Your LinkedIn headline is the MOST critical part of your profile because, along with your name and profile photo, it is the first thing people see when they find you in search results on LinkedIn and Google or visit your profile.

Spend the time to customize your LinkedIn headline like I did in the example here. Otherwise LinkedIn will pull in your current job title as your headline, and I know you can do better than that.

On Google, people search for information, whereas on LinkedIn, they search for a person, underscoring the importance of your headline.

Your headline is the bait to garner interest in you. The role of your LinkedIn headline is to create curiosity and interest in your profile, so a viewer is interested in learning more about you and your background.

If your headline isn’t doing that, then you are losing opportunities for effectively branding yourself and potential new business and referrals. Plus it costs nothing to do this!

The overall purpose of your LinkedIn headline is to tell everyone on LinkedIn who you are, what you do, and why you’re someone they need to connect with.

For SEO purposes, include the keywords for which you want to be found in your LinkedIn headline.

Always be client centric in crafting your headline. Speak the language of your target clients and prospects and use terms they might use in their searches. By doing this your headline and profile has a much higher chance of resonating with your ideal clients, and you will make it easier for them to find you in searches.

You have only 120 characters to write your LinkedIn headline, so it is vital to maximize each one. You should use as many characters as you can to increase the opportunity to be found and to have a headline that resonates with your ideal clients.

A final word to the wise, while you want to highlight your strengths and uniqueness in your LinkedIn headline, be careful to not sound too boastful in it or you can turn people off. I recommend steering clear of calling yourself an “expert” or “renowned” or “award winning” – let your professional background and achievements speak for themselves.

If you are in sales, you also don’t want to come across too salesy. Make sure you aren’t overly trying to close the deal in the headline. Let your accomplishments shine through without going overboard.

It is well worth your time to invest in crafting a strategic LinkedIn headline – do it today!

In this video I talk about the importance of customizing your LinkedIn headline.

Generation Z

The marketing industry has been hyper focused on Millennials for the past two decades, but they have already peaked as a percentage of the adult population, making up just over 40% of the global population. By 2030 this percentage is expected to drop to just under 37% as Generation Z starts to come of age.

Generation Z consists of people who were born from 1995 to 2010. These individuals have grown up in a digital world and have very different viewpoints than generations that came before them. They’re also more diverse than any other generation in history.

A more diverse audience can make content marketing challenging, but it also opens up more opportunities to reach different segments of that audience through personalization.

These consumers are more aware than ever before of the effects of their buying habits on the environment and society. People are taking more care over the products they choose to buy and the brands with which they choose to associate. Responsible consumerism and corporate social responsibility must be built into your marketing strategy.

If you’ve been focusing your marketing strategy on Millennials, it is time to take a step back and come up with some new ideas for reaching the workforce and decision makers of tomorrow.

While social media isn’t a place to be overly salesy, it is a marketing channel and you shouldn’t ignore the opportunity to use it to help you make sales as well as of course to stay top of mind with your target audiences.

Sponsored info on timelines, videos with CTAs, cross-channel retargeting and shoppable posts are the mainstay of social media.

You can get a lot of value for your dollar with social media advertising.

Your business, regardless of size or budget, has an opportunity to grow its audience and reach its objectives through ads on social platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

It’s not always easy to measure ROI when it comes to social media advertising success. Social media can indirectly influence and confirm buying decisions, making it harder to track than other kinds of advertising.

Most consumers say it takes many touch points in their customer journey before a purchase. A lot of those are undoubtedly on social media and online review sites, but customers aren’t necessarily citing those when they walk into a business as the last touchpoint that led them to make the ultimate buying decision – but this does underscore the importance of using social media.

When building an ad campaign, know who you’re trying to reach and what goal you want to achieve so you don’t waste any your budget on ineffective advertising. Avoid overly salesy ads, and opt for content that educates or engages.

There are many different kinds of social media ads on each of the platforms – do research first to determine which one (or ones) would work best for your company.

But remember: you don’t have to do everything especially all at once. Dip your toes by starting with one form of advertising and track its results so that you can spend your money wisely.

Facebook-logo-500x350

Let’s start with one simple fact: your business needs a social media presence.

It doesn’t matter if you run a small local company or a big national organization. Social media is an essential piece of your business marketing strategy.

Social platforms help you connect with your customers, increase awareness about your brand, and boost your leads and sales. With more than three billion people around the world using social media every month, the users and engagement on major platforms just keep increasing.

There are a lot of social platforms from which to choose.

Facebook is an important social media network to include in your marketing strategy because it has billions of users around the world.

Around 2.5 billion people use Facebook every month to connect with friends and family and to follow brands and other companies.

As a result, with so many people on Facebook, it’s not hard to find new customers/clients and build long-lasting relationships. In addition, Facebook’s ad formats and Pages are designed to capture attention and prompt action. They offer creative flexibility, work across devices and are built to help businesses reach their relevant goals.

I also like the informality of Facebook coupled with regular LinkedIn use, especially for B2B companies. What I mean by that is that Facebook is a great place to build relationships with people you already know. It’s also a place where you should talk about what you do in laypeople’s terms because people like to refer business to people they know and like.

Many individuals don’t talk about what they do on their personal social media networks and that’s a missed opportunity. While you don’t want to talk shop, be formal or brag about your successes, there is a way to highlight what you do in a genuine way.

I know many of you tell your family and friends that you’re a lawyer but you don’t elaborate on what exactly you do. And while you don’t need to get into the specifics of your debt financing or mortgage-backed securities experience, you can instead talk about it in terms of your passion for what you do. That may very well lead to your loved ones and friends thinking of you for future work.

Between event and thought leadership posts, profiles, animations, GIFs, memes, Facebook Live and more, a Facebook content strategy has to be carefully thought-out and executed.

What message do your customers/clients want to see, how are they going to identify with your brand, and what will get them to click on your post or comment on it to start a conversation? That’s what should be at the heart of your social media strategy.

In this installment of the Women Who Wow series, learn more about Gina Rubel, the Founder and CEO of Furia Rubel Communications, Inc., a company that provides strategic and integrated marketing and public relations services.

Why did you choose your profession?

The legal industry and communications are in my blood.

I am a proud third-generation lawyer. My grandfather, who graduated from University of Pennsylvania School of Law in 1930, practiced law until 1971 when he became the first Italian-American U.S. Magistrate for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In 1971, my father took over his father’s law practice. Fast-forward to 1994, when I earned my J.D. We were taught little about business management or communications. Professors focused on substance and style, not the practice of law. We graduated without knowing how to establish, grow, promote, manage, lead or sustain a law practice. Fortunately, as an undergraduate student at Drexel University in Philadelphia, I was a corporate communications major with an international business concentration. I had a solid foundation in business communications and strategies.

Like my father and grandfather, I began my relationship development efforts with networking and service, even before I passed the bar exam. Thereafter, I was elected to serve on the Philadelphia Bar Association’s executive committee of the Young Lawyers’ Division. Fifteen years later, I was elected to the board of governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association for which I have also chaired various committees. In 2019, I established the association’s first-ever Law Firm Risk Management Committee, which I continue to co-chair with Mark McCreary of Fox Rothschild LLP.

I have made it my professional mission to assist lawyers who similarly realize that the competitive local, national, and international legal markets require strategic planning and careful execution of communications and business development tactics to acquire and retain clients. My extensive knowledge of the industry led me to publish the first edition of my book “Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers” in 2007 and the second edition which was released in 2019. Purchase the book here.

What does Women’s History Month mean to you?

Women’s History Month is a reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we still need to go. It is a reminder that we all need to do our part to support the success of women in every profession.

Women make history every day. Deborah Willig, for one, was the female Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association in 1992. She shattered the glass ceiling and set the stage for women as leaders in the legal profession. Jennifer Welter became the first woman coach in the NFL in 2015 and Patty Jenkins, became the first female director of a full-length superhero action film in 2017. In 2018, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim women elected to Congress. In July 2020, Erika James was appointed dean of University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School marking their first woman and person of color to lead the institution in its 139-year history. All women have the power to make history and pave the way for others.

I look forward to a day when women’s “firsts” will not be news, but instead commonplace. Until then, it is up to us as women to continue to make history each day and be examples for the young women and girls who will grow up in the world we help to shape.

What advice would you give to women in your field?

I suggest to all women to lead by example, not be afraid to take risks, conquer fears of imposter syndrome, and lift other women up along the way.

Each one of us can make a commitment to a small change every day in our organizations, industries, homes, and communities, that supports other women and makes way for new opportunities. Imagine the ripple effect we can continue to create and the doors we will open.

5BBD0365-278E-49C1-9584-C11D8D84160A

This is a guest post by Joshua Baron, a lawyer in private practice in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Messaging is the best and most underutilized tool on LinkedIn.

I used to reject connection requests if I didn’t know the person.

Then COVID happened and I had to stop going to lunch with other lawyers. Other lawyers give me 90% of my referrals.

I started accepting those random connection requests. But instead of just clicking “accept,” I strike up a conversation and try to get to know the person.

I ask them about the cool experiences on their resume or the projects they’re working on or their goals for the year.

Nothing is better than face-to-face. But I find that the more conversations I have, the more people I know. And the more people I help, the better my business does.

So try using messenger. Not to send an automated sales pitch. But to start a conversation. You’ll enjoy LinkedIn more and you’ll actually have more meaningful connections.

Most of my posts on LinkedIn provide advice on how to build your brand and your business using social media and marketing tools. But the most important posts are those on days like today, Martin Luther King Day, where we can use our platforms to raise awareness on important issues and do good for our community.

Today is the day to reflect on what we can do to continue to promote diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. We need to do better. We need the wise words and teachings of Dr. King more than ever right now.

If your company doesn’t know where to start in wanting to launch a diversity training program, I have a solution for you.

A couple of years ago I met Paula Edgar, Esq. at a New York City Bar Association conference at which we both spoke. I was stopped in my tracks by her powerful message and delivery. If you are looking for a diversity trainer, Paula is the person for your organization.

I am here to listen and learn with an open heart. And also to use my platform to help in anyway I can not just today but every day. And you should too.

Here’s a video where I talk about how to use your platform for good.

Do more than talk about diversity and inclusion efforts. Put a program in place.

Learn more about Paula.

This is a guest post by Josh Baron, an attorney in Salt Lake City on the importance of networking and referrals, and never knowing how or where you will meet someone who can change your life. It underscores the importance of saying yes more.

I met my wife through a referral.

I called my friend Tracie and asked her if she had any friends she wanted to introduce me to. We were talking on the phone, but I could feel her roll her eyes.

“Come to this birthday party I’m throwing this weekend,” she said.

The party felt like a mistake. I didn’t know anyone there. “Let me talk to that girl across the room and then we can go,” I said to my roommate who had been dragged along unwillingly.

We talked for more than three hours. Less than eight months later we were married.

My life would be very different without referrals.