15. Working with Company Pages
In this chapter, you discover how to search for companies that meet your target criteria and create a LinkedIn Company Page for your own company.
Following and unfollowing companies
Creating and managing Company Pages
LinkedIn Company Pages provide an opportunity for companies to present their products, services, and job openings to LinkedIn’s vast audience. In addition, Company Pages offer extensive data that’s particularly useful to job seekers, recruiters, and members searching for potential clients and partners.
Exploring LinkedIn Company Pages
LinkedIn Company Pages can include
• Status updates that you can like, share, and comment on
• A Follow button that enables you to follow a company’s updates on LinkedIn
• A company description and website URL
• Links to open jobs posted on LinkedIn, if any
• Information about the company’s products and services, which you can recommend
• A list of current employees who are in your network or are alumni of the schools you attended
• Company videos
Searching for Companies
There are two ways to search for companies on LinkedIn.
Search for Companies by Name
If you know the name of the company you want to find, you can search for it directly.
1. Select Companies from the search menu.
2. Start typing the company name in the search box. As you type, LinkedIn displays potential matches in a drop-down list.
3. Select a company from the list to open its Company Page.
Search for Companies by Specific Criteria
A quick search works well if you know the company you want to find. At times, however, you might want to search for companies that fit target criteria rather than locate a company you already know. For example, you can search for companies by keyword, industry, location, and so forth.
1. Select Companies from the search menu.
2. Enter your search term in the search box.
3. Click the Search button.
4. LinkedIn displays matching companies.
5. Optionally, refine your search selecting criteria in the Search column.
Narrowing Search Results
You can search for companies by location, industry, size, or number of followers. Narrowing search results by displaying only companies with employees in your network or that have job postings on LinkedIn is another option. You don’t need to complete all the fields in the Search column, however. In fact, you can generate the best results by starting with your most important criteria and then modifying criteria only if your initial search doesn’t yield the desired results.
6. Click a company’s name to view its Company Page.
7. Click the Follow button next to a company to follow it.
>>>Go Further: Accessing Company Pages from LinkedIn Profiles
Following and Unfollowing Companies
As you learned earlier in this chapter, you can follow a company by
• Clicking the Follow button in the upper-right corner of its Company Page
• Clicking the Follow button next to a company’s name in search results
• Clicking the Follow link in a company pop-up window that you access from someone’s profile
When you follow a company on LinkedIn, its updates display on your home page.
Following companies is a good way to keep up with the latest news in your own company (particularly if you work for a large corporation) as well as discover new developments at companies you would like to work for or pursue as clients. You can follow up to 1,000 companies on LinkedIn.
Unfollow a Company
If a company no longer interests you or you followed it by mistake, you can unfollow it.
1. Select Companies from the Interests menu.
2. LinkedIn displays a list of the companies you’re following.
3. Click the Stop Following link below the company you no longer want to follow.
Alternative Way to Unfollow a Company
If you’re already viewing the Company Page of a company you want to unfollow, click the Following button in the upper-right corner to unfollow it. (The button acts as a toggle.)
Creating and Managing a Company Page
If your company doesn’t already have a Company Page, you can create one. Be aware that you must have the authority to create a page on behalf of a company (an important consideration if you work for a larger organization).
In addition, you must meet the following requirements to create a Company Page:
• You’re listed as an employee for this company in the Experience section of your profile.
• You have a company email address using the domain of the company you want to add. For example, to add the Really Great Company at www.reallygreatcompany.com, you must have an email address for this company such as [email protected]. You can’t use a Gmail or Yahoo! Mail address to register a company.
• Your profile strength must be either Intermediate or All-Star.
• You have at least several connections.
Promote Your Small Business with a Company Page
Company Pages aren’t just for large corporations. If you own a small business, even a one-person business, creating a page can help you gain visibility on LinkedIn.
2. Click the Add a Company link.
3. Enter your company name and email address at that company.
4. Select the check box to verify that you have the right to create this page.
5. Click the Continue button.
6. Follow the prompts LinkedIn provides to create your Company Page and confirm your identity. This process varies based on your company, your email address, and your LinkedIn account. You must verify your identity and your company before LinkedIn allows you to finish your page.
7. The Overview tab for your Company Page opens, prompting you to add a description of your company.
8. If you want to add another administrator to your page, start typing this person’s name and select it from the drop-down list. You can give admin rights only to your 1st degree connection.
A LinkedIn Company Page administrator can edit Company Page content, post updates, add products and services, and add other admins. LinkedIn automatically gives the person who creates a Company Page admin rights and this person can, optionally, add more admins. You should select your page admins carefully; these people have the power to control the appearance and reputation of your company on LinkedIn.
9. Add images for your company, including a header image, standard logo, and square logo.
Image Size Requirements
You can upload PNG, JPG, or GIF images that are no larger than 2MB. Your company’s main image must be 646×220 pixels or larger. LinkedIn resizes your standard logo to 100×60 pixels and your square logo to 50×50 pixels.
10. Enter company keywords in the Company Specialties field. This is a good place to list services or topics related to your business, such as digital marketing, copywriting, project management training, small business accounting, and so forth.
11. If you have a LinkedIn group, start typing its name in the Featured Groups field and select it from the drop-down menu.
12. Enter basic company information by completing the fields in the boxes on the right side of the page, including Company Type, Company Size, Company Website URL, Company Locations, and so forth.
13. Optionally, click the Products & Services tab if you want to add information about your company’s products and services.
Listing Products & Services
Maximizing the potential of the Products & Services tab is a great promotional tool for most companies. For each item you list on this page, you can include a detailed description, image, YouTube video, special promotion, and link for more information. Your followers can also recommend your products and services to other LinkedIn members.
14. Click the Publish button to save changes and publish your Company Page.
Post an Update to a Company Page
LinkedIn enables you to share company news with your followers in the Share an Update box on your Company Page. You can share a basic text update of up to 600 characters; a link title, description, and optional photo; or an external file you attach.
See the section “Sharing Updates,” in Chapter 5, “Managing and Updating Your Profile,” for more details about sharing updates. Company Page updates are similar to the personal updates you post on LinkedIn.
1. While logged into LinkedIn, navigate to your Company Page, such as www.linkedin.com/company/linkedin.
2. In the Share an Update box, enter your update, such as a text update or URL.
3. Optionally, click the Attach a File icon to attach an external file such as an image.
4. By default LinkedIn shares your update with all your followers. Optionally, you can select Targeted Audience to narrow your audience by specific criteria.
Consider Sponsored Updates
If you want to get more visibility for your company updates, consider LinkedIn’s Sponsored Updates program. See Chapter 16, “Advertising on LinkedIn,” for more information.
5. Click the Share button.
6. LinkedIn displays your update on your Company Page, which your followers can like, share, or comment on.
Edit a Company Page
If you’re an authorized Company Page admin, you can add, edit, and delete page content.
See the “Create a Company Page” section earlier in this chapter for more information about the data you can enter for a company.
1. While logged into LinkedIn, navigate to your Company Page, such as www.linkedin.com/company/linkedin.
2. Click the Edit button.
3. Make your page changes.
4. Click the Publish button to update and save your Company Page.