Just for a second, let’s think about the mindset people are in when they are scrolling the pages of LinkedIn. Unlike a website visit which is usually very high intent, people on LinkedIn are not looking to spend money or book a service there and then. 

Your potential clients and customers aren’t ready yet and are probably on LinkedIn during a cheeky tea break or looking for something to brighten their otherwise fairly boring day. Their intent levels are very low.

So, getting someone to your profile in the first place is a very big deal and something you shouldn’t undervalue. It means something you’re doing might be working. The issue comes when they land and don’t get what they need immediately. 

In less than 2 seconds in fact.

Your LinkedIn Banner

If I had a pound for every time someone comes to us for support and the banner space on their profile is either:

A. Missing

B. A picture of an irrelevant landscape

I’d be visiting the Lego shop every week rather than every fortnight.

This is prime real estate that LinkedIn gives you for free. A billboard for you to shout about the problems you solve, and the solutions you provide. It should literally punch someone in the face the moment they land, confirming that they are indeed, in the right place.

To leave it empty should be a criminal offence. 

When it comes to the banner design, we suggest ensuring it matches your other touchpoints (website, other social channels) and remains brand-consistent. The colour palette, fonts, and messaging all need to match so that as your target clients bounce around the web, they always know they are in the right place. 

As far as the wording, this should be your 6-8-word elevator pitch (more on that in a second). Any more and people get bored, plus it will be too small to read on a mobile device. 

Ensure the messaging is prominent and the brand is secondary. At this stage, no one cares about your business name or your fancy logo, they only care about how you can improve their lives. 

Lastly, make sure your key message is to the right of the banner space and not central. This is so that on a mobile device, it can still be seen in full. 

Your LinkedIn Headline

Remember 30 seconds ago I spoke about your elevator pitch? Well, your LinkedIn headline should start with exactly that. Not CEO of this or MD of that. As I will say a million times in this blog, no one cares about your over-inflated title at this stage. They only care if you can change their world. 

Think about the biggest and most pressing questions currently being asked by your target audience. For us, the question all business owners not using LinkedIn are asking is “How do I make money using LinkedIn?”

This means I have to address that in the first 8 words of my headline, which says:

“Turn LinkedIn into your greatest revenue source.”

Play around with this and try to sum up your offering and the relevance to the people you serve in 8 words or less. After that, you can bulk out your headline with additional fluff that validates your offering and authority in the space. Have a look at mine here for reference. 

Your LinkedIn About Section

If someone gets this far down the profile, they are fairly high intent. That said, your LinkedIn About section can easily turn someone off if it starts in the wrong way. 

Let’s have a think once again about why people are here. They have a need, you’ve driven them to the profile through your content strategy or because they found you in the search function and now they need to find their answers quickly.

The banner kept them interested and the headline bought you a few more seconds but now the About section has to seal the deal. So what should you not start this part of the profile with??

That’s right. Your life story. 

No one cares. 

The first part of this section needs to clearly address the people you work with, and the people you are hoping to work with. In my case, that is big agencies and business owners. Both of these are addressed in the first 2 lines of my About section. 

Do this, and at least your target buyers know very quickly that they are in the right place and that they should read on. But remember, these people are time-poor and have already given your profile more seconds than they have. 

The next part should be a list of the key services and the benefit to the end user. A list gives a potential client an opportunity to skip the fluff and get straight down to business. It allows them to scan, take the information and make a decision. 

Use a clear bullet point or even an emoji to draw attention to your list. 

Lastly, you should tell your personal story. This will act as the authority piece, connecting you with the audience and confirming your authority in the space. If people get this far down the profile, there is a good chance that this piece of writing will be the clincher. 

So there you have it. 3 areas of your LinkedIn profile that make the biggest difference if completed correctly. 

Have a go and if you’d like to work with me on a 1:1 basis to really bring your LinkedIn to life, hit the button below and let’s have a chinwag. 

Stay Unconventionall.