Is your LinkedIn Profile Audience Centric?
LinkedIn Training with Linda Huckle
Written By Linda Huckle
Published on February 8, 2021
Category: Marketing 101

Whenever you do anything in LinkedIn – writing your profile, creating content, engaging in posts – it is essential to have your AUDIENCE at the centre. Your AUDIENCE are those who you want to hear your message, who you want to be visible to. Not just those who are your clients, prospects and leads, but those who are or will become your ADVOCATES. They need to know who you are first! Your LinkedIn Profile is divided into different sections and each one has a specific purpose. In this article, we are focussing on the ABOUT section which is the primary place for you to ‘talk’ to your AUDIENCE, to share your story, help them to get to know you and it is an important ‘Touchpoint’ in their customer journey. You have up to 2600 characters in the ABOUT section – that’s about 7 or 8 short paragraphs.  Make it count, make it real and make it Audience Centric.

Here are my top tips to help your ABOUT SECTION stand out from the crowd:

APPEAL:

  • Start with a ‘Hook’ – the first sentence should encourage your Audience to read more about you.
  • Only the first 2 lines of your About section are immediately visible when viewing your Profile – the rest can be uncovered by clicking the See more… This is why you need a strong Curiosity statement to capture their attention.

Ways you can do this are to include:

  • A Fact that will resonates
  • A ‘Pain Point’, Problem, Fear or Challenge that your Audience will identify with and that you help to solve
  • A Statistic – something to shock or inform – to make your audience sit up and take notice
  • A Quote – with an immediate impact

 

AUTHENTIC

  • Be real, write in natural, everyday language and in the ‘first person’ (I am, not Linda is)
  • Show empathy with your reader, acknowledge their challenges
  • Tell your story of why you do what you do, what is important to you, what are your values, tell them how you integrate these into your business – demonstrate how you live and breathe your values.
  • Be proud of who you are and what you’ve achieved – what do you really love about the work that you do and how you help solve their challenges?
  • Be Honest – and don’t be afraid to show some vulnerability. People buy from People – be human, be real.

AUTHORITY

  • Include a brief glimpse into your journey – how did you get to where you are now?
  • What experiences have you had that have given you the expertise to be where you are now?
  • Do you have any Awards, Professional Qualifications, Course Completions that give you the credibility in your area of expertise? What are they and how do they add value to your Audience?

ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Share and be proud of your ACHIEVEMENTS – how have you made a difference?
  • Encourage Audience confidence in you by sharing one or two real examples but keep them focused on client results. Help them to get to know you and pique their curiosity.
  • You could include a snippet of wording from one of your LinkedIn Recommendations – an example of how you have made a difference – to add to your social proof.

 

Call to ACTION

  • What do you want people to do after reading your ABOUT section? Do you want them to Connect with you? To View Your Website? To watch your YouTube Channel? Read your Blog?
  • Whatever your Call to Action is, ensure you include the relevant links so that your reader can find what you are referring to.
  • I see so many people including a Call to Action such as: “To find out more, please view my website” – but then they do not include the URL.
  • One thing to be aware of is that the LinkedIn Desktop version does not have clickable links but the LinkedIn Mobile App does – as long as you include the https:// at the start of the URL.
  • Make sure you include a way of contacting you to save them having to search for them. I include my Email address, Website and Phone Number within my ABOUT section and include appropriate pictorial symbols (emoji’s) so that my Audience can easily see how to get in touch.

You are welcome to visit my LinkedIn Profile and to copy and paste the symbols I use: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindahuckle/

ALGORITHM

  • Integrate the keywords/phrases that people use when searching for your business type – not as a bulleted list but as part of the prose. The Algorithms in LinkedIn will not list you in search results if you don’t include the words that people use to find you.
  • LinkedIn Profiles are also searchable on search engines, (Google, Bing etc) as long as you have your Public Profile set to visible.

ATTRACT and RETAIN INTEREST

  • Keep it Simple – tell just enough about you to appeal to your audience
  • Make it easy to read and absorb. Keep your paragraphs short – two or three sentences are much easier to read and retain attention than being faced with a wall of text.
  • Include relevant symbols or emojis as bullet points to draw attention to key points
  • Avoid stagnation and keep it fresh – your LinkedIn Profile is not set in stone, add to it, change it, share some up to date news. Make a diary note to review and update your ABOUT section once every couple of months. Even just a couple of tweaks will help.

 

Need some help?

  • If you find writing about yourself difficult, a good way to approach this is to imagine someone is sitting opposite you – what language will you express yourself in?
  • Once you’ve written your ABOUT section, apply the ‘So What’ If you were to read your profile, how would it make you feel? Is there an emotional reaction, does it resonate with you, would you want to find out more?

Have in the back of your mind this quote from Maya Angelou: “It’s not what you say, not what you do, but how you make people feel that makes the difference” Or, think of the Funboy Three (that’s a blast from the past!): “It ain’t what you do it’s the way that you do it – and that’s what gets results” -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o Follow this guidance as you write your ABOUT SECTION stand out and enhance your APPEAL to your AUDIENCE so that they are encouraged to connect with you, engage with you and communicate with you.

Free Resources Access the Key to LinkedIn Resource Hub and download my LinkedIn Profile Fact List© – for up to date character counts and dimensions. You’ll see plenty more free resources there – feel free to visit and download what you need.

Need more help? Imagine having a clear understanding and strategy to leverage the largest business networking platform in the world. What difference would this make to your business and to your life?

  • Do you know that you need some help with your LinkedIn presence, strategy and/or activity but you’re wondering how it fits into your wider marketing strategy and business?
  • Are you stuck, wanting to create a LinkedIn Profile and Presence where you can develop your own community of introducers, advocates and prospective clients, but not sure what to do next?
  • Maybe you’re overwhelmed with all the options, variables and etiquette and need someone to guide you through?

If you answered YES to any of the above, let me take your hand and help you to plan your LinkedIn strategy, choose your next important steps AND build confidence in LinkedIn too!

To take advantage of my exclusive LinkedIn training packages and discounts in partnership with Sanzen Digital  – all you need to do is to drop the code word Sanzen.

Schedule a free call with Linda to find out more

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