LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million users worldwide. As a platform primarily focused on professional networking and career development, LinkedIn offers users the ability to showcase their skills, establish connections, join groups, and discover job and business opportunities.
One of LinkedIn’s premium features is the ability for users and companies to add custom buttons to their profiles. These buttons allow you to drive traffic and engage your audience by redirecting visitors to external sites or pages.
Adding a custom button is only available to LinkedIn Premium subscribers. This opens up greater customization and promotional capabilities for individuals, businesses, and organizations looking to maximize their presence and connections on the platform.
What is a Custom Button?
A custom button is an interactive call-to-action button that can be added to your LinkedIn profile to redirect visitors to a destination of your choosing.
With a premium LinkedIn account, you can add up to three custom buttons to your profile. These buttons appear in a prominent position on your profile – either in the top card area beside your profile photo or in the about section.
When visitors click on your custom button, they will be redirected away from LinkedIn to the URL of your choosing. This allows you to effectively drive traffic to your website, blog, online store, or any other external page.
Types of Custom Buttons
There are two main types of custom buttons available on LinkedIn:
External URL Button: This button redirects visitors to any outside URL such as your company website, online portfolio, blog, or online store.
Internal Profile Button: This button redirects visitors to a different section within your LinkedIn profile such as your posts, media, recommendations, or contact info.
So in summary, external URL buttons drive traffic off of LinkedIn while internal profile buttons engage visitors further within your LinkedIn ecosystem.
Custom Button Specifications
Here are the key specifications and guidelines for LinkedIn custom buttons:
- Up to 3 custom buttons can be added
- Button text can be up to 20 characters
- Only Premium Business, Sales Navigator, and Job Seeker subscribers can add custom buttons
- Buttons will appear above your About section or beside your profile photo
- Buttons can redirect to internal LinkedIn content or external sites
- Buttons cannot be animated or contain external logos
- Buttons may be subject to LinkedIn approval and editing
It’s important to follow these guidelines to ensure your custom buttons are configured properly and appear as intended.
Benefits of Custom Buttons
Here are some of the key benefits that LinkedIn Premium subscribers can achieve by adding custom buttons:
Drive Traffic to External Sites
The primary benefit of custom buttons is the ability to drive visitors from your LinkedIn presence to any external site. This allows you to promote your business, blog, portfolio etc. and build traffic.
Promote Branding
Custom buttons allow you to reinforce your brand identity and messaging through the button text and destination site.
Highlight Call-to-Actions
Bring attention to specific calls-to-action you want site visitors to take such as signing up for a newsletter, downloading an ebook, or contacting you.
Segment Your Audience
Target different audiences by directing them to relevant destinations – for example sending recruiting contacts to your careers page.
Stand Out
Custom buttons give your LinkedIn profile more visual pop and help you stand out from others in your industry.
Increase Engagement
Members who click your custom button take an intentional action to engage with your brand, content, or offer.
Best Practices for Custom Buttons
To maximize the impact of your LinkedIn custom buttons, here are some best practices to follow:
Choose Clarity Over Cleverness
Ensure your button text is clear, concise, and descriptive. Clever wordplay may be confusing. Go for clarity.
Place Your Most Important Button First
List your buttons in order of priority and place your most important CTA or destination site first.
Avoid Overused Terms
Don’t use generic phrases like “Click Here” or “Learn More”. Make your buttons informative.
Use Action-Oriented Language
Use action words that encourage clicks like “Download”, “Register”, “Contact Us”.
Target Different Audiences
Consider using different buttons to appeal to different audiences like recruits, customers, partners.
Keep Text Short
Keep your button text brief but informative given the 20 character limit. Avoid unnecessary words.
Use a Consistent Visual Style
Maintain a consistent button style and color scheme across all your profile buttons.
Check Buttons Regularly
Periodically check your buttons to ensure proper formatting and that links are still functioning.
Custom Button Examples
Here are some examples of effective custom buttons for different LinkedIn users and scenarios:
Company Example
Contact Sales
Download Brochure
See Case Studies
Recruiter Example
Search Jobs
See Open Positions
Join Our Talent Network
Individual Example
View My Portfolio
Connect on Twitter
Download My eBook
Nonprofit Example
Donate Today
Attend an Event
Become a Member
As you can see, highly focused and descriptive button text tailored to your audience helps drive the desired action.
How to Add Custom Buttons
Adding custom buttons to your LinkedIn profile is a simple process:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile
- Click “Edit public profile & URL”
- Click the “+” icon to add a button (up to 3)
- Enter your desired button text (20 character limit)
- Input the URL you want the button to redirect visitors to
- Choose the button location – either profile photo or about section
- Click “Save”
It may take up to 48 hours for your new buttons to appear on your profile. You can edit or delete buttons anytime through the same process.
Custom Buttons vs Featured Sections
In addition to custom buttons, LinkedIn also enables Premium subscribers to showcase “featured sections” atop their profile. This is different than custom buttons in a few key ways:
- Featured sections highlight content already on your profile
- Buttons drive traffic away from LinkedIn to an external site
- Featured sections only appear on desktop, buttons appear on desktop and mobile
- Sections showcase multiple content items, buttons have a singular CTA
In summary, featured sections showcase and rearrange existing profile content, while custom buttons drive traffic to new destinations.
Are Custom Buttons Worth It?
For most professional LinkedIn users, custom buttons provide high value:
- Buttons make profiles stand out and look more professional
- They drive relevant traffic to important destinations
- Enable clearer CTAs tailored to your audience
- Help reinforce branding on a prominent professional platform
For individuals and companies actively managing their LinkedIn presence, the benefits of custom buttons are likely to justify the premium subscription cost.
Potential Drawbacks
Some potential drawbacks to weigh:
- Customers may not notice or click buttons
- You are driving traffic off of LinkedIn rather than engaging within
- Button text limitations may inhibit messaging
- Benefits may not outweigh premium costs for some users
However, with a strategic approach focused on your goals and audience, most users can maximize the impact of custom buttons.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Premium custom buttons provide subscribers with an excellent tool to drive traffic, highlight CTAs, reinforce branding, and stand out from the crowd. By following best practices and crafting concise, benefits-focused button text, individuals and businesses can optimize their use of custom buttons to engage their professional audience and accomplish key objectives.
While not right for every user, those actively managing their LinkedIn presence for business or career objectives can likely achieve strong value from the strategic use of custom buttons. With the ability to drive visitors directly from LinkedIn to your most important destinations, custom buttons provide a powerful weapon in your promotional and branding arsenal.