Right below your name on your LinkedIn profile is text known as the Headline. It’s the first descriptive text people see about you and also the first text encountered by LinkedIn’s algorithm. So it should be fabulous, right? Unfortunately, in the vast majority of LinkedIn profiles, the headline is auto-filled with the individual’s job title. Not only is that not very descriptive, it also is not an efficient way for the right people to find their way to your door. A job title by itself does not convey nuances of who you typically serve or how you serve them. You can write a more on-target headline yourself, using a maximum of 220 characters.
In this article, I provide pairs of headlines for three types of professionals: a Patent Attorney, a Family Dentist, and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). As you read them, I invite you to notice how each headline shares valuable information about the professional and his or her ideal clientele and gives a more complete picture of the professional’s practice philosophy and approach than their job title alone conveys. Then below these examples, I provide guidance on how you can bring more power to your headline.
Examples:
Intellectual Property Attorney:
A — Intellectual Property Attorney at [name of firm]: Helping small and mid-sized companies monetize, protect, and enforce their intellectual property to protect their inventions and advance their business goals.
B — Intellectual Property Attorney at [name of firm]: Focusing on complex patent, trademark, trade secret, and technology disputes in plastic formulation and processing, food processing, and packaging.
Family Dentistry:
C — Family Dentist at [name of practice]: Family-friendly with particular attention to your little ones to create habits for a lifetime of healthy smiles.
D — Family Dentist at [name of practice]: Our state-of-the-art equipment efficiently gets you and your family back to your busy day. Accepting major Dental Plans.
Certified Public Accountant:
E — CPA and QuickBooks ProAdvisor: Assist small businesses with timely and accurate records to evaluate performance, support business decisions, and satisfy external reporting requirements.
F — CPA: Focusing on financial statement audits, internal control assessments, and compliance audits for clients across various industries.
For each pairing, did you notice how the clients that are appropriate for the first professional in the category would have been dissatisfied with the second professional, and vice versa? Each professional brings their own unique niche that you would not be able to discern with an auto-filled headline. Telling people in your LinkedIn headline about what you do and who you serve gets the right people to your door much more efficiently than if your headline is only your job title. Although I selected personal service professionals here, the principles for crafting a powerful headline are applicable to other types of jobs as well.
Crafting a Powerful Headline:
The first part of the headline is your job title and perhaps the entity you work for.
The second part of the headline is your business story. Tell us who you serve, what you do for them, and how you add value. Or, share the three things you want to be known for. Your headline cannot exceed 220 characters, but you’ll be surprised at how much you can convey within that limit.
Resist the temptation to list more than three titles (e.g., Author, Professional Speaker, Executive Branding Coach). Three is memorable because we are hard-wired to remember things in threes. More than three makes us look unfocused and less memorable, referrable, and hireable.
Call to Action
Take a moment to review your LinkedIn profile as if you were meeting yourself for the first time. Does it convey who you serve and how you serve them? Does it accurately reflect who you are now? If not, it’s time to invest in your digital brand.
If you need help with this, it’s what I do. Since 2011, I’ve been helping senior executives tell their stories so they can weather the inflection points of their careers, choose their career direction, and attract ideal opportunities.
Are You Ready to Transform Your Online Presence?
Imagine a LinkedIn profile that actively champions your strengths, achievements, and professional ethos, positioning you as a leader in your field. Now is the time to embrace executive LinkedIn profile optimization, refine your brand, articulate your value, and lead with distinction.
Schedule your complimentary Executive Discovery Call today to start your journey toward a powerful LinkedIn strategy that attracts your ideal opportunities.
With over a decade of experience, I have guided numerous C-level and senior executives in leveraging LinkedIn for personal and professional growth. Recognized as a top executive coach and branding expert, I offer the insights and expertise necessary to craft an outstanding digital presence. My #1 Best-Selling book, “LinkedIn for the Savvy Executive,” has received numerous awards and accolades.
Reach out today to book a call and start transforming your LinkedIn profile into a powerful tool for career advancement and professional growth.
