Can I separate my business page from my personal account on LinkedIn?

Quick Answer

Yes, it is possible to separate a business page from your personal LinkedIn account. LinkedIn allows you to create and manage Company Pages that are distinct from your personal profile. There are a few different ways to go about separating a business page:

• Convert your personal account into a Company Page
• Create a new Company Page and transfer admin rights
• Work with another employee to create a Company Page

The main steps involve creating a Company Page, transferring admin rights to the page to another user, and then removing yourself as an admin. This will fully separate the business presence from your individual profile.

In-Depth Answer

LinkedIn provides powerful tools not just for individual users to network and find opportunities, but also for companies and organizations to establish their brand, showcase products and services, recruit employees, and connect with customers.

An essential part of any company’s LinkedIn strategy is creating and optimizing a Company Page. This provides a hub for all information related to that business in one centralized profile.

Often when starting out on LinkedIn, an employee may create a Company Page directly from their personal account. This can be a quick and easy way to get your business on LinkedIn without much setup.

However, while this is fine initially, it presents some downsides long-term:

• It ties the Company Page to your individual presence on LinkedIn. All activity on the Page will also display on your personal profile.
• It limits the ability to have multiple admins for the Page. Only confirmed employees who are also LinkedIn admins can manage it.
• If you leave the company, the Page remains tied to your profile which can be problematic.

For these reasons, it is usually best practice to separate your personal LinkedIn account from a Company Page you created.

Here are the main steps to take in order to fully detach a business Page from your individual profile:

1. Convert Your Personal Profile to a Company Page

If you used your personal account to create a Company Page, LinkedIn provides a simple option to convert your profile directly into a Company Page. To do this:

• Go to your personal profile and click “More” at the top of your intro section.
• Select “Manage” and then choose “Convert to Company Page”
• Follow the prompts to turn your profile into a Company Page

This will change your personal account into a dedicated business presence on LinkedIn. Your profile photo will become the company logo, and your connections will remain intact.

The downside is that you will lose access to your personal profile until you re-convert the Page back to an individual account. So only take this approach if you are committed to making it a permanent Company Page.

2. Create a New Company Page

The alternative option is to create an entirely new Company Page and gradually transition it to be the primary presence for your business on LinkedIn. Here is a high-level approach:

1. Have another employee create a new Company Page using their own LinkedIn account. Make sure to use an official company email.
2. Add all relevant company details including description, website, locations, brands, etc.
3. Upload images such as the logo, cover photo, photos of products/services, office, employees, etc.
4. Publish updates, employee spotlights, job listings, or other posts to start populating the feed.
5. Request employees and followers on your current Page to follow the new Page.

Once the foundations of the new Company Page are in place, you can then transfer control of it away from your personal account using the following steps:

3. Transfer Admin Rights of the Company Page

LinkedIn allows you to assign multiple administrators to manage a Company Page. To transfer control:

1. Go to the Company Page and click “Manage” at the top right.
2. Select “Admin Tools” and choose “Assign admins”.
3. Enter the name of the employee you want to make an admin and select “Assign”.
4. Have the new admin visit the pending admin request and accept it.

Repeat this process to add any other employees as administrators for managing the Company Page.

4. Remove Yourself as Admin

Once you have transferred admin rights and are confident the new Page is ready, you can remove yourself as an admin:

1. Go to “Manage Admins” under your name and select “Remove self as admin”
2. Confirm that you want to remove your admin rights

This will fully detach you from having any control or access to the Company Page. The Page will remain separate from your personal account going forward.

Benefits of Separating Your LinkedIn Profiles

While it does take some extra effort, separating out your personal and business presences on LinkedIn can provide some major benefits:

• Clearer brand representation – Having an independent Company Page lets you create a focused brand and presence for your business without mixing in personal details.
• Marketing opportunities – Company Pages have more options for advertising, sponsorships, company updates and analytics to track performance.
• Multiple admins – You can add the marketing team, executives, HR staff, and other employees to help manage your LinkedIn company presence.
• Consistency – The Company Page remains independent even if an employee who created it leaves the organization.
• Enhanced recruiting – A dedicated Company Page makes it easier to promote job openings and attract great candidates.
• Showcase organization – Give visitors a full overview of your brand, culture, products, services, employees, and job openings.

While it takes a bit more work, having independent business and personal presences on LinkedIn is considered a best practice and offers significant long-term benefits.

Key Takeaways

Here are some key tips on separating a Company Page from your personal LinkedIn account:

• Convert your personal profile to a Company Page if you want a quick transition that maintains connections.
• Create a new Company Page and gradually build up its content and followers for a more gradual transition.
• Transfer admin rights to other employees so the Page can be independently managed.
• Remove yourself as an admin once you are ready to fully detach from the Company Page.
• Consider the benefits of separating the two profiles for branding, marketing, recruiting, and consistency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I run both a personal profile and Company Page on LinkedIn?

Yes, LinkedIn allows you to maintain a personal profile for networking and career management along with managing a Company Page for your business. It is perfectly fine to have both as long as they are kept separate.

What happens to my connections if I convert my profile to a Company Page?

Your connections will remain intact if you convert your personal account to a Company Page. However, you will temporarily lose access to your personal profile until you reverse the change.

Can I revert a Company Page back to a personal profile?

Yes, you can revert a Company Page back into your personal account. Simply go to “Manage Page” and select “Convert to Personal Account”. This will change the Page back to your individual profile.

How many admins can a Company Page have?

LinkedIn allows you to assign unlimited admins to manage a Company Page. Having multiple admins allows you to distribute responsibilities and ensure continuity if an employee leaves.

Can I delete a Company Page if I no longer want it?

Yes, Company Page admins have the option to permanently delete the Page. Simply go to “Manage Page” and select “Delete company” to remove it completely from LinkedIn.

Conclusion

Having separate personal and business presences on LinkedIn makes it easier to manage your individual networking alongside your company brand and marketing.

While it takes some effort to detach a Company Page from your personal account, the long-term benefits are well worth it. A dedicated Company Page allows you to showcase your brand, connect with more customers, hire talent, and measure your LinkedIn marketing performance.

I hope this guide has helped explain the process and best practices for separating your personal and business accounts on LinkedIn. Let me know if you have any other questions!