LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million users worldwide. On LinkedIn, businesses and professionals can create accounts to connect with each other. There are two main types of LinkedIn accounts for businesses – Company Pages and Profiles. While they share some similarities, there are key differences between the two that businesses should understand before determining which option is best for their needs.
LinkedIn Company Pages
A LinkedIn Company Page is a free profile specifically designed for businesses and organizations to represent themselves professionally on the platform. Company Pages operate similarly to individual member profiles, but have additional features tailored for promoting a business brand and connecting with customers.
Some key features of LinkedIn Company Pages include:
- Showcase Page – Customizable section to highlight products/services, company culture, job openings, and more.
- Follow button – Allows individual users to follow the company to receive updates.
- Analytics – Detailed metrics on page views, follower growth, employee updates, and visitor demographics.
- Job Postings – Ability to post and promote open positions on the Company Page.
- Sponsored Content – Option to pay for Sponsored Updates to increase engagement on company published content.
LinkedIn recommends Company Pages for:
- Businesses with a marketing/communications department responsible for social media.
- Companies focused on recruiting employees via LinkedIn.
- Brands interested in connecting with LinkedIn members to drive awareness, engagement, and leads.
Benefits of LinkedIn Company Pages
There are several advantages that come with creating a Company Page versus an individual profile for your business on LinkedIn:
- Official presence – Company Pages clearly represent your business brand and information.
- More exposure – Pages show up in search results and recommendations, helping you reach more LinkedIn members.
- Expanded analytics – Company Pages provide metrics on followers, content engagement, job views, visitor demographics, and more.
- Greater credibility – A Company Page builds trust and establishes your business as an authoritative source.
- Lead generation – Features like Showcase Pages and follow buttons make it easy to attract and convert prospects.
- Recruitment – Job postings and the ability to communicate with followers enables targeted hiring.
- Customization – Company Pages offer more branding and layout options to tailor your presence.
LinkedIn Personal Profiles
While Company Pages represent entire organizations, individual users on LinkedIn have personal profiles. Each member gets one profile that reflects their professional experience, skills, education, accomplishments, recommendations, and more.
Some key features of LinkedIn profiles include:
- Profile photo & header image
- Summary section
- Work experience
- Education
- Skills & endorsements
- Recommendations
- Groups, volunteer experience, certifications, projects, publications, and more
- Ability to follow other members
- Custom URL vanity link
LinkedIn recommends profiles for:
- Individuals focused on networking with other professionals.
- Establishing a personal professional brand and reputation.
- Promoting individual skills, experience, and accomplishments.
Benefits of LinkedIn Profiles
There are several specific advantages to maintaining a robust LinkedIn profile as an individual user:
- Personal brand building – Profiles let you create your own professional identity and network.
- Showcase skills & achievements – Your profile highlights capabilities and accomplishments to stand out.
- Discover opportunities – LinkedIn uses your profile to recommend jobs, people, groups, and information relevant to you.
- Get endorsed – Endorsements on your skills from connections enhance your reputation.
- Market yourself – Profiles serve as a dynamic resume to demonstrate value to recruiters and hiring managers.
- Establish credibility – Recommendations and connections can validate you as an industry thought leader.
Key Differences
While LinkedIn Company Pages and Profiles share some commonalities, there are important distinctions between the two:
Factor | Company Page | Personal Profile |
---|---|---|
Purpose | Promotes a business brand | Represents an individual |
Content Focus | Company information, products/services, culture, jobs | Individual’s background, skills, experience |
Owner | Company representatives/admins | The individual user |
Customization | More options like Showcase Pages | Limited custom sections |
Analytics | Follower demographics, content analytics, job analytics | Limited to profile views |
Communication | One-to-many broadcast communication | One-to-one direct messaging |
Algorithm | Surfaces in searches, suggestions, and feeds related to company offerings | Surfaces related to individual’s profile details |
In summary, Company Pages represent brands while profiles represent people. Pages focus on products, services, jobs, and broadcasting updates. Profiles focus on individual skills, background, and networking with other professionals.
Should Businesses Have Both?
Some small businesses make the mistake of thinking they need to choose between setting up a Company Page or Profile on LinkedIn. However, most experts recommend utilizing both as they serve different but complementary purposes.
Here are some of the key benefits for a business maintaining both a strong Company Page and Profile:
- The Company Page broadcasts updates, events, content, and job listings while the Profile enables one-on-one relationship building.
- The Profile allows personalized interactions, recommendations, and networking while the Page establishes the official brand presence.
- Together they increase overall visibility, exposure, engagement, and trust for the brand.
- Profiles for founders, executives, and employees help humanize the company and make connections on an individual level.
The Company Page should be the hub for representing the brand, products, services, and careers. Individual Profiles humanize the people behind the business and facilitate relationship-building with other professionals. Using both in a coordinated way provides the right mix of brand marketing and personal networking on LinkedIn for maximum impact.
Best Practices For Leveraging Both
If you decide to leverage both a Company Page and Profiles for your business on LinkedIn, some best practices include:
- Keep branding consistent – Use the same company name, logo, messaging, color scheme, etc. to reinforce connections between the Page and Profiles.
- Cross-promote content – Share blog posts and articles published on the Company Page on employee Profiles to extend reach.
- Coordinate posting – Plan an editorial calendar so Page and Profile posts are varied but complementary.
- Link to each other – Have the Company Page and Profiles link to one another to associate the branding.
- Make key staff admins – Grant select employees admin access to the Company Page to post on behalf of the brand.
- Use employee spotlights – Occasionally feature employee Profiles on the Company Page to humanize your team.
- Share job postings – Have employees share Open Position posts from the Company Page on their Profiles.
Leveraging LinkedIn Company Pages and Profiles together requires coordination but provides businesses with the right mix of brand marketing and personal networking needed to succeed on the platform.
Conclusion
While LinkedIn Company Pages and Profiles share similarities, their purposes and features differ. Pages represent brands while Profiles represent individuals. The best strategy for businesses is to leverage both in order to broadcast company updates as well as build one-on-one relationships. Each provides unique benefits to establish credibility, generate leads, recruit talent, and grow your presence on the world’s largest professional network.