What would you like people to do after reading your LinkedIn profile?  

contact meMost people answer call me, email me, or send me a LinkedIn connection request.  I wholeheartedly agree that these would be some of the very best action steps a reader could take.

But what if the reader is not quite ready to take that big step? What if he needs more information about you, your company, or your products/services before he picks up the phone or reaches out to you with an email? 

This is where calls to action (CTAs) come in.  What is a CTA? Wikipedia says this: 

"A call to action, or CTA, is a term used to describe a banner, button, or some type of graphic or text on a website meant to prompt a user to click it and continue down a conversion funnel."

Hubspot, recognized as one of the world's leaders in designing websites that concentrate on lead generation and inbound marketing, says, "Calls to action (CTAs) are one of the key lead generation elements, and they should be used in each and every one of your marketing tactics: emails, social media updates, press releases, trade shows..."  

What actions might you call people to take?

  • Download an informational document
  • Watch a video 
  • Go to your website
  • Listen to a podcast
  • Read a product review
  • Request a quote
  • Read your blog

How can you incorporate calls to action in your LinkedIn profile?

Your LinkedIn profile needs to have several CTAs to help move your reader down the conversion funnel and closer to that all-important step of contacting you. 

The best places on your profile (in addition to your Contact section, of course) to include your CTAs are:

  • Headline
  • Summary
  • Websites
  • Projects

  • Publications
  • Applications

    • SlideShare
    • Box.net files
    • Creative Portfolio Display
    • WordPress
    • Bloglink
Here is an example of a CTA I have included in the Summary section of my LinkedIn profile. For examples of other great places to include CTAs (websites, publications, other applications), check out my full LinkedIn profile.

cta



To learn more ways to effectively use CTAs, download these free Hubspot ebooks:

101 Examples of Effective Calls-To-Action
The Step-By-Step Guide to Mastering the Design & Copy of Calls-To-Action

And for a deeper dive on the whole topic of inbound marketing, I highly recommend the groundbreaking book by Hubspot's founders, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, "Inbound Marketing: Getting found using Google, Social Media and Blogs."