How To Write A Linkedin Headline

What happens when other users find your LinkedIn profile and see it in their LinkedIn search results?

Do they click through and learn more about your professional experience?

Do they send you requests to connect?

If you don't know, or definitely know that that they aren't, your headline is most likely the reason.

Many users don't realize that their headline is the most important piece of their profile. Aside from your profile photo and name, it's the first thing other users see when they locate you.

The specific role that your headline plays is to get the attention of users that you want to connect with so that they will click-through and learn more about who you are.

In most instances, the headline you write will determine whether or not they leave your profile or click to learn more.

Remember that, on average, you only have about seven seconds to impress somebody enough to read more about you before they move on.

Here, we'll teach you everything you need to know about capturing the attention of the users you want to connect with.

It's time to go from mundane and boring to energetic and attention-grabbing.

Include Valuable Keywords In Your Headline

If you have an impressive profile but you're not showing up on users' search results, your profile isn't serving you.

When you include search-worthy keywords in the headline of your profile, you'll increase the number of search results that turn up your profile in the results.

You're probably familiar with the way users conduct searches on search engines like Google. LinkedIn searches, however, are a bit different.

On Google, users tend to search for specific information. On this platform, users search for a specific person or list of people that fit a given criteria.

Let's look at an example.

If a user is searching for general information on how they build a successful social media marketing strategy, they'll probably plug in a keyword phrase such as, "how to succeed at social media marketing for business."

However, on this platform, they are probably searching directly for someone that can do social media marketing for them, or an expert to teach them how to do it. In this case, the user will use terms such as "social media marketing expert," or "social media consultant."

Users often seek keywords on the platform that are title-based. This is why it is so critical that you include specific, searchable keywords right in your profile headline.

Don't make the mistake of writing funny or "creative" headlines on your profile. Avoid writing it from your personal perspective.

Rather, try to speak the language of your prospect by using terms that they will use when conducting searches.

Determine The Best Headline Style To Suit Your Needs

There are a multitude of approaches to take when you're working toward creating that perfect headline. To help make things easier, let's look at three specific headline styles to choose from.

The one you choose will depend on what's appropriate for your industry, personal expertise and target market.

• Mission-centric headlines are used to build a brand or have missions that are larger than an individual
• Ego-centric headlines are used when a brand or career is already established, or for influencers, public personalities and high-level executives
• Client-centric headlines are used when trying to attract more connections and clients

The Mission-Centric Headline

This is appropriate to use if you and/or your business has a high-level mission that a specific market would be inspired by or interested in.

To craft a well-performing headline that mission-centric, use your title, name of your company and your company's vision statement or mission.

An example of a powerful mission-centric headline would be:

CIO of GTE Communications Corp -- a flexible technology that's changing the way businesses interact in real-time.

The Ego-Centric Headline

Your headline needs to thoughtfully showcase who you are and what you've accomplished. This increases your credibility.

A well-crafted ego-centric headline will help you gain authority and build trust with other users.

Using an ego-centric headline is likely to put connections at ease while increasing the overall likelihood that they'll connect with you for two specific reasons:

• They won't be concerned that you're trying to sell them a product or service
• Your accomplishments will impress them

Let's take a look at a few examples of impactful eco-centric headlines.

You'll see that in each example, awards and accomplishments are clearly highlighted. These build trust and credibility.

1: Spearheaded the creation of one of Silicon Valley’s high-tech success stories | Inc. Most Successful 30 Under 30 | California's Award for Excellence in Business Technology

2: Recipient of Esteemed Orange County Business Leaders Award | 2019 Fastest-Growing Businesses (2976% Growth) | Inc. 1000

The Client-Centric Headline

Writing an effective client-centric headline is all about addressing what you have to offer, and who you're offering it to.

The power in this type of headline is that you're able to express to your clients that you're an individual that can solve the problems they're facing.

Some powerful examples of client-centric headlines include:

1: My #1 goal is helping active sales professionals rid themselves of cold calls by leveraging LinkedIn sales to fill their sales pipeline.

2: I'm an expert in helping Investment Agencies and Investment Professionals attract qualified Foreign Direct Investments using the LinkedIn platform.

Use as Much of the 120-Character Limit as You Can

LinkedIn only gives you 120 characters in which to craft your headline. It's critical that you maximize each character.

While it's possible to write an effective headline using less than 120 characters, you might lose connections by excluding effective keyword phrases or failing to fully establish credibility.

Remember that you don't need to choose only one headline style. You can easily incorporate two different styles when using your character allotment.

As an example, you could include an ego-centric and client-centric headline to fill the 120 characters. It would look something like:

Amazon #1 Bestselling Author (this is eco-centric) that helps pet owners learn the best practices to training their pets (this is client-centric).

The goal here is making your headline highly compelling so that users click-through to your profile and shoot you a connection request.

Make Your Headline Stand Out

When a potential lead scrolls through their search results, will they take notice of your headline?

You're competing with a lot of different profiles. It's not enough to just show up in search results. The headline you write needs to capture attention and drive action.

An intriguing and attention-grabbing headline will automatically encourage a prospect to look at the rest of your profile.

To do this, follow these three simple rules:

• Write headlines that allow clients to quickly identify what you offer and how it can help them
• Utililized the LinkedIn Advanced Search function with the keywords you've chosen for your headline to see how your profile shows up in comparison to the profiles you're competing against
• Track your profile views, then re-work your headline to see if it increases how many views you're receiving.

LinkedIn search results and LinkedIn sales are like any other marketing effort: you need to test and re-test to get the best possible results.

Speak To Your Clients With Your Linkedin Headline

Remember, the rule for writing the best LinkedIn headline is to talk to your client on their level.

Just as with the rest of your LinkedIn profile, the headline you craft needs to specifically highlight the benefits you bring to the market.

For more LinkedIn tips and tricks, be sure to check out this checklist.