the thing that sets you apart from everybody else. So don't give that up for AI.

Speaker C: That's what's really important. And AI can't do that. So that's, uh, I mean, that's really, that is the bomb diggity.

Speaker B: Yeah, it is perfect. Perfect use of that word. Lisa, if people want to know more about you, if they want to know more about what you do, they want to connect with you, follow you, what's the best way for them to do that?

Speaker C: So my website is lisacregphotography.com and if they would like to do a brand audit, I offer a free brand audit. And what I do is I go in and I just look your social media, your website, uh, the photos that you're using and see whether we have some opportunities there to improve that. And maybe you need a photo shoot, but maybe you don't. Maybe you just need to adjust how you're using your imagery. So I just, uh, provide some insights and you can take that for what you want. It's just a conversation, so it doesn't hurt. I won't bite.

Speaker B: Okay. She won't be the salesy weirdo you guys will be. Okay. Yeah, I will put the link to that in the show notes. Also put your social media links in there if people want to connect with you that way. And, um, thank you again for coming on the show. It was great chatting with you.

Speaker C: Yeah, thank you so much. Have a great day, everybody.

Speaker A: That's a wrap on this week's episode of Powerful Women Rising. Thanks for hanging out with with us. If you're looking for a fun, consistent, low pressure way to meet other women in business and create more visibility, leads and momentum, check out the Powerful Women Rising connection network. Looking for deeper support, a place to think things through, get honest feedback and stay focused as you grow. You can learn more about our masterminds through the links in the show notes. If you loved the episode, be sure to subscribe, share and leave a comment, review. And until next time, keep rising. Because building a business your way really is the best way.