LinkedIn now boasts over 90 million users, which means that if you want to stand out from all of the other people in your field and geographic area, you’ll need to pay extra attention to your LinkedIn headline. Your headline is located on your profile directly underneath your name and is always attached to your name and photo in search results and in your network activity. How do you make your important LinkedIn headline shine? Here are five tips:
1. Describe your value. Instead of merely writing down that you’re a customer service manager, think about the benefits that you offer when people work with you. Here’s a headline that stands out: Administrative/Customer Service & Support Specialist | Problem Solver | Dispute Resolver. Even if someone is searching to connect with a customer service manager, your headline will stand out as you add values that you can provide.
2. Use key words and phrases. Get into the minds of people who might be searching for you. What terms and phrases would they use? You have 120 characters available in your headline; you might as well use as many as you can in order to appear in as many search results as possible.
3. Include a tagline. If you have a “boring” job title, such as “accountant” (sorry, accountants), consider including a tagline in your headline. For instance, here is a headline with a bit more personality:
Daniel Stoica: Consulting, Accounting and Tax Professional, dedicated to translating your passion into a successful business!™
4. Get creative. Think about including a call to action in your tagline, such as “Download my free e-book” or “Contact me for a free consultation to enhance your sales”. You have 1.3 seconds to make an impression, so give people something to consider.
5. Jazz up your title. If you own a business, you have the freedom to be whatever you want. For instance, if you design trade show booths and banners, you could call yourself a “Trade Show Enhancement Specialist”. Think about crafting a job title that solves a problem. Be a specialist. Or an expert.
Take a look at your current headline. Does it stand out? Does it inspire a second look? If not, then spend a bit of time and make your LinkedIn headline shine with what you can offer.