When setting up a LinkedIn company or business page, there are a few key things to consider in terms of how it relates to your personal LinkedIn profile. The short answer is that yes, a LinkedIn business page is linked to a personal account, but the extent and implications of that link depend on a few factors.
Who Creates the Business Page
On LinkedIn, only individual user profiles, not company pages themselves, have the ability to create and manage a LinkedIn company page. So for a business page to exist, an authorized individual must first create a personal LinkedIn profile and then create the business page from their account.
The individual who creates the company page automatically becomes an administrator. Typically, this first administrator would be someone like the business owner, founder, director, or marketing manager – someone in a position to officially represent the company on LinkedIn.
Admins vs Employees
There are two main types of roles related to a LinkedIn business page:
- Admins – The people who manage and control the business page. They can edit the page, post content and job listings, respond to messages and comments as the business, and see metrics and insights.
- Employees – People who list the company as their employer on their personal profile. The business page shows how many LinkedIn members work for that company.
Admins are granted special privileges to manage the page by virtue of their personal account being the creator of the page. Anyone can become an admin later if added by another current admin. Employees just associate their own LinkedIn profile with the company but don’t inherently have any access to post or manage the business page.
Posting as Yourself or the Business
When admins of a LinkedIn business page share content, they can choose to post either as themselves (from their personal account) or as the business page itself. Posts shared as the business page appear as written in the voice of the company. Other users can also tag the business page in their own posts.
So in terms of content, there is some separation between an admin’s personal LinkedIn presence and the business page they manage. But since they must use their individual profile to manage the company page, the two are still inherently connected.
Notifications and Messages
Notifications and messages related to the business page (comments, likes, page followers etc.) will be received through the managing admin’s personal LinkedIn account. There is no separate messaging system for interacting with the business page. This can make it easier to manage conversations and track notifications in one place, but it also links your personal profile more closely to the business presence.
Analytics and Advertising
The analytics and advertising capabilities available on LinkedIn business pages provide powerful insights, but require the use of an individual LinkedIn profile. Features like Company Page analytics, advertising account creation, Campaign Manager, and LinkedIn Elevate are only accessible through an admin’s personal account, not the business page itself.
This gives the admins very valuable data to track their business page growth and optimize their LinkedIn marketing. But it also means granting those admins access to metrics tied directly to their personal profiles.
Following and Recommendations
On LinkedIn, individual users can follow company pages to see their posts in their feed and stay up to date. However, the business pages that a user follows are visible on their personal profile. So if an admin follows their own company page, it may appear like an obvious self-promotion or vanity metric.
Similarly, LinkedIn personal profile pages show recommendations given to and received from other users. Recommendations related to the company page will appear here as well, potentially exposing some behind-the-scenes links.
Pros and Cons of Linking
Here are some key pros and cons to weigh when considering the link between a LinkedIn business page and personal account:
Pros
- Easier to manage messages and notifications in one place
- Access to powerful analytics through the personal account
- Business page creators automatically have admin privileges
- Many helpful business features only available by linking to a personal profile
Cons
- Personal profile and business page are not fully separate
- Admins see metrics and insights tied directly to their own account
- Following your own company as an admin looks promotional
- Recommendations related to the business appear on your profile
Best Practices
If you want to leverage the advantages of linking your LinkedIn business page while mitigating some of the downsides, here are some best practices:
- Have multiple admins for the business page so responsibilities are shared
- Use a dedicated company account for creating/managing the page if possible
- Be strategic with posting content – mix posts as the company and personal perspectives
- Use LinkedIn Groups related to the business instead of solely relying on the company page for engagement
- Promote employees to become “contributors” to post on behalf of the company
Conclusion
In summary, a LinkedIn business page is tied to the individual profile that created it and relies on that account to control and manage the company presence. There are advantages in terms of having access to useful LinkedIn features and a unified notification system. But drawbacks include the lack of total separation between personal and company identities. With the right strategy and best practices, admins can optimize the benefits while minimizing the risks of linking their business pages to their own profiles.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
|
|
In conclusion, while a LinkedIn business page is connected to the personal account that created it, there are steps admins can take to optimize this linkage. Having multiple admins, using a dedicated account, and strategically sharing content can help maximize the benefits while minimizing the drawbacks of linking a company page to an individual profile.