Melanie
The Monday Morning Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Esther of IPA Group, bringing premier online promotion to your business.
Esther
And Melanie of STOMP Social Media Training, who empowers business owners to manage social media and marketing for themselves. And welcome back to another episode of the Monday Morning Marketing podcast. Today, we're talking about image editing and authenticity. Can you have both?
Melanie
Yes, I think you can. The reason why we're laughing by the way, if you're listening to the audio, is I just shifted our video from landscape to portraits and made our heads just pop on the screen. Good fun. So why is this important? Because I think it's important because authenticity is the keyword these days. Everything is flipping AI. Everything's AI generated. There's nothing special or unique about people anymore. All their idiosyncrasies, all their foibles are exposed to the world. And in some ways, I think this is a good thing, but it I can also knock you back if you're not a very confident person. Now, if you've got maybe a pimple or I'm currently sporting grey hair, but you know what? It's me. It doesn't make me any less knowledgeable or any less an authority in what I'm talking about. I've just got grey hair. I don't try to pretend to be something I'm not. I'm a middle-aged woman who's really good at her job. Sometimes being yourself is a good thing. But if you don't have that confidence, then I think maybe having filters and having the ability to get rid of that pimple. I was at an event last week. I was at an event for the first time with my daughter. She came as my paid intern, no less. They were doing head shots at the event. I got to be honest with you, I'd broken out into a couple of spots on the side of my chin. She said, Don't worry, I'll do a number on those for you when the shots come out. Because they're not always going to be there. I don't mind that. I don't mind that image editing. But I think there is a line that needs to be drawn when it comes to shifting off those pounds, making your hair longer and thicker and fuller, and straightening that sleeve that was a bit wonky in a photo I means, jeez, there needs to be a time where it needs to be cut off because we're meeting people now, and I think it's important that you present the person you actually are. What do you say, Esther?
Esther
Yeah, totally agree. I mean, yes, the pimples come and go, but the double chins are a little harder to shift.
Melanie
Agreed.
Esther
So if you have photoshopped or even filters now that make you look more defined in the face, et cetera, you're not going to have those filters or that Photoshop when you meet people in real life. So they may see... And I mean, this even goes a little back to... I only recently changed my headshot on LinkedIn to when I had long, straight hair pre-COVID, pre-cancer, pre-everything else. And I changed it to what I actually look like now, which is short, curly hair because people at an event told me, Oh, I didn't recognize you because I was expecting to see the person with long, straight hair. So it comes, life happens, You have to roll with it. I mean, I at the moment do not have gray hairs, but I might be the type of person who won't dye them. And that's perfectly acceptable as well, because you can just roll with it. But if you have your headshot or your online images so slicked and so defined and refined where you don't have your wrinkles or you don't have the excess skin, so to say, then when you see people in real life, they're not going to know who you are. And it's not a matter of, well, I'm wearing the same top that I wore in the photograph. It's not going to make a difference if you come looking as a completely different person. I am not one to know how to put makeup on, internationally. So filters like that can help. But when I go to events, there are times that it's so hot, I don't want to wear makeup, or I'm just running late and forget to put it on. So you have to balance all these things out. Do you want to be seen and known as the perfect-looking, straight-haired, ironed clothes, that type of person? Or do you want them to see you exactly who you are and how you are, blemishes and all?
Melanie
I think we judge ourselves far worse than anybody else does.
Esther
Of course we do.
Melanie
I've changed shape since I've had children and I've hit a certain stage in life. It's bothered me more than I'd like to admit. But I know that people don't look at me and go, eww. I know they don't because I don't look at other people and go, oh, my God. No. It just and people just accept how we look because that's how we look.
Esther
They should. I mean, I'm sure there are people that aren't like us, but it's what you should expect and what people should be doing is just accepting us as we come.
Melanie
Yeah. I mean, maybe it's because we're more confident. We've been who we are for a longer time than maybe some of our listeners. That could be some of it. I think you and I are both a bit more extrovert than a lot of people as well. I know you're actually more introvert than extrovert, but there's an extrovert side to you, isn't there, Esther?
Esther
There is.
Melanie
But it's not done us any harm to be the people that we are today without completely transforming and editing our images. People still buy from us, people still come to us for advice. People still trust us, recommend and refer us. We're not perfect. We're not models. We're definitely not models.
Esther
Well, no. No. Model citizens, maybe. We're not.
Melanie
But it's I guess we're trying to be a bit of a motivational mindset type person in this podcast because you do such a good job of being you. Nobody can do a better job of being you. Nobody knows your product or your services better than you. Nobody knows how to deliver it better than you. And by putting out more images of yourself, people feel they can connect better with with you. They can become to empathize with you, trust you, respect you. You don't have to be perfect.
Esther
No. And there is so much, like Melanie said at the start, there's so much AI out there that is generating images and videos that it's becoming difficult. But there's also AI that can help if, for example, you're like me and look every which direction except at the camera, There is now, there's AI that will help you, that will fix your eyes, that will make your eyes look like you're looking at the camera. So we can also use AI to improve on what you're sending out. You don't have to be looking at the camera to get your message across whenever the AI can fix it up for you. Or if you're taking a headshot of your or a team photograph and not everyone's looking in the same direction, I mean, those things can help instead of going, right, guys, everybody back. We're going to have to call everybody back in again to get it done properly. Things like that, AI can help, and you should allow it to help you with those things. But don't allow it to generate an image of you that is not you. Because, I mean, even an introvert going to an event would like to be recognized for who they are and what they do. But if you're using AI exclusively or using Photoshop to take off all the blemishes and the double chins and the wrinkles and putting your hair a different colour, even, then nobody's going to be able to properly connect with you because it's not you.
Melanie
To defend those who are colouring their hair.
Esther
No, that's fine.
Melanie
Finger up. I make sure that for any meetings and conferences and networkings and stuff like that, I just top up. But that's more of a personal confidence thing and keeping up with my brand image. But if you look at any of my on Instagram or any of my YouTube Shorts or heck even some of my TikToks, you'll see the colour slowly evolving and then suddenly going back. But again, that doesn't make me any less astute or you any less good at what you do. I do think it's important that we use these tools and we help better our messaging and our images, but people still buy from people. People are normal and flawed and imperfect. I think the more authenticity, especially in a world of AI, that we can demonstrate, I think the greater chance we have of connecting with people than we've ever done before.
Esther
I Agreed. And on that note, we will sign off for this week. We hope we've given you some food for thought. We hope that you go back and rethink any of the editing that you've done previously. Just, I don't expect you to go back and delete them all. But try to move on, try to evolve, and just love yourself like we love you.
Melanie
Absolutely. Well, then. I'll see you next time. Bye for now.
Esther
Bye-bye.
Melanie
You know you never do any of these things. It's always me that instigates it. What? These bits at the end.
Esther
Because they're your bits.
Melanie
Excuse me?
Esther
They're your bits? Was I not clear?
