As a professional in today’s digital age, having a strong presence on LinkedIn is crucial for networking, staying updated on your industry, and advancing your career. With over 700 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the largest professional networking platform and an invaluable tool for connecting with peers, experts, and potential employers in your field.
Following the right companies and organizations on LinkedIn can help you gain insider knowledge, learn about new job opportunities, and get a pulse on important trends and developments. But with countless companies to choose from, how do you identify the ones that are worth following?
Here are some tips on determining what companies you should follow on LinkedIn to maximize the benefits for your career:
Companies you want to work for
One of the best ways to use LinkedIn is by following your dream companies and desired employers. Having their updates appear in your LinkedIn feed allows you to stay on top of these organizations’ priorities, open positions, company news, and recruiter activities. Following desired employers provides visibility into their workplace culture, strategic objectives, and employee experiences. You gain exposure to their thought leadership content which impresses recruiters and hiring managers. This insider view helps you tailor your application and positioning for roles at companies you want to work for.
Tips
- Make a list of target companies for your next career move. Look for businesses leading your industry or doing interesting work in your function.
- Follow company pages, groups, and key personnel like founders, executives, and recruiters.
- Turn on job alerts to be notified of new openings.
- Engage with their content by liking, commenting, and sharing to stand out.
Leaders in your industry
It’s important to follow industry leaders, top competitors, and innovative companies in your field. Doing so provides market intelligence, keeps you updated on new offerings and technologies, reveals where your industry is headed, and opens up partnership opportunities. By connecting with companies leading your space, you gain insider perspective, learn about hiring trends, stay aware of threats, and get inspired by fresh approaches and ideas you can apply in your own role.
Tips
- Search for established players, hidden gems, and emerging startups making waves in your industry.
- Look for founders and executives spearheading market disruption.
- Follow hashtags like #industryname to find influencers and top companies.
- Comment on their posts to get on their radar and build connections.
Companies you have relationships with
Keep following companies where you have strong connections, whether they are past employers, vendors, clients, partners, or businesses where you know staff members. Ongoing updates from these companies allows you to strengthen and leverage these relationships for new opportunities, intelligence, and collaborations. You never know how they may become valuable down the line for endorsements, references, job leads, partnership potential, or insider knowledge relevant to your work.
Tips
- Reconnect with managers and colleagues from past jobs.
- Follow key accounts, clients, and strategic partners.
- Keep up with companies where you have a network of contacts.
- Nurture relationships by engaging with their content and messaging connections.
Businesses with strong employer brands
Follow companies known for excellent company culture, values, leadership, training, benefits, and talent development. These organizations are often included on “best places to work” lists. They attract top talent by investing in employee satisfaction and advancement. Even if you aren’t looking to change jobs, following strong employer brands allows you to understand what makes these companies so appealing to today’s workforce. You can apply lessons from theiremployer branding in your own career.
Tips
- Look for companies frequently ranked as top workplaces.
- Search best employer lists like Forbes and Glassdoor.
- Follow their recruiters and HR personnel.
- Take note of the content and messages they share about culture.
Businesses leading on DEI
Seek out companies paving the way on diversity, equity, and inclusion who publish demographic data and have solid representation at all levels. Following DEI leaders allows you to learn how these organizations create welcoming, inclusive workforces while benefiting from diverse perspectives. You gain exposure to their employee resource groups, anti-discrimination policies, pay transparency, and lessons on building empathy. Insights gained from their approach to DEI issues can strengthen your own work.
Tips
- Look for companies receiving high DEI scores.
- Search LinkedIn’s Top Companies for Diversity list.
- Follow heads of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
- Note messaging around anti-racism and allyship.
Companies taking innovation risks
Follow trailblazing companies pushing the envelope in your function or industry. Often startups or nimble competitors, these innovators disrupt incumbents by developing new platforms, technologies, products, and business models. Tracking companies on the cutting-edge reveals where your industry is headed. It provides insight into future trends and how to get ahead of impending changes. Even if these companies fail, you learn valuable lessons about innovation.
Tips
- Look for startups with exponential growth and gaining market share.
- Search recent technology and innovation award winners.
- Follow their engineering, product, and design leaders.
- Tune into how they plan to scale and overcome obstacles.
Businesses headed by inspirational leaders
Follow business mavericks, inspirational founders, and CEOs who motivate you. These respected leaders often share content about their personal stories, vision, leadership style, professional journeys, and companies’ big missions. Their unique perspectives and advice can help you become a stronger leader. Learning how they built great companies, overcame challenges, disrupted industries, and created strong cultures drives leadership development.
Tips
- Look for founders of companies you admire.
- Search LinkedIn’s Top Voices and Power Profiles.
- Follow unconventional, authentic leaders driving change.
- Note their perspectives on leadership, strategy, and business.
Companies with strong branding
Successful brand building requires compelling positioning, consistent messaging, high-quality content, and commitment across an organization. Following companies with disciplined approaches to brand management provides a blueprint for strengthening your personal brand and reputation. You gain visibility into how top organizations shape brand perception internally and externally through campaigns, culture, and community engagement.
Tips
- Look for businesses with distinct brand identities.
- Search award-winning marketing and creative campaigns.
- Follow CMOs, brand managers, and communications leads.
- Tune into their employment branding content and campaigns.
Conclusion
Being thoughtful and targeted in determining which companies to follow on LinkedIn can significantly enhance your career. Tailor your list to include desirable employers, industry leaders, inspirational businesses, and relationship connections. Prioritize companies demonstrating excellence across your areas of interest and professional development needs.
Consume content from your personalized A-list of companies to gain valuable intel, expand your thinking, and strengthen your network. Be sure to further cultivate these connections by actively engaging with updates from companies and professionals you follow. LinkedIn provides tremendous visibility into organizations at the forefront of your field, if you follow the right ones.
Company Category | Benefits of Following |
---|---|
Dream Employers | Insider view of workplace, open roles, culture, recruiter priorities |
Industry Leaders | Market intelligence, innovation, partnerships, trends |
Relationship Connections | Strengthen networks, leverage contacts for intel and opportunities |
Strong Employer Brands | Talent development and retention best practices, employer branding examples |
DEI Leaders | Inclusion programs, representation data, empathy building |
Innovators and Disruptors | Industry direction, future gaze, lessons from model failures |
Inspirational Leaders | Leadership development, advice, vision |
Strong Branding | Brand strategy, reputation building, thought leadership |