HOW TO CREATE YOUR LINKEDIN HEADLINE AS A SMALL BUSINESS

Struggling with your LinkedIn headline or not sure what a headline is? Make sure to read my tips below for some guidance for your LinkedIn profile as self-employed, freelance, or as a small business owner.

I have included lots of inspiration on giving your headline a make over, and loads of ideas to ensure you never get headline block or boredom!

What is a LinkedIn headline? 

The headline is the short intro text underneath your profile image that gives viewers a quick overview of your LinkedIn account and what you do. As you can see on my profile below highlighted section.

Your LinkedIn headline makes that all important first impression, peaks interest from interesting profiles, and makes you stand out for what you do!

You already have a headline given to you by LinkedIn when you created your account, can you adapt this?

Yes, you can indeed! The default headline on your profile is [Job Title] at [Company] This might be fine for some, but there’s so much more you can do in this space as a small business, freelancer, or self employed.

In fact, your headline is a PRIME piece of your profile! It gets seen SO much when you interact on LinkedIn. 

Check out the list of areas where your headline is visible:

• Profile views
• News feed
• Activity section
• Articles
• Invitation requests section
• Connections list
• ‘People You May Know’ section
• In groups
• Heading of a direct message conversation

As you can tell, the headline goes everywhere you go, so it's worth personalising it for your business.

How many characters do you get for your headline?

You now get 220 characters for your headline (was 120).  Advise to test out/draft in Word and save the file/versions adapted. 

There have been a few terrible moments when the “perfect” headlines are created and lost due to wonky wifi!

Remember that using emojis in your headline will count for 1-3 characters depending on the emoji/emoticon used!

Tip for activating the emoji picker on desktop: Hold down “Windows Key” and press the full stop key. At the bottom you will see a range of categories and the first one is the most recently used tab which is very handy and time saving.

Need help with LinkedIn images? Read my helpful blog here

What can you include in your LinkedIn headline? 

• Describing what you do and who you help
• Some personal branding to show personality
• Values you apply to your life and/or business
• A question to get people thinking about your product or service
• A lead magnet with the instructions or benefits listed
• Social proof, maybe number of members or users of your product
• Promoting a specific item from your range of services eg membership club or particular package
• Speaking directly to ideal client situation and their pain-points

How to write your LinkedIn headline? A good way to get thinking about the content for your headline is to ask yourself the following questions and do a "mind shower":

• What do people say when they work with me?
• How do I make people feel?
• What do I achieve for my clients?
• What’s my likes/dislikes personally and professionally?
• What are the key words for my profile? 

Key words are important to make sure you appear in LinkedIn searches so the right profiles can find you! Key words are also important in terms of SEO when people are searching for your services on Google. Be sure to include them in your Experience Entry and other areas of your profile!

Are you self-employed? Read about how to set up your Experience Section on LinkedIn properly.

Other ideas for LinkedIn headlines for people who want to make their profile more interesting or different:

• LinkedIn Recommendation
• Conversation starters
• Business tip or some value
• A product review
• A recent qualification or licence
• Personality traits if linked to type of work

Top Tips for LinkedIn Headlines

• Include what you do clearly, who you are targeting so it speaks out to them, include a little of your personality and branding and don’t forget those key words!
• Change it up every once in a while to suit your current goals
• There are TONS of different headlines to use including: asking a question, free downloads, call to action, promoting current project, using a review, value based, results, personal feel, or just a straight talking job role!
• Try out different headlines and see what resonates! You might get comments about your headline, Direct Messages enquiring about what you do, check your profile views for interesting people and so on. It's amazing how a headline can attract the right profiles...

Some great examples of creative, professional and personable LinkedIn headlines for you to check out...

What do you like about these examples of Headlines?

What LinkedIn profile headline could you create to show your worth and individuality for your business or freelance work?

Want more help? Set up a 15 minute call with me to see what you need here - see you soon!

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