The other day I was watching an episode of Friday Night Lights, which is one of my top 10 favorite television shows.
I noticed it as I was browsing Netflix for something to watch to kill some time over the weekend.
I haven't watched Friday Night Lights in years, and I highly recommend it.
It's so much more than a show about high school football.
Smash Williams was the focus of this episode.
He was hitting on a cute girl he knew from childhood who was back in town.
Smash is all about Smash.
Who else would give themself a nickname and call themselves Smash?
Remember when Muhammad Ali called himself "The Greatest" throughout his boxing career?
Smash is a mini-Ali.
He really wanted to go out with this girl, and he pressed hard.
Very hard.
He was relentless in his pursuit.
Finally, she gave in, and they went on a few dates.
On each date, Smash could only talk about football and how great he was.
She would try to talk about something else but the only thing he could talk about was football and himself.
She asked, "Do you ever talk about anything other than football or yourself?"
Smash responded, "I love to hear myself talk and I love football."
"That's all I know."
Did he really say that to her and expect her to want to continue dating him?
We've all met people like Smash.
"Me, me, me, me, me"
You meet someone at a networking event, or a conference and they can't stop telling you how wonderful they are.
You slowly back away to get away from these blowhards.
You know I see a lot of LinkedIn profiles every day.
Some good.
Most really bad.
A question that comes up frequently is…
…what do I consider a good LinkedIn profile?
I always ask, “What is your desired outcome on LinkedIn?”
Are you looking for a job?
Are you looking for clients?
When should your LinkedIn profile be all about you aka Smash?
I tell my clients your LinkedIn profile should be all about you and your accomplishments if you are looking for a job.
It's your online resume and it should be all about you and your accomplishments.
If you're looking for clients, your profile should be all about the clients you serve and the problems you solve for them.
Remember WIIFM?
What's in it for me?
Great copywriters always focus on WIIFM to grab attention and keep you reading their sales pitch.
The goal of a headline is to get them to read the sub-headline.
The goal of the sub-headline is to get you to read the next sentence.
And on and on until you come to the call to action where you buy their product or service.
How do I apply this concept to LinkedIn?
Your professional headline should be compelling enough to get them to stop scrolling.
We don't read online.
We skim until something grabs our attention.
Once they read your headline, they'll skim the About section.
Your goal is to keep them reading your profile, so they get to know, like, and trust you.
Think of your professional headline as the title of a book.
When a book title grabs someone's attention, they'll read the inside flap or the back cover of the book.
This is how the author convinces you to buy the book by telling a story about the book.
In your About section, you want to continue talking about the problem you can solve for them.
Tell them why you are passionate about what you do.
Tell them a story about how you struggled with the same problem.
Tell them about your breakthrough that helped you solve the problem for yourself.
Tell them about some success stories you had working with clients.
Tell them how you can help them and give them your contact information.
Make it really easy for them to get in touch with you or how to learn more from your website.
Doesn't that sound better than someone talking about how wonderful they are in their LinkedIn profile?
You can brag about yourself and your accomplishments in the Experience section.
This concept has been used in copywriting and direct marketing for over 100 years.
Why wouldn't you want to use a proven, successful concept to generate business for your business?
For some reason, other LinkedIn marketers aren't teaching their clients how to apply these proven marketing methods to LinkedIn profiles and to LinkedIn marketing.
The "spray and pray" method seems to be what people are teaching and LinkedIn users are getting tired of the relentless sales pitches.
I prefer to use proven marketing strategies and build long-term relationships.
What is your favorite LinkedIn strategy for attracting clients?
P.S. Smash didn't get the girl.