5 Tips to Writing a Compelling LinkedIn Summary

A compelling LinkedIn summary has the potential to really set your LinkedIn profile apart from your competition. Recently I have been spending a lot more time on LinkedIn, and I really like how they have stepped up to the plate and offered a great B2B social networking platform. That being said, I'm seeing a lot more marketing mistakes made by LinkedIn users than any other social networking website, starting with the "summary" or the biography you are allowed to write about yourself.

5 tips to writing a good LinkedIn Summary:

1. Write From the 1st Person - The biggest mistake I've seen is someone writing a company biography, rather than an actual self written, down-to-earth summary about themselves.

Keep in mind, your LinkedIn profile is promoting YOU as a profession, and your LinkedIn summary should be written as such.

2. Have a Format - A successful LinkedIn summary follows a very basic, three part format

First, introduce yourself and talk about who you are. Make people see you as an interesting person, not a faceless company. Talk about how you came to where you are today.

Secondly, talk about who THEY are, meaning who do you help? Write a description of who your target client is (subtly it key here).

Finally, finish by talking about what you offer. Don't give away everything here, just talk about what you mainly do, and how people can benefit from it. Finish off with a couple of forms of contact (like a phone number and email address) people can reach you on.

3. Multiple Businesses? Have a Different Structure - If you are involved in multiple things, use the same method as above but separate your businesses when you get to step two and three. A very basic, paragraph style layout is clutch.

Tips 4,5, and the complete article

Jerry Nihen is a Social Networking Consultant that has worked a wide variety of businesses and individuals that have launched successful social media strategies and campaigns.