IN THIS CHAPTER

Determining the type of headline you need

Paying attention to SEO

Creating a headline that impresses

Your LinkedIn headline is extremely important. It is the shortened version of your profile. It shows up right underneath your name on the top of your profile, and it tells who you are in 120 characters or less. It is your readers’ first impression of you, and it determines whether they read your profile or click to the next one. This chapter covers how to craft a compelling headline that grabs your readers’ attention and makes them want to learn more about you.

Grabbing Your Reader’s Attention

The LinkedIn headline is one of the main fields of a LinkedIn search result. It also appears at the very top of a LinkedIn profile. The headline also shows up on invitations to connect, above status updates, on LinkedIn messages, and within Group discussions, Pulse articles, recommendations, Who’s Viewed Your Profile stats, and the People You May Know section. Since so many people have the potential to see it, you want to make sure your LinkedIn headline communicates your value and compels people to open your profile to learn more about you.

Your headline sums up your professional identity in just 120 characters (including spaces). You want this phrase to be catchy, bright, and clever. To grab your reader’s attention, the headline should alert people to what you are about and how you can help them.

When you first create a profile, LinkedIn automatically populates your headline by using your current job title and company name. Although LinkedIn creates the headline for you, you can override this default, boring headline and add your own.

Take a look at Figure 7-1. See the difference between the default headline LinkedIn added and an optimized one? Which profile would you rather read?

Ditch LinkedIn’s default headline. Your headline should be like a headline in a newspaper — it should compel people to want to read more. Read on to learn how to make your headline a compelling brand statement.

Adding Flair to Your Headline

A great way to really make sure your headline attracts attention and helps you stand out from the crowd is to use symbols. Take a look at Figure 7-2 for an example of a headline that makes use of symbols. See how boring the first and third headlines are when compared to the second optimized one?

Although there are work-arounds, LinkedIn doesn’t make it easy to add symbols or any type of formatting to your LinkedIn profile. In fact, LinkedIn doesn’t natively allow any formatting at all. You can’t bold, italicize, or underline text within the LinkedIn editing fields. LinkedIn hasn’t ever stated why it doesn’t natively allow formatting, but I believe it doesn’t want to become like the old, defunct social network, MySpace.

Back in the early 2000s when MySpace reigned supreme, it allowed not just simple formatting but full on CSS coding to it profiles. Before long, MySpace profiles were twinkling and flashing like the Las Vegas skyline. Most people aren’t graphic designers and when given the opportunity to format and prettify, they tend to go overboard. By not providing the ability to format, LinkedIn is keeping its users’ tendency to overdo things at a minimum and thus keep its site elegant in its simplicity.

So how do you add symbols to your profile? If you are looking for a magic symbol button, you are out of luck. But here’s a secret: Just because LinkedIn doesn’t provide the ability to add symbols or format text, doesn’t mean it’s impossible to do. Text is text and text comes in more than just straight letters and numbers. All you have to do is locate the symbols you want to use and copy and paste them into your LinkedIn profile. You can do the same thing with formatted text.

I discuss adding symbols and formatted text to your LinkedIn profile in more detail in Chapter 11, when I discuss adding them to your job title, but for now, the easiest way to add symbols to your LinkedIn profile is to visit my LinkedIn profile to find a list of symbols you can use, then copy and paste the ones you like into your headline.

To add symbols to your headline, follow these steps:

1. Open your web browser and go to www.LinkedIn.com/in/todonna.

2. Once at my profile, scroll through until you get to the Experience section.

   I curated a list of different symbols you can use on your LinkedIn profile on my current experience for Vision Board Media (see Figure 7-3).

3. Highlight a symbol you like and copy it.

   Copy by using the right-click menu or by pressing Ctrl+C (Windows) or Cmd+C (Mac).

4. Open your LinkedIn profile and click the pencil (edit) icon located just below your profile background photo.

5. Paste the symbol into your headline.

   Paste by using the right-click menu or by pressing Ctrl+V (Windows) or Cmd+V (Mac).

6. Click the Save button.

   Your headline now includes the symbols you selected.

Although I have a curated list of professional symbols on my profile, it's by far not a complete list. If you want to see even more symbols, there are a number of sites to check out. Here are just a few:

• My full list of symbols (www.linkedin-makeover.com/tools/symbols)
• My LinkedIn Text Formatter (www.linkedin-makeover.com/linkedin-text-formatter)
• Copy and Paste Emoji (www.copyandpasteemoji.com)
• JRX (http://jrgraphix.net/r/Unicode)
• Unicode Character Table (http://unicode-table.com/en)
• Wikipedia Symbol Block List (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode_symbols#Symbol_block_list)

Choose only one or two types of symbols to use in your LinkedIn headline. The more symbols you use, the cheaper and low level your profile appears. Remember, less is more!

Symbols may appear differently across the different devices and operating systems you use to access your LinkedIn profile. That means what you see isn’t necessarily what another person sees when viewing your profile. Smartphones tend to take symbols and convert them to emoji. Emoji are small, colorful icons that are typically used to express ideas and emotions.

If you are viewing your LinkedIn profile on a PC, the symbols in your headline may appear black. Viewing your LinkedIn profile on a smartphone or on a Mac desktop, the symbols in your headline may appear colorful and almost cartoon-like. iPhones and Android phones use different art and so the symbols may look different depending on your smartphone.

When choosing symbols to populate your LinkedIn profile, the simpler the better. Stars, circles, squares, arrows, and check marks are universal and display with consistency across almost all devices. Using more complex symbols like those of folders, books, phones, paperclips, tools, and other items, you risk the symbol either showing differently on some devices or not at all.

Emoji are standardized, but the differences in display come from the different platforms (smartphone manufacturers, messaging apps, chat clients) designing their own emoji art and interpreting the standard differently.

I remember finding a symbol of a magnifying glass that looked lovely in my headline and on my PC’s monitor, but unfortunately it didn’t display for everyone. I received numerous emails from people telling me that instead of the symbol, they saw an empty block (see Figure 7-4).

As much as I loved using the magnifying glass icon, I had to replace it with a more universal Unicode character that displayed for everyone. When utilizing symbols, the best symbol may not be the right symbol. Choose simple symbols that display for everyone.

Although you can use formatted text in your headline, I caution against doing so. Formatted text on LinkedIn isn’t the same as formatted text in Microsoft Word. Formatted text are symbols that look like real text. This means it isn’t searchable. Sure, it may look like Project Manager is in bold, but LinkedIn reads it as something totally different. If you want to be found, do not use formatted text in your headline.

Saturating Your Headline with Keywords

As I discuss in Chapter 2, your headline plays a big role in LinkedIn search results. To enhance the likelihood of being found on LinkedIn, your headline should be chock-full of the keywords people are using to find someone like you. I’ve found that when performing a keyword search on LinkedIn, profiles that contain those keywords in their headlines turn up higher in the search results.

To create a keyword-saturated headline, you must first consider your target audience and why they are looking for someone like you. What are the keywords a person might type into LinkedIn search to find you? These are the words you want to incorporate into your headline. Get out that list of keywords you created back in Chapter 2. If you want to rank high for those words, it is important to work as many of them into your headline as possible.

If you are job seeker, it’s important to add your job title or targeted job title to your headline. Your headline is extremely sensitive when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO). Many recruiters and hiring managers, when performing searches for talent, search for job titles. Make sure you include your title so that you increase your chances of being found on LinkedIn.

However, rather than simply stating your current job title, start with an adjective first and then add your title. Here’s a bunch of adjectives to get you started:

• Accomplished
• Animated
• Certified
• Dynamic
• Effective
• Energetic
• Engaging
• Exciting
• Executive
• Experienced
• Expert
• Gifted
• Holistic
• Influential
• Innovative
• Masterful
• Professional
• Skilled
• Unabashed

Select one of these adjectives that you feel most accurately describes you in your current role. Then, it’s time to add your job title.

Creating a Benefit Statement Headline

Instead of infusing your headline with keywords, another way to develop a compelling heading is to create a benefit statement headline. A benefit statement explains to potential readers exactly how you can help them and what they will get from working with you.

When crafting a benefit statement headline, ask yourself, “How do I help individuals or businesses?” “What benefit do others receive from working with me?” Think in terms of the outcome for your audience. If you are selling a service or product, why would a potential client buy from you? What do they get from the service or product?

Benefit statement headlines typically start with an action. Here are some examples:

• Accomplishing
• Changing
• Crafting
• Creating
• Delivering
• Developing
• Directing
• Eliminating
• Growing
• Helping
• Maximizing
• Promising
• Reducing
• Saving
• Teaching

Once you have the action, what is the core value you provide to your target audience?

A customer service representative might state: “Helping Turn Unhappy Customers into Loyal Clients.” A sales person specializing in office supplies might state, “Keeping Offices Running Smoothly with a Complete Catalog of Office Supplies: Whatever You Need, When You Need It!” Individuals using LinkedIn to position themselves as technology thought leaders might use a benefit statement like: “Helping Corporations Embrace Cloud Computing Technologies to Enhance Workplace Productivity and Security.”

When crafting a benefit statement, consider how your target audience reacts to you emotionally. What is it that you do that makes life/work easier and better for your target audience?

Think in terms of your target audience’s need for:

• Abundance
• Affordability/money savings
• Being liked
• Confidence
• Convenience
• Ease of use
• Peace of mind
• Prestige
• Productivity/time savings
• Respect
• Security

Put these items together and voila! You have a benefit statement headline! To get you started, check out some of these examples of benefit statement headlines:

• Insurance Broker & Agent ► Giving You Peace of Mind by Protecting Your Home, Car, and Assets
• Financial Advisor ★ Taking Away the Guesswork from Investments ★ Helping You Plan and Achieve Your Future Goals
• Real Estate Agent ► Helping Families in New York City Find the Home of Their Dreams!
• Sales Consultant ► Helping Businesses Develop Strong Sales Forces through Intensive Sales Training Programs

Are you looking for a new job? You can showcase your expertise and value through a benefit statement headline, too. You might be thinking, “But I am a job seeker; I don’t help companies or individuals. I just do my job, when I have one.” If you truly can’t come up with a benefit statement, move back to the keyword-packed headline and go in that direction. However, everyone — no matter what job he or she does, provides value — otherwise, you wouldn’t get paid.

If you don’t work directly with clients, consider your colleagues and how you help them. Think also in terms of your department and how it supports the organization and moves the business forward.

Differentiation is also a benefit to employers. Do you provide more than others because of a unique talent, interest, or ability? Your benefit might be that you are bilingual or you are really good with numbers. Perhaps despite being steeped in technology you can effectively interface with sales people and get them to understand complex programs.

Here are some headline examples for job seekers:

• Software Engineer ► Building the Applications That Make Your Business Life Easier
• Project Manager with a Passion for Coding and Technical Writing, Looking to Positively Impact a New Organization
• IT Specialist Devoted to Creating Stable, Scalable Solutions for Small Businesses
• Business Analyst | Helping Companies Translate Their Business Goals and Ideas to Operational Reality and Positive ROI
• Business Advisor » Helping Manufacturing Facilities Realize Significant Gains through Process Improvement
• Interim CEO ⇒ Solving urgent leadership problems … when your CEO steps down, I step up!

Adding Your New and Improved Headline to LinkedIn

Now that you have your new and improved headline, it’s time to update it on your LinkedIn profile. To add a new headline to your profile, follow these steps:

1. Open your LinkedIn profile.
2. Click the pencil (edit) icon located just below your profile background photo.

3. Type in your new and improved headline in the Headline field.

   As you type, LinkedIn shows you the number of characters you have left until you reach the maximum count of 120. If you go over the 120-character limit, the frame around the field turns red and LinkedIn prevents you from saving.

4. Click Save when you are finished adding your new headline.

   Don’t forget to add symbols to give your new headline some eye-catching flair!

Your newly updated headline is now acting like a welcoming beacon, directing people to view your profile. In the next chapter, I show you how to make sure that all these new visitors see an optimized Experience section that is impressive and interesting.