You have 2000 characters to write a good introduction.  Keep in mind that only the top half or so is visible which means that you want to have the most important content at the beginning in order to motivate your audience to read further and start engaging with you brand.

In terms of you overall brand presence on LI (be it your company or personal brand), the profile summary is one of the prime real estate areas. Consisting of 2 000 characters, your summary is in all likelihood your most comprehensive and most often read bio on the internet.

Telling a story with your LinkedIn summary

Here you get to tell the story about yourself or your business in your own words, creating an impression about yourself or your company and your product offering.

Used strategically your summary can serve as an effective springboard to provide an impactful insight into your brand which grabs the attention of your target market and motivates them to interact further with your business.

We take a look at the top strategies in creating a LinkedIn summary which provides a strong first impression, inviting further interaction with your services and your brand.

Format your LinkedIn summary

Provide your information in 3 – 5 paragraphs.  This makes the information easy to digest and even scan.  It is also a good idea to break up this section with sub-headings.  In this way the reader is guided about the outline of the information and from there can decide if they want to read further.

This makes the reading experience much more accessible, inviting the reader to take a closer look and read further.

The first two sentences

You want your reader to immediately engage with your summary content.  This can be achieved in various ways by paying particular attention to the phrasing of the first couple of sentences.

This can be presented in various ways:

• You can pose a question which addresses challenges found in your particular industry and for which your service provides a solution.
• You may start with your experience and achievements in your particular field.
• Providing personal details such as your hobbies can provide insight into your personality as well as balance the serious wok related facts with a lighter side. On the other hand if your hobbies are of a more serious nature such as helping at the animal shelter, then this information can show you as a compassionate person which may be relevant in terms of your services.

Whatever you do, remember that you want to show potential customers that you have a relatable brand with their interests at heart.  For this reason, you need to show your brand’s competence, caring and commitment to your product offering, while demonstrating how your target market can benefit from your services.

Include Additional Media

Visual content plays a significant role in social media and this is true for the LinkedIn platform as well.  Including visual material such as a link to a YouTube video which profiles.

Other links to include can be links to articles on or by your company as well as any SlideShare presentations, especially those showing details of your company offering.

In this way you are able to provide additional information which goes beyond the prescribed 2 000 characters of the LinkedIn Summary.

White Space

Formatting your content so that there is white space between your paragraphs increases legibility and clarity of your content.  This also provides a sense of flow, making the summary accessible and easy to read.

How to begin

We often expect our first attempt to be a perfect, complete product.  Know that this is hardly, if ever the case.  The secret, however, is in the starting.

Create an outline of 4 – 5 key points and start writing information under each point.  This is your rough draft which can be edited and refined until it reflects your brand offering and accommodates the 2 000-word parameter of the summary.

And always keep in mind that your LinkedIn Summary, much like your business is a work in progress.  It is a dynamic entity which will need to be changed or tweaked as your business grows, as changes occur in the industry and on the LinkedIn platform itself.