Businesses, institutions and governments all use the same tools and broadcast media – the buildings, logos, websites, brochures, press releases and speeches – all to convey their “image”, their “brand”.
Individually and collectively the difficulty begins when we cross the line of believability – when that image we have for these businesses and individuals are not the image they have of themselves, has no correspondence with the image held by others.
When self-perception is questioned, when the perception of others is lost, belief can’t continue – trust is lost.
Look at a group photograph where you are placed among others. See where your eyes linger. To whom do you continue to return? You’re looking at yourself.
Why do we always do this? Some people may think silly things – “is that really me?” or “I look horrible” – it’s natural, but why?
Why do we look at the “image” of ourselves and ask these questions?
The answer is in the question – we are checking our image. We’re trying to match the stranger in the photograph to the idea we have of ourselves – but they never quite match.
The photograph is a static moment in time and can’t encase the feelings we had at the moment of capture, the bond with other photo members, the great dinner before or the evening of laughter ahead.
This comes back to trust, to evolution, to building a relationship with your website visitors. You can’t just present your brochure and hope to connect. Your website can’t capture the right “image” of you with an out-of-date or egograph.
