From the information in our previous blog post, you should have produced the beginnings of a successful LinkedIn profile, but one of the key elements of this your bio. Your bio is probably the most important part of your profile and is a key way to target your desired audience.

As the internet, and especially social networks, are saturated with information and of course words, a short and concise bio has become something of a necessity for the ever informationally fatigued internet user. The bio is a quick way to tell people who you are and what you do.

As your social networks are now an essential part of your business and marketing campaign, writing a bio is a really good way to get your message across. All your networks have a bio of varying lengths, the longest being LinkedIn and the shortest, Twitter.

Here are essential tips for creating a LinkedIn bio that you can be proud of!

Why are you writing?
Identify your purpose, and ask yourself why you are writing it. Consider who will read it and take time to contemplate readers and what you want them to think about you. There are numerous different bios, for all kinds of different individuals of different industries, from freelancers looking for work, to bios that entertain friends, so consider what you need yours to do, and work at it from that specific angle.

“Claire has studied at university”
Your bio should seem to be objective, even though everyone is aware that it isn’t. Instead of writing in the first person, address the bio in third person to sound professional and always keep your audience in mind when writing.

Use your name!
Act as if you are introducing someone to someone else and use your name from the start, preferably in the first sentence so that from the start the reader knows what is being talked about.

Business accolades
Early on in your bio, include your occupation and your accomplishments. You need to hook the reader from the start in the same was as a CV. Mention what your position is “open market sales person” and that you have “increased sales by 200%” this is good reading for clients and potential employees.

Your personality is important!
Include the unexpected, you are more than just your profession, so include a little about you, whether it is a sample of your sense of humour or something interesting about yourself that you think people will want to know, this can make you seem more approachable. A trick often employed by LinkedIn users is to make the last sentence humorous for example “and in her spare time, Claire really enjoys writing about herself in the third person”.

Call me?
Once your bio is finish, consider including some form of contact details, or a link to an area with all your contact details.

Proofread!
Once you have written something and read it over millions of times, you can get detached from what is written, to what you think is written. This is why you should get a friend or family member to check through your bio to make sure it’s perfect. Modify and edit your bio on a regular basis, to update your experience and keep it fresh.

Now get writing your bio like a professional! We would love to see your attempts, so post what you have written below, and we can give you a helping hand…