Audio Transcript:

Here’s your social selling tip of the day for January 31, 2020. I’m Greg Hyer of Linking into Sales.

Your LinkedIn headline is more important than you may think. It’s one of the three parts of your profile that visitors see first when they are searching LinkedIn for a professional like you. Here are three ways for you to optimize your LinkedIn profile headline for maximum effectiveness.

1. Include a critical keyword - While LinkedIn’s search isn’t as advanced as Google, it’s still important to use keywords so when someone searches on LinkedIn you will appear in their search results.
2. Create a memorable headline - Rather than using your job title and your company name in your headline, write a short statement that invites the visitor to click on your profile. After you write your headline, read it aloud. Then ask yourself, “So what?”
3. Remember that you only have 120 characters to work with in your headline. Make each one count. Trim unnecessary words to make the important words count.

Here are three things not to do in your LinkedIn profile headline. These may even get you kicked off LinkedIn.

1. Don’t used symbols. Yes, everyone loves emoji’s and other special characters. Stop. They actually mess up your appearance in search because no one can type in that character in the search box when they are searching.
2. Don’t put in your email address and/or phone number. LinkedIn makes is very clear in their terms and conditions that adding content into fields that it was not intended for including personally identifiable information like email addresses, mailing addresses and phone numbers violated the user terms of service. So don’t get kicked off LinkedIn.
3. Don’t used “I.” Your headline should be how you benefit the visitor, not how the visitor can benefit you.

Need some headlines ideas to get the juices flowing? Check these out:

• “Increasing your sales by combining integrated media solutions with high precision targeting.”
  Marketing Professional
• “In permanent beta: learning, improving, evolving…”
  Healthcare Professional
• “Head honcho, headhunter, sometimes head-shrinker and living proof that the only good recruiter is NOT a dead recruiter!”
  Staffing and Recruiting Professional
• “I’ve helped 7 companies reach $1 Billion. Who whats to be #8.”
  Professional Training & Coaching Professional

Now that last one goes against what I said in #3 of things not to do. But it’s an excellent example of how you can be memorable.

That does it for this social selling tip of the day. In addition to this daily tip, check out the Social Selling Podcast by Linking into Sales on iTunes, Google Play Music, Stitcher, YouTube and Tunein. You can even ask Alexa to play the Social Selling Podcast by Linking into Sales.

Be sure to check your flash briefing on your Amazon Echo before you leave for work so you get your next social selling tip of the day.

This is Greg Hyer. Let’s Start Linking into Sales!

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