How much thought have you given to your LinkedIn headline? Do you know what the headline is?
One of the biggest challenges LinkedIn users have is how to create a standout profile.
Why does your headline matter?
- your headline is one of the first things people will read when they see your account
- if you don’t write your own headline, LinkedIn will pull it from your current job title
- using keywords in your Linkedin headline helps you to appear in the search results
The first line anyone sees when you post an article or comment on someone else’s’ post, is your headline. So make it count.
If you have a look on LinkedIn today using ‘accountant’ as your search, you will see hundreds of accountants in your search results.
How do you write a good headline?
This depends on what you are using LinkedIn for.
If you are using LinkedIn to generate leads, then your headline should attract your ideal audience.
Use keywords in your headline that someone will put into the search box.
Think about the words that your prospective customer would be putting into the search box – not specialist words that are only used inside your own industry.
For example:
“Content Marketer” vs “Consultant helping businesses grow with social media”
An easy formula to come up with a good headline is “Job Title” at X specialising in Y.
If you were looking for a property surveyor in Belfast, would you choose someone with the job title ‘surveyor’ or would you look more closely at someone with the headline “Chartered Surveyor at XXXX, specialising in Property Management, Belfast”?
Maybe you are using LinkedIn to connect with your local professional network, and you are not interested in potential leads or companies discovering you. Your headline may reflect your personality or your mission statement.
Have a look around at other people in your industry and see what headlines grab your attention. Make your first impression count. Always check your spelling, capitalisation and grammar.
When you comment on someone else’s post or update, your headline will accompany your name in the comments. This is a good opportunity to raise your profile and build up your network so comment regularly on relevant articles and updates. If you only click like, your headline won’t show up to the reader.
Your headline also shows up when someone finds you in the Google search. Try it out – go to Google and put in your own name. If you have a LinkedIn profile, it is very likely the profile will show up in the search engine’s results and the headline also what shows up in the Google search.
Have a play around with different headlines and see if your profile comes up in more searches than usual.
Another good formula for your headline could be:
your role, your passion and your location
e.g Business Development Manager, passionate about growing our brand in Ireland ☘️
Adding in an emoji if it fits with your personality works too.
