LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million members worldwide. As of 2021, LinkedIn reports having over 75 million company pages. With so many professionals and businesses on LinkedIn, it has become an invaluable platform for networking, recruiting, marketing, and increasing brand awareness.
Many businesses create LinkedIn company pages to establish an online presence, connect with customers, promote their products or services, share company news and culture, and attract job candidates. However, a common question that arises is – can you create a LinkedIn company page without having a personal LinkedIn account?
The Short Answer
No, you cannot create a LinkedIn company page without first having a personal LinkedIn account. LinkedIn requires each company page to have an associated personal account that is designated as an administrator. So at minimum, you need one person from the business to create a personal LinkedIn profile and then create the company page linked to their account.
LinkedIn’s Company Page Requirements
Here are LinkedIn’s requirements for creating a company page:
- The page must represent a real business or organization.
- Products or services sold should be legal and authentic.
- At least one employee must have a personal LinkedIn account to be an admin of the company page.
- The admin must have accurate details about the company added to their personal profile.
- Admins should use a business email address associated with the company on their personal profile.
As you can see, LinkedIn explicitly requires a company page admin to have their own LinkedIn personal account. This account is then used to create and manage the company page.
Why a Personal Account is Required
LinkedIn requires a personal account to set up a company page for the following reasons:
- Accountability – Having a real person responsible for the company page ensures proper management and compliance with LinkedIn’s policies.
- Authenticity – The requirement decreases the risk of fraudulent or spam company pages being created.
- Accessibility – Admins need a personal profile to access all LinkedIn features available for company pages, like Analytics, Recruitment tools, ad campaigns, etc.
- Communication – Customers can contact company admins via their personal accounts regarding inquiries, issues, or feedback.
Additionally, the personal account requirement aligns with LinkedIn’s mission to connect real professionals around the world and foster authentic business relationships through trusted identities.
Workarounds and Alternatives
Since LinkedIn does require a personal account, here are a few potential workarounds or alternatives:
- Have one designated employee create a basic personal profile only to manage the company page.
- Hire a social media freelancer or agency that already has a LinkedIn personal account to manage the page for you.
- Use another employee’s existing LinkedIn account temporarily to create the page, then transfer admin rights later.
- Promote your business through an employee’s personal account (not ideal for branding).
- Use a different platform like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. if possible for your goals.
However, having an employee fully utilize a personal LinkedIn account is recommended to maximize the benefits of the company page. One employee is enough to get started.
LinkedIn Company Page Benefits
Despite needing a personal account, creating a LinkedIn company page comes with many advantages, including:
- Increased brand awareness and visibility – 73% of B2B marketers say LinkedIn generates the most brand awareness for them.
- Enhanced search engine optimization – Pages show up high in LinkedIn and Google search results.
- Targeted advertising opportunities – LinkedIn’s advertising platform enables businesses to reach over 722 million users worldwide based on criteria like job title, industry, skills, etc.
- Improved customer engagement – Companies can share content, promote products, provide support, etc. to foster relationships with customers.
- Access to talent acquisition tools – Pages unlock features to identify and connect with ideal job candidates.
- Additional consumer trust and credibility – A company page indicates an established presence, website, and contact information.
The benefits often outweigh the requirement of an associated personal account for most businesses. Even solopreneurs derive value from creating and optimizing a LinkedIn company page with their personal profile.
Instructions for Setting Up a LinkedIn Company Page
If you are ready to create a LinkedIn company page, follow these step-by-step instructions:
- Create a personal LinkedIn account – Make sure to use a business email and include your position and company details in your profile.
- Click on “Work” from the top menu bar and select “Create a Company Page” – You can also go to www.linkedin.com/company-pages/new to start.
- Choose to create a company page from scratch or use an existing website – If using a website, you will need to verify ownership.
- Enter your company details – Include name, website, industry, company size, headquarters location, etc.
- Customize your page – Add a logo, images, company descriptions, contact info, job listings, and more.
- Publish your page – LinkedIn will review it before making the page visible to others.
It is also highly recommended to optimize your page for search by completely filling out all sections, utilizing keywords, and adding links to your website. Engage followers by regularly posting content just like you would on other social media networks.
In Summary
While LinkedIn does require each company page to have an associated personal account for admin access, the benefits of having a strong branded presence on LinkedIn for networking and business development make it worthwhile for most organizations.
One employee with a complete profile can be sufficient to get your company page started and establish your professional brand. Then over time more employees can be added as admins to maximize your results on the world’s largest professional network.