Top 7 Tips to Creating Your Best Social Elevator Pitch

Whether online or in-person, a good elevator speech opens doors and sparks both inspiration and opportunity.

LinkedIn is the largest, most crowded elevator, full of the very people who are key to your professional and business success. To stand out, you speak up by posting, sharing, and commenting all the while trying to be relevant and sometimes witty. Do it well and often enough and you’ll attract a following.

Frequent and regular posting is not the only way to increase the volume of your voice. One good post seen and liked by people can expand your network and your profile.

Content is still King, Queen, and Royal Treasurer. 

If your creative LinkedIn post is unique and relevant, it can catch fire and gain exposure and engagement from a sudden thrust of semi-connected colleagues, friends, and family. A single like or share from a well-connected friend-of-a-friend can take your post from 30 views to over 1000. 

Your Social Elevator Speech is your way of clearing your throat for attention and proudly saying “Actually, I’m looking for a new opportunity. [succinct description here]” loud enough that your colleague and their adjacent colleagues can hear. Your reach is magnified and your message is heard for a fleeting moment; you better make it count. 

A well-crafted elevator speech is honest and relevant to the audience. It’s also short. LinkedIn posts in the US have a limit to 1300 characters, but the most effective SES posts grab the audience in the first 300 characters.  

In my 2020 PayItForward Profiles campaign, I coached nearly two dozen professionals affected by the initial phases of the COVID-induced economic depression to create their best LinkedIn elevator pitch. Together, the candidates’ posts received more than 40,000 views.

Here are some of the best practices I learned from that experience to craft your most effective Social Elevator Pitch. Whether looking for your next challenge, seeking partnerships, or marketing your services, these tips will help you attract viewers to your profile.

1. Be efficient. KISS and make each character count. You only have 1400 to tell your story. Here’s a great breakdown of character limits for 2021 across Linkedin activities.
2. REALLY make the first 200 characters count on your LI post count. The rest will be initially hidden below “see more”.
3. Know your audience and cater to them. Your current network will help you gain exposure outside of your current circle. The most explosive growth happens when your friends and colleagues interact with your post, so write with them in mind. 
4. Include a link to your LinkedIn profile if you are looking for work.
5. Posts need pics. If your profile pic - cannot be seen outside your network, either fix that visibility setting, swap out the image, or include a different image.
6. Be truthful, be creative, be aspirational. No one wants to read a long list of keywords and hashtags. Increasing your exposure on LinkedIn requires more than just SEO. Tell a story and make it compelling.  
7. Leave room at the end for those hashtags and keywords. 

Don’t worry about being self-promotional or seeming desperate. There is nothing wrong with selling your value to others on LinkedIn - that’s why LI is there; to connect people. You are simply making your information and profile more accessible; hopefully, with a little help from your friends.