Not just what are you doing with your headline – but also do you know what your headline is doing for you professionally?
There are fundamentally 3 different types of headline on LinkedIn:
- The job description (default)
- The multi-job description
- The slogan
The vast majority of LinkedIn users still have (1). In other words they just stuck with their job title which also became their headline by default. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, exactly what it says on the tin. Nothing more, nothing less.
I’ve recently observed a popular trend on LinkedIn, I call it the ‘multi-job description’ headline. Let me show you.
Many users have decided to squeeze multiple job titles, acronyms and areas of expertise using separators, most commonly the | vertical line (also called pipe, piping symbol, Sheffer stroke, vertical slash, think colon or divider line) into the headline.
I see a number of problems with this approach. It leads to verbosity, there’s a tendency to stuff as much in as possible. I do this, this, that and sometimes this, oh and let’s not forget this too. As you can see in the examples above, all of the multi-job description headlines have been truncated in the search results. That’s not good. Another problem is that as more folks use this technique, they fail to stand out because everyone is presenting in a similar, parrot fashion. I personally find the multi-job description exceedingly boring and dull.
I understand why people use the multi-job headline. It’s quick and easy. All you have to do is list your core professional areas, type them in the headline field with separators. Bam. You’re probably hoping to appeal to as many different people as possible. The risk is that you may appear unfocused and unsure of your audience. I think a multi-job headline dilutes your professional brand. Job titles are just labels, they don’t answer why, they don’t sell and they don’t get a reaction. You could also be thinking you’ll be found when people search on those magic keywords, right? Wrong. LinkedIn does a wholly inadequate job of linking keyword search with profile views whether those words are in your headline or anywhere else on your profile.
I’m a proponent of the slogan headline and have been ever since I started using LinkedIn in 2008. Here are some of the different slogans I’ve leveraged over the years.
I Built Groups For 20,000+ Members. Ask Me How’ (2012)
‘www.linkedinsights.com‘ (2012)
‘Professional LinkedIn Optimist’ (2012)
‘So Good To Teach You (LinkedIn)’ (2012)
‘I Make People Care About You on LinkedIn’ (2014)
‘Ready To Get Serious About LinkedIn? Hire Me’ (2014)
‘Succeeding On LinkedIn’ (2015)
‘Putting The Extra Into Ordinary LinkedIn Coaching’ (2015)
‘Stunningly Good And Insightful LinkedIn Coach’ (2015)
‘Author “3 Stunningly Good LinkedIn Profile Summaries” (2015)
‘Extraordinary & Insightful LinkedIn Coach’ (2015)
‘Squeeze The Pips Out Of LinkedIn’ (2015)
‘The LinkedIn Coach You….Should have Hired’ (2016)
‘………….LinkedIn Profile Whisperer…………..’ (2016)
‘I Help Professionals To Leverage LinkedIn’ (2016)
‘Google “LinkedIn Summary”- I Wrote That!’ (2016)
‘I Make People On LinkedIn Give A [bleep] About You’ (2017)
‘The reason I’m not smiling? I’ve seen too many awful LinkedIn profiles today’ (2018)
I tell my clients, if your name is the brand, your LinkedIn headline is the slogan. Creating a memorable and unique slogan that you love, identify with and your target audience responds to, is really, really difficult. But that shouldn’t stop you from trying. Right?
Copywriters know how to create great, clickworthy headlines because they follow the 4 U formula:
1. Urgent – you gotta get them to click, now, because they won’t click tomorrow.
2. Unique – if you’re the same as everyone else, why would they click?
3. Useful – they’ll only click if there’s something in it for them.
4. Ultra-specific – you gotta know your audience.
Here are 12 great examples of LinkedIn slogan headlines written with some of the 4 U’s in mind.
I wrote one of the above headlines, a free LinkedIn profile review to the first person who correctly guesses which one (andy@linkedinsights.com).
Here are 4 examples of LinkedIn staffer headlines (many LinkedIn employees use slogans). I’m not suggesting LinkedIn employees know something we don’t. But maybe?
I’d love to see more thought and action provoking slogans and fewer ‘meh’ multi-job descriptions. Strive to be rare and exceptional, don’t just follow the meandering herd. Your immediate goal on LinkedIn should always be to get people to click on your profile. If browsers don’t click on you, what is the point?
I hope this article makes you think. I hope it encourages you to get creative with your headline. I’d love to hear how your profile views doubled/tripled/quadrupled after you transformed your headline into a killer branding statement.
Could Your Profile Do With Some TLC (Transformative LinkedIn Consulting)?
I’ve worked with many smart and busy senior professionals all over the world, providing them with customized LinkedIn coaching. I can write your summary/headline and improve your entire profile. I can help you build a powerful LinkedIn presence and advise you on how to implement a strategy aligned with your professional goals. You never get a second chance to impress on LinkedIn.
Let’s discuss what you need and how I can help: andy@linkedinsights.com
My LinkedIn Profile (consulting menu and fees): https://www.linkedin.com/in/linkedinsights
LinkedIn has been disappointing of late. Several emails have been sent asking why I can’t recover my profile b/c they restricted my access due to repeated login attempts. They gave a date I could access it but they lied tsk.tsk.
Any competitors of LinkedIn out there?
No viable competitors as yet Gary. Sorry to hear about your troubles.
Three of those LI people don’t have a cover photo?
Correct.
BTW, I had a “piped” headline (but only 2 position descriptors).
Still, I changed it after reading this article.
Have a great weekend!
I saw that Rod – 10x better 🙂
Yours was Bruce Johnston’s? Very helpful article, thank you!
No, he wrote that all by himself. Thanks Jared 🙂
Great article! I need to work on my headline. I like the “Let’s go get your dream job”, might have to use that one or edit it slightly.
Thanks Victoria!
Andy
Great article. I would know that you did not write Bruce Johnstone’s because he definitely can do that on his own. I love Cindy Gallop’s headline (I connected with her because of it) but am guessing that she has enough creativity to that on her own as well. My guess is going to be Mary Rose McGuire.
Correct Patrick! But someone beat you to it, she guessed correctly very soon after I hit publish. Bruce and Cindy don’t need my help, for sure.
Sorry I didn’t see this when it first hit. Thanks for singling mine out. I’ve always tried to use that tagline area as a clear promise of what someone gets when they get me, but also a descriptor of what I do. Nice to see it’s useful to share! Thanks man!
My pleasure Jason, nicely done.
Another Spot-on article Andy!
Very insightful and easy to understand.
Thanks David.
A very insightful article, Andy. I love the 4 Us. Going to the drawing board again. Thank you.
Thanks Enrico!
I’m minded to agree with @GarySullivan at the top of these comments.
In a push to close the gap with whoever (Facebook, Google whatever) LinkedIn seems to have sacrificed some of what made it good.
Don’t know if they’re scraping for results or they’ve just opened the door to more (low quality) advertisers, but the last few months have really seen a nosedive.
As a result and swamped by lower quality agency ads, we’ve noticed a much lower CTR on our own paid for content.
You have made me think about mine and have now changed it from a piped headline to a slogan. I may need to work on it though…
Good stuff, as usual, Andy! The headline is a great place to tell your prospects what you do, who you do it for, and why that’s important to them. Ban Bland Headlines!
Hi Andy.
Thanks for spotlighting what is probably one of the most important elements of an LI profile.
I’m a copywriter and I admit to not using the 4 U’s formula to craft my profile’s headline.
BTW: What do you think about using emoji in the headline (as I do – http://in.linkedin.com/in/benedictpaulcopywriting)?