Many users of LinkedIn today, do not fully utilise the margin of opportunity available to them, which is; to build awareness for themselves by creating a superb profile.
Most profiles on LinkedIn have very simple headline that typically consists of the user’s current job title and not much else. This practice is a complete waste of valuable resource of a self-advertising space, considering that you only have 120 characters in which to market your brand’s value proposition.
Your LinkedIn headline is the most important news about you or your brand. It is what will either draw people to you or turn away their interest. Therefore, using specific keywords that highlight your skills and which is ‘highly’ relevant (notice we specified ‘highly’) to your industry or brand, will be better for you by wisely and concisely articulating your unique selling point.
Before writing your Headline, think carefully about ‘who’ your target audience is and how you would like them to perceive you. For example; if you are a graduate looking to intern, or looking for a new job or even just looking to raise your brand profile, your headline should highlight your skills set and what you are able to offer at first glance.
Let us use our company’s (Swoop Studios) CEO’s profile as an example. Simply put, it could just read: – “Founder of Swoop Studios”- but what does this say about his job or what type of service(s) his company offer?
Instead, our director has used very specific words that immediately put out there; his value proposition and skill set, as well as highlight the focus of his business. To that effect, Swoop Studios CEO’s LinkedIn Heading currently reads; “Founder/CEO @ Swoop Studios, a Digital Marketing Agency delivering services to Independent Schools, Businesses and more…”
Already, you can see that he is making fantastic use of the said 120 characters to his profile’s advantage, and how new clients can immediately spot whether he has the skill sets they require without exerting too much effort. It’s all in the strategic use and choice of his ‘keywords’!
You should always keep in mind that after your name, the very next thing that other users will see and read about you is your headline. So make it a great profile headline because it will be found in searches, group discussions and news feeds of all your connections, where it needs to spark interest and make impacts on other users.
In summary therefore, if you are still using LinkedIn with a simple and ineffective headline profile, we suggest you have a look and reword or rephrase it immediately, making sure it clearly defines your skills set and most importantly, shows off your brand to the right target audience. Use strategic keywords (like our director’s), to vamp up interest from new prospects too.
Happy LinkIn-ing!!
Written by Gayle Thompson @SwoopStudios
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