Why use faces in B2B web design?

Why show faces and people in your website design?

People make buying decisions based on unconscious emotional decisions and then justify them with logical reasons. 

"The power of emotion is strong," says Michael Bernacchi, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business who studies consumer behaviour and decision making. "People often don't realise how much emotion influences their decisions until they start asking themselves why they made those choices." 

Bernacchi says people can be aware of the emotions that affect their decisions — for example, a sense of security or trust — but not be aware that these feelings are influencing their choices in ways they don't understand. For instance, if you buy from a company you know or like rather than from a stranger, your choice might seem logical to you but it could actually be driven by emotion. 

The power of emotion

Research shows that people process emotion differently when they see faces than when they see abstract images or objects.

One study found that people were better able to recognise words associated with positive emotions when those words were paired with pictures of faces than with pictures of abstract shapes or objects. Another study found that participants had more positive reactions to products when those products were shown on models' faces.

In other words, they feel something that causes them to act, then they rationalise it later. This means that if your website design doesn’t have faces or people in it, you’re missing out on an opportunity to connect with your visitors on a deeper level. 

Here are a few specific ways showing faces and people can help boost your website conversion rate.

Engages your website visitors more than anything else

Showing faces and people in your B2B website design is a great way to draw people in and connect with them.

That’s because people are drawn to images of faces first and text second on websites more than any other images. And as we know, people are drawn to faces because our brains are hard-wired to recognise human emotion. So, if you have a face in your design, it’s going to make your visitor feel something — whether that feeling is good or bad depends on the image itself.

For example, if you have an image of someone smiling at you, then you’re more likely to feel happy when looking at it than if it was a picture of someone frowning at you.

The same applies if you have pictures of happy customers using your product or service — they will make potential customers feel confident and excited about buying from you too. 

Using a faces ‘line of sight’ to draw your visitors attention

There are many ways to draw attention to a particular part of your website design, but one of the most effective is through line of sight. 

This is where you use a face image to attract the website visitor’s attention to a key message. It can be used in several ways, from drawing attention to a certain area on the page or directing them towards another area. 

Use line of sight in your web design to direct users towards other pages on your site. This could be a button or link that says “View our services” and points towards another page on your site.

The goal is that when a user clicks on it they will be directed straight there without having to scroll down the page first. In this way you can keep people on your site and increase engagement, which means more enquiries for you.

Build trust and authority

People are visual creatures. We're able to process a lot more information through our eyes than through our ears. The human brain can process visuals faster than text, making images the perfect way to grab visitors' attention and get them to engage with your site. 

How can you use faces in your website design to create trust and authority? 

1. Use faces in testimonials 

If you want people to trust what you're saying, then show them who said it. Testimonials are one of the most powerful tools in marketing because they help build credibility and trust between customers and brands. 

2. Show authority 

Use faces to illustrate authority - people look up to others who appear more confident, knowledgeable and friendly. Showing faces on your website gives the impression that your business has experience, expertise and trustworthiness. 

Show images of people to help explain what you do. If you're an accountant for example, showing an image of yourself at work with your clients can show people that you're not just another faceless business - but a real person helping real people. 

3. Generate trust with emotive images 

Faces help us connect with people on an emotional level. This can be very useful when trying to illustrate trust on your website. 

When you're designing a website, think about what kind of emotions you want your visitors to feel when they visit your site. Do you want them feeling excited? Scared? Angry? Happy? Trust is an emotion that often goes together with happiness, so using faces can help accomplish that goal. 

4. Show your team’s faces 

People are your most valuable asset. Showing faces, rather than just names, helps visitors see the real people who are behind your brand.

On a team page, you can use images of your people, their names and bios to help visitors get to know them better. This can help you foster relationships with customers and prospects to build trust. 

Summary 

Whatever your business, we still buy from people.

No matter what you do,showing faces and people on your website can help to create trust and give your business credibility.