WEB LESSON 2. Working with Company Profiles

In this lesson, you learn how to search for companies that meet your target criteria and add a profile for your own company.

Understanding LinkedIn Company Profiles

LinkedIn’s Company Profiles feature provides an opportunity for companies to present their products, services, and job openings to LinkedIn’s vast audience. In addition, company profiles offer extensive data that’s particularly useful to job seekers, recruiters, and members searching for potential clients and partners.

Figure W2.1 shows a sample company profile.

Figure W2.1. Learn more about a particular company through its profile.

Company profiles can include

• A company summary

• A list of specialties with keyword links

• A follow link that enables you to follow a company’s activity on LinkedIn

• A list of current employees, including those in your network

• Former employees in your network

• New hires

• Recent promotions and changes

• A list of employees with the most profile views

• Data about related companies

• Key statistics including top locations, company size, website link, common job titles, and median age of employees

• Links to open jobs posted on LinkedIn, if any

• Links to company news

• Stock information

• Detailed information about your company’s products and services, including YouTube videos

The company profile icon to the right of any company name in a member profile indicates that the company has a listing in LinkedIn Company Profiles. Click the company link to view the complete profile or hover over it to view a preview. Figure W2.2 shows a sample preview.

Figure W2.2. Preview a company’s profile from a member profile.

Searching Company Profiles

There are several ways to search company profiles on LinkedIn.

If you know the name of the company you want to find, follow these steps:

1. On the global navigation bar, select the Companies option in the quick search box.
2. Enter the company name in the text box.
3. Click the Search button. The Company Search Results page appears, shown in Figure W2.3.

   Figure W2.3. Select a profile to view from the search results.

   

4. On the Company Search Results page, click the name of the company whose profile you want to view.

A quick search works well if you know the company profile you want to view. At times, however, you might want to search Company Profiles to find companies that fit target criteria rather than locate a company you already know. To search for companies based on criteria you specify, follow these steps:

1. On the global navigation bar, select Companies from the More drop-down menu. The Companies page opens, shown in Figure W2.4.

   Figure W2.4. Specify the exact criteria of the companies you want to find on the Companies page.

   

2. In the Company Name or Keyword field, enter keywords targeted to your search. For example, enter “investor relations” to search for companies offering this service. You can also enter a company name, but using the quick search box is a faster way to locate a company by name.
3. If you want to narrow search results to a specific location, select Located in or Near from the Location drop-down list. If your search isn’t location-specific, select Anywhere.
4. If your search is location-specific, select a country and postal code, if applicable.
5. To display company headquarter locations only, select the Only Company Headquarters check box. This option appears only if you narrow search results by location.
6. Click the More Options link to expand your options.
7. Select an industry from the drop-down list.
8. Search all companies or limit your search to only companies where you have 1^st or 2^nd degree connections.
9. Specify a target company size from the eight options.
10. If you want to view only companies with current openings, select the Only Companies with Jobs Posted on LinkedIn check box.
11. Click the Search Companies button. The Search Results page opens with a list of potential matches.
12. Click a company link to view its profile. See “Understanding LinkedIn Company Profiles,” earlier in this lesson to learn more about the information available on a company profile.

In addition to entering search criteria, you can also browse companies by industry by clicking the Browse Industries link on the Companies page.

Adding a Company Profile

If your company isn’t listed in Company Profiles, you can create a profile for it. Creating a company profile is a particularly good option for small businesses or solopreneurs seeking to promote their business on LinkedIn.

To add a profile for your company, follow these steps:

1. On the global navigation bar, select Companies from the More drop-down menu.
2. Click the Add a Company link at the top of the Companies page. The Add a Company page opens, shown in Figure W2.5.

   Figure W2.5. Create a profile for your company for added visibility.

   

3. Enter your company name and email address and then verify that you are an official company representative.
4. Click the Continue button. LinkedIn prompts you to view the email confirmation sent to the email address you entered in step 3. You must verify your identity and your company before LinkedIn allows you to finish your company profile.
5. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your email address. After doing so, LinkedIn takes you to the Confirm Your Email Address page.
6. On the Confirm Your Email Address page, click the Confirm button and sign in to LinkedIn again.
7. Your company profile opens in edit mode (see Figure W2.6), prompting you to compete your profile.

   Figure W2.6. Enter information about your company, including a detailed description.

   

8. Specify who can edit your company profile: anyone with a company email address, or only designated users you set up as profile administrators.
9. On the Overview tab, enter the following information:

   • Basic details about your company, such as your website URL and industry

   • Standard and square logos

   • A company description and your specialties

   • Your Twitter ID and blog feed

   • A news module that displays media mentions of your company

10. Click the Publish button to publish your profile.

    Now that you have a basic company profile, consider the following options to make the most of this useful LinkedIn feature:

    • Click the Follow Company button on the right side of your company profile to make tracking your profile easier.

    • Click the Careers tab to list current job openings on your company profile.

    • Click the Products & Services tab to add detailed information about your products and services (see Figure W2.7 for an example). Listing your products and services is a great way to showcase what your company has to offer. Your listing can include an image, detailed description, website link, and even a YouTube video.

    Figure W2.7. Adding products and services to your LinkedIn company profile is a great promotional tool.

    

    • Click the Analytics tab to get more information about page views and visitors.

Associating Employees with a Company Profile

LinkedIn associates employees automatically with the company profiles of the current employers that they list on their profiles. If LinkedIn doesn’t list you correctly as an employee of your company, follow these steps to edit your company information:

1. On the global navigation bar, select Edit Profile from the Profile drop-down menu. The Edit Profile page opens.
2. Click the Edit link next to your current position. The Edit Position page opens.
3. Click the Change Company link and enter a new company name. When you start typing, LinkedIn suggests possible matches. Be careful to choose the correct match. With larger companies in particular, you might find subsidiaries, divisions, or even incorrect spellings.
4. Click the Update button to update your profile.

Editing a Company Profile

If you added your own company profile, you can edit it if you log in using the same account used to create your profile. You can edit a company profile that you didn’t create only if the person who set up the profile designated you as an admin or allows anyone with a company email address to edit.

To edit a company profile, follow these steps:

1. On the global navigation bar, select Companies from the More drop-down menu.
2. On the Companies page, click the Following tab.
3. Click the name of the company you want to edit. Be aware that your company displays in the list only if you followed it when you set it up. Otherwise, search for your company in the search box and then edit it.
4. On your company page (refer to Figure W2.6), click the Edit button.
5. Edit your company profile as described in the “Adding a Company Profile” section earlier in this lesson.
6. Click the Publish button to update your profile.

Summary

In this lesson, you learned how to use LinkedIn’s Company Profile feature to search for companies that meet targeted criteria, add your own company profile for exposure on LinkedIn’s network, and update existing profiles.