Is Your LinkedIn Headline Interesting? Or Does it Blend in with Everyone Else?

If you’re an experienced LinkedIn member, you know that there are many areas on your LinkedIn profile that have character limits. In MOST cases, I advise my clients to use every available character, but in the case of your LinkedIn Headline, where those characters appear matters.

LinkedIn allows up to 220 characters in your headline. By default, your headline is your job title at your current employer.

That’s great, right? Well, not exactly.

I advise clients that your key to LinkedIn success is how you differentiate yourself and how you connect with your target audiences.

When I’m in a LinkedIn coaching or training session, one expression I use is “people are lazy.” I really don’t think that people using LinkedIn are lazy, but this statement makes people remember that most people don't want to take the time to click to view your profile, or click on “see more” on sections of your profile. This disrupts their LinkedIn viewing activity. People won't click to navigate away from their activity unless:

• You give them a compelling reason to click

AND

• They are interested in what you offer

Sure, there are many people who click around on LinkedIn as they are navigating and learning the site. They may be curious as they stumble upon your profile, and decide to click on a few areas. But these people aren’t usually the connections that become clients or employers.

The ones who become clients or employers are those who saw something on your profile that appealed to them.

So let’s consider your 120-character (or less) headline. If I kept mine with the default “Marketing Consultant at Meller Marketing,” this would be the only text they see next to my name in search results.

Now, I can’t pull up my own profile in a LinkedIn search, so I’m going to show you a screen capture of people who are in my 1st level network in a search for “Marketing Consultant." Note: this search was done in 2018, so their headlines might be a bit different now.

What do you notice when scanning down the list? You probably notice things that are different, right?

The problem is that on LinkedIn, most people keep the default "job title at current employer."

Everyone blends in, and nobody stands out.

I’ve revamped my headline to lead with what I do and who I help. The result since I’ve made this change? I receive 2-3 new inquiries each week asking about my services.

However, a strong headline alone won't make you successful using LinkedIn. I’ve been very active on LinkedIn for over a decade, and I use techniques like frequent status updates and engagement with my network to keep my name top of mind, but I am certain that the headline has been part of the reason for the increase in inquiries.

Now let’s move onto headline length and take a look at my full headline:

Unlocking the Power of LinkedIn for VIPs & Sales Leaders | 1to1 & Team Training | Speaker | Fan of Pie ?? & Jigsaw Puzzles ?? | Hiring an Intern | Q4 Projects: Audiobook & Launching a Masterclass

This is 193 total characters. Great use of nearly all of those precious 220 maximum characters, right?

Well, maybe.

Consider this: when you appear in search results, LinkedIn truncates your headline so that only a portion of those 120 characters are viewable.

When I looked for “Leadership Consultants” in a search, I found Ross Woodstock in the results.

• 84 characters of Ross’ headline appear in desktop view
• 72 characters of Ross’ headline appear in mobile view
• Ross' full headline is 103 characters: "An Executive Coach and Leadership Consultant Helping Leaders Achieve Sustainable Growth in Their Career"

I also found Richard Shaffer in the results:

• 83 characters of Richard’s headline appear in desktop view
• 76 characters of Richard’s headline appear in mobile view
• Richard's full headline is 113 characters, "Leadership Development Consultant at Life Leadership and V.P. Technology Group at JMC Electrical Contractors, LLC"

Your Headline Follows You Around on LinkedIn (aka what appears when you respond to a post):

I decided to take this a step further, and look at how much of a headline appears when a connection responds to a post. I’m going to start by using a recent response I made to a post by Elma Agic :

https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6363126677391888384/?commentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A(activity%3A6363126677391888384%2C6363375995717775360)

• 69 characters of my headline appeared in desktop view
• 46 characters of my headline appeared in mobile view
• My full headline at the time was 118 characters, "I Help People and Businesses with Marketing and Social Media | Marketing & Social Media Consultant at Meller Marketing"

So what does this mean for you?

• Unless people are clicking to view your LinkedIn profile, the most important words in your headline aren’t the last few words. The first 40-80 characters are going to get the greatest visibility, depending on your level of LinkedIn activity and how you interact with your network.
• That said, you can and should consider using as many of those 220 characters as possible, keeping in mind that people who are viewing those last few words are those who are ON your LinkedIn profile.
• Your headline is reduced in different ways, depending on where it appears in LinkedIn, and the type of device used by your network.
• Keeping your LinkedIn headline as the default (current position at current employer) may cause you to blend in with others and risk losing profile views, connection requests, and even those opportunities you may be seeking.
• Change your headline periodically. Keep it fresh. Keep it interesting, and above all, make it intriguing! Your goal is to get them to CLICK to come back to your profile.

Hopefully this article causes you to put some additional thought into your LinkedIn headline. Reply here to share your headline with other readers. It may result in some additional profile views, and you never know where those views may lead.

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Let's connect on LinkedIn:?www.dhirubhai.net/in/brendameller

Check out these related blogs:

• How to Post a LinkedIn Status Update?https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/how-post-linkedin-status-update-brenda-meller-zawacki-mba-msmkt/
• How to Use LinkedIn for Marketing and Advertising https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/how-use-linkedin-marketing-advertising-brenda-meller-zawacki-/
• Your LinkedIn Photo Says 1,000 Words https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/your-linkedin-photo-says-1000-words-brenda-meller-zawacki-/

Need some help with LinkedIn? I work with individuals and organizations to provide you with guidance and expertise. Book me as a LinkedIn trainer for your business development team. You'll look like a rockstar and they'll optimize their LinkedIn efforts while expanding your company visibility.

Visit?https://www.mellermarketing.com/ to learn more.