When was the last time you looked at your LinkedIn profile through the eyes of a potential customer? 👀

Not a recruiter.

Not an old colleague.

Not someone who already knows you.

A complete stranger who might want to do business with you.

Open your LinkedIn profile and look at your headline.

Does it simply say:

CEO | Founder | Director

There's nothing wrong with those titles. But here's the problem:

🤔 They tell people who you are — not necessarily what you do.

And when someone lands on your profile for the first time, making them work out what your business actually does can be a missed opportunity.

👀 Try the 5-Second LinkedIn Test

Open your LinkedIn profile and imagine you've never seen it before.

Give yourself five seconds.

Can you quickly answer:

🎯 What does this person do?
👥 Who do they help?
💡 What type of problem can they solve?

If the answer isn't obvious, your headline might need some work.

For example:

❌ Managing Director at ABC Ltd

That tells us your position.

But compare it with something more descriptive:

✅ Helping UK Restaurants Attract More Customers | Digital Marketing & Social Media

Now there's context.

You know the audience.

You know what they do.

You understand why you might want to continue reading.

🧠 Your LinkedIn Headline Is Valuable Space

Your headline sits prominently near the top of your profile and can appear alongside your name in different parts of LinkedIn.

So don't automatically treat it as somewhere to repeat the job title that's already on your profile.

Think about what a potential customer might actually want to know.

Instead of only:

“Who am I?”

Consider:

“Why might someone want to know me?”

That's a very different way of writing your profile.

🎯 Start With What You Actually Do

Try explaining your business in simple language.

Avoid making your headline a collection of impressive-sounding words that don't actually tell anyone anything.

For example:

❌ Entrepreneur | Visionary | Innovator | Leader

It might sound impressive.

But what do you actually sell? 🤷

A clearer alternative might be:

✅ Commercial Finance for UK Businesses | Helping Companies Access Funding

or:

✅ Website Designer | Building Websites for Small UK Businesses

or:

✅ Wedding Photographer | Capturing Weddings Across London & the South East

Clarity usually beats trying to sound clever.

👥 Who Do You Help?

If your business serves a particular type of customer, consider making that clear too.

For example:

Accountant

could become:

Accountant Helping Small Businesses Manage Tax & Finance

Or:

Marketing Consultant

could become:

Helping Independent Restaurants Grow Through Digital Marketing

Now someone from that target audience can immediately recognise:

👀 “This person works with businesses like mine.”

That's useful.

💡 Focus on the Customer, Not Just Yourself

There's a common theme across many business profiles:

“I am…”

“I have…”

“I specialise…”

“I founded…”

There's nothing wrong with explaining your experience.

But remember who you're hoping will read the profile.

Your potential customer.

They may be thinking:

🤔 Can this person help me?

💷 Can they solve my problem?

⭐ Can I trust them?

🎯 Do they work with businesses like mine?

Your profile should help answer those questions.

🚫 Don't Turn Your Headline Into Keyword Soup

There is another extreme.

Some profiles try to squeeze absolutely everything into the headline:

CEO | Founder | Entrepreneur | Marketing | SEO | PPC | Websites | AI | Growth | Sales | Consultant | Speaker | Mentor

😵💫

Now it's difficult to understand what the person actually wants to be known for.

You don't have to mention every skill, service or achievement.

Focus on the main thing you want the right people to understand.

Clear beats cluttered.

📸 Your Headline Isn't the Only Thing to Check

Once you've fixed your headline, look at the rest of your profile.

Does everything tell the same story?

Check your:

📸 Profile photo — professional and recognisable?

🖼️ Banner — does it reinforce what you do?

📝 About section — does it explain how you help?

💼 Experience — is your current business information accurate?

⭐ Proof — can visitors see relevant experience, work or recommendations?

🔗 Links — can people easily find the next step where available?

Your LinkedIn profile should work as one connected journey.

✍️ Don't Forget Your About Section

Once your headline has captured someone's interest, your About section gives you more room to explain.

You don't need to write your autobiography.

Keep it useful.

A simple structure could be:

👋 Who you help

🎯 What problem you solve

🛠️ How you help

⭐ Why someone should trust you

📩 What they should do next

Make it easy to scan.

Most people don't want to fight through a huge wall of corporate text.

📱 Your Content Matters Too

Imagine someone discovers one of your LinkedIn posts.

They like what you said.

They click your name.

Now they're looking at your profile. 👀

This is where your content and profile should work together.

Your posts demonstrate what you know.

Your profile explains what you do.

Your experience provides context.

Your next step tells them where to go.

Think of the journey as:

📱 Post → 👤 Profile → ⭐ Trust → 💬 Conversation

That's much more powerful than treating every LinkedIn post as an isolated piece of content.

🔥 You Don't Need to Sell in Every Post

LinkedIn doesn't need to become:

BUY FROM ME!

BOOK A CALL!

SPECIAL OFFER!

every day. 😅

Share useful information.

Teach something.

Give your opinion based on your professional experience.

Answer questions.

Show projects.

Share lessons.

Discuss problems your customers regularly face.

The goal is to give people reasons to understand what you know and what your business does.

Then, when they're interested enough to visit your profile, make sure your profile continues that story.

🧪 Try This LinkedIn Exercise Today

Take five minutes and do this:

1️⃣ Open your LinkedIn profile

2️⃣ Cover your name and company name

3️⃣ Read only your headline

Now ask:

Would a stranger understand what I actually do?

Then check:

✅ What do I do?

✅ Who do I help?

✅ Is it easy to understand?

✅ Does it sound like a human wrote it?

✅ Does it match what my business currently offers?

If not, rewrite it.

You don't need something complicated.

You need something clear.

💥 Your Job Title Isn't Your Marketing Message

Being a CEO, Founder or Managing Director can absolutely be relevant.

But those titles alone don't necessarily explain why a potential customer should explore your profile.

Think beyond your position.

Think about the person reading it.

What do they need to understand?

What problem are they trying to solve?

Why might your experience or business be relevant to them?

🎯 Your job title tells people who you are.

💡 Your headline can tell them why they should care.

🚀 Build a Stronger LinkedIn Presence

LinkedIn can be much more than an online CV.

For business owners, it can become part of your wider digital presence — helping potential customers discover your expertise, understand your business and learn more about what you offer.

At Page Crowd, we help businesses create consistent social media content and build a stronger presence across the platforms that matter to them.

📲 Need help managing your business social media? Contact Page Crowd today.

🔥 Remember:

Don't make people work out what you do. Make it obvious.