First impressions are so important. Whether in business or personal situations, we are always being judged by the way we portray ourselves. It may not be fair, but that's the way it works. So, when you look at your Instagram photos, what first impression are you giving people?

In reality, I could ask this about pretty much any of your social media sites. But Instagram offers a slightly different challenge.

By nature, we are visual beings. When you meet someone, your first impressions are based on what they're wearing, how they walk, and other visual clues. How they speak and what they say are more of a second impression.

Likewise, Instagram is all visual. People are looking at your photos and making an immediate determination of who you (or your brand) are. Other platforms that aren't photo centric allow people to peruse and read and make more informed decisions before casting severe first impressions.

So, what does your Instagram gallery say about you?

Mine will tell you that I'm pretty obsessed with a beautiful sunset. You can take a look at the tiles in the right side bar and see how many of the 9 photos are of sunsets. I know, I like them. And I share them. But my gallery also includes photos of me working, or enjoying personal experiences, or photos of my ridiculously cute dog (I may be a little biased!). So these are the first impressions.

If you look beyond just the photos, you can see that I am active on the site, posting at least one photo almost every day. I also have a good number of likes on each photo and a lot of photos include a good number of comments and discussions. And I have a fair number of followers and followings. So, you could probably deduce from this whether or not you want to follow me. But, wait, if you don't like my photos, does any of this matter?

If my first impressions don't match your interests, chances are you will never dig deeper into my profile or look at my information. You will probably never follow me.

So, if you don't like sunsets, you probably won't follow me on Instagram. That's ok. Although I hope you'll find me on another platform. 😉

But what is your gallery saying about you, or your brand? Are you conveying what you want people to see?

Would you show up to a job interview in grungy jeans and unwashed hair? Would you leave the windows of your store front covered in dirt and grime? Would you sit slouched in a chair chewing bubble gum while waiting for your date? Chances are you said no to these situations. Consider your Instagram gallery in the same fashion.

What people see up front is how they will judge your brand. If your photos are all of your kids, does this benefit your customers and followers? If your photos are all of you partying on weekends, do your followers want to know this? If your photos are all selfies, do you care about your customers? If your photos are all of your meals, do you care about anything besides food?

If you're a club promoter, then post party photos like crazy. If you're a fitness trainer, maybe it's smart to show lots of images of food, showcasing examples of healthy meals. If your business is about kids, you should have photos of kids.

But if you're not in college and your job doesn't revolve around the club scene, endless pictures of your weekly party excursions, probably aren't helping your brand. And if you're using Instagram to market your business, posting multiple photos of your kids' daily activities, may not attract new followers.

You should always find ways to incorporate a personal aspect to your gallery. Humanize it and make it relatable. But don't overdo it. No one likes an over-sharer.

The key here is to make sure that your photo gallery represents how you want to be perceived. Perception is reality. And if visitors don't like what they see up front, you very may well lose them before they get any further.