LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform with over 800 million members. It allows individuals to connect with other professionals, search for jobs, join industry groups, and more. Businesses and organizations can also establish company pages on LinkedIn to promote their brands, products, and services.
One of the features available to LinkedIn company pages is the ability to create and manage LinkedIn Groups. LinkedIn Groups provide a way for professionals with similar interests or affiliations to share content, discuss industry trends, post job openings, and network with each other. For businesses, LinkedIn Groups can be an effective tool for engaging with customers, promoting thought leadership, and generating leads.
But can any type of LinkedIn page create a group, or is this ability limited to certain accounts? Specifically, there is some confusion around whether basic business pages on LinkedIn have the functionality to create and manage Groups. In this article, we’ll examine the group creation capabilities for different LinkedIn page types to definitively answer whether business pages can create LinkedIn Groups.
Overview of LinkedIn Company Pages
To understand if business pages can create groups, we first need to review the different types of company pages available on LinkedIn:
Basic Business Pages
LinkedIn Basic Business Pages are free profiles that let companies establish a presence on LinkedIn and share basic information about their business. Features of basic business pages include:
– Company name, logo, description, and contact info
– Ability to share company updates
– Analytics and follower counts
– Job listings
– Direct messaging
Premium Business Pages
LinkedIn Premium Business Pages provide enhanced capabilities for companies looking to grow their brands and generate leads on LinkedIn. In addition to the basic page features, Premium pages let businesses:
– Showcase products and services
– Promote content across LinkedIn feed
– Use analytics to gain customer insights
– Enable follow buttons and contact options
– Send messages to followers
Showcase Pages
The LinkedIn Showcase Page is a marketing-focused profile designed specifically for brands, businesses, and organizations to display products and services visually. Showcase Pages provide capabilities to:
– Feature visual banners and rich media content
– Create dedicated tabs to highlight products/services
– Promote content to wider audiences
– Utilize powerful analytics and tracking
Which LinkedIn Pages Can Create Groups?
Now that we’ve compared the different types of Company Pages on LinkedIn, which of these pages have the ability to create and manage LinkedIn Groups?
The short answer is that only Premium Business Pages and Showcase Pages have access to LinkedIn’s Group administration tools.
Basic LinkedIn Business Pages do not have the functionality to create or manage Groups associated with the company. One of the limitations of basic business pages is the inability to create Groups. To get this functionality, companies need to upgrade to a Premium Business Page.
Some key differences in Group creation abilities:
Basic Business Pages
– Cannot create or manage LinkedIn Groups
– Can join and participate in other Groups
Premium Business Pages
– Can create and manage their own LinkedIn Groups
– Admins can manage members, send notifications, moderate discussions
– Groups display on the Company Page under the Groups tab
Showcase Pages
– Full support for Group creation and management
– Groups integrate seamlessly with other Showcase Page capabilities
So in summary, while all business pages can join existing Groups on LinkedIn, only Premium and Showcase Pages have the elevated administrative privileges needed to create and manage their own LinkedIn Groups.
LinkedIn Group Creation Steps
For businesses with Premium or Showcase pages considering creating their own LinkedIn Group, what steps are required?
The process to create a LinkedIn Group from a company page is relatively straightforward:
1. Navigate to the Company Page administered by the business.
2. Click on the Admin Tools dropdown menu at the top of the page.
3. Select Manage LinkedIn Groups from the menu.
4. Click the Create Group button.
5. Enter the name, description, and category for the new Group.
6. Designate the Group as public or private. Public Groups are visible to all LinkedIn members, while private Groups require approval to join.
7. Select the administrators who will manage the Group. Multiple admins can be assigned.
8. Customize Group settings for posts, membership, and notifications.
9. Click Create to officially launch the Group.
Once the Group is live, the administrators can share updates, spark discussions, moderate conversations, and manage Group members all from their Company Page.
Analytics provide insight into Group growth, activity, and engagement over time. Companies can leverage these insights to optimize their Group strategy.
Best Practices for Company-Created LinkedIn Groups
When starting a LinkedIn Group from a business page, there are some best practices companies should keep in mind:
– **Have a clear purpose:** Successful Groups center around well-defined topics and objectives. Determine the Group’s goal upfront.
– **Appoint engaged admins:** Admins should share new posts, moderate discussions, and welcome new members. Choose admins who will be active and involved.
– **Set Group rules:** Define clear rules around acceptable content and conduct to maintain a professional atmosphere.
– **Spark thoughtful discussions:** Pose thoughtful questions and share valuable insights to get members engaged. Avoid overt self-promotion.
– **Engage regularly:** Check in frequently, share a variety of content, and respond to member comments in a timely manner.
– **Promote strategically:** Spread the word about your Group through your Company Page, during company events, in email newsletters, and on other channels.
Following these best practices can help ensure an active, growing LinkedIn Group that provides value to members over the long term.
Conclusion
In summary, basic LinkedIn Business Pages do not have the ability to create or manage LinkedIn Showcase Groups associated with their company. To gain access to LinkedIn’s Group administration tools, businesses need to upgrade to either a Premium Business Page or a Showcase Page.
The Group creation process is straightforward for eligible companies, allowing brands and organizations to launch thriving communities where professionals in their industry can connect, learn, and engage. Following some core best practices around purpose, engagement, promotion, and more can help ensure Company-created Groups deliver value to members and brands alike.