Forgive me for not introducing you to my friends below.  I can't keep their names and businesses straight. People want to CONNECT with HUMANS with FACES. They want to be confident they are connecting with the correct person they met at a business function, charity dinner, convention, seminar or at the home office.

Get your HEAD SHOT and use it everywhere. You are your own brand.  If you are in charge of a large corporate event, hire a photographer to set up a booth to take headshots of attendees. Help them put their best image forward. It makes your company look better, too. Just think of all of those awful cards you've received from real estate agents who either took their photos holding their iPhone, went to "glamour shots" and had that gaussian blur put on them while they wore a feather boa, or those who just cropped out the person next to them and called it, "good.'

As people who are new to the online professional world dip a toe in, they need to know what is expected of them. If you are on Linkedin, let your friends and associates know that they need a FACE to go with their profiles. Would you try to connect with someone in person if they wore a ski mask? Of course not. Have enough respect for your professional image to get a professional photo taken of yourself.

If you cannot afford a headshot, scour the paper for coupons to WalMart, JC Penneys, or Target for the Kinderphoto type of special. They do a good job, it's better than the bald, faceless person. No one has to know that your smile was due to the light up squeaky bug the photographer held up to you.