LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 810 million members worldwide. As a professional social media platform, LinkedIn offers businesses the ability to create company pages to establish their brand, attract talent, advertise open positions, and share company news and updates. LinkedIn business pages operate differently than regular user profiles, with their own set of guidelines and best practices to follow. Understanding the rules for LinkedIn business pages can help companies optimize their presence and achieve their goals on the platform.
Who can create a LinkedIn business page?
LinkedIn business pages can only be created and managed by official representatives of the company. Typically, this role falls to marketers, recruiters, executives, or other employees authorized to represent the company’s brand and voice. To prove official status, the individual creating the page will need to go through LinkedIn’s business page verification process. This involves confirming ownership of the company’s business email address or website domain.
Unlike regular LinkedIn user profiles which anyone can make, the verification requirements aim to maintain the integrity of company pages as official presences on the platform. It guards against false or unauthorized business pages being created which could potentially mislead LinkedIn members.
Rules and best practices for setting up your LinkedIn business page
When creating and managing your LinkedIn business page, there are some key rules and best practices to follow:
Complete your profile fully
Fill out all relevant sections of your company page completely, such as the About Us, Products and Services, Career Pages, and Contact Info. This helps members understand what your company does and engages them with your brand story.
Optimize SEO elements
Keyword-optimize the page title, headline, description, and About Us overview for search engine visibility. Include important keywords people may use to search for your business.
Use an official company logo
Have a recognizable, high-quality logo that represents your brand. Don’t use unofficial or poor-quality logos that may reflect poorly.
Follow brand guidelines
Maintain visual brand consistency in colors, images, and fonts aligned with your official brand guidelines. This strengthens brand recognition.
Highlight company culture
Showcase your company culture, values, and work environment. This attracts job seekers and makes your employer brand more appealing.
Publish relevant, engaging updates
Post regular status updates with company news, blog posts, events, media mentions, employee spotlights, job openings, and industry insights. This keeps members informed and interacting with your page.
| Section | Best Practices |
|---|---|
| Page Title and URL | – Include primary keywords related to your business – Keep it concise but descriptive |
| Logo | – Use official logo files, at least 200×200 pixels – Square logos fit LinkedIn design best |
| Cover Photo | – Visually represent your brand or industry – Include text overlays sparingly |
| About Us | – Tell your company’s story and mission – Optimize with relevant keywords |
| Products and Services | – Explain what you offer – Use bullet points for easy reading |
| Career Pages | – Showcase your culture to attract talent – Link to your actual career site |
Rules for administrators
LinkedIn business pages allow companies to assign multiple administrators who can access, post, and manage the page on the company’s behalf. Here are some key rules administrators should follow:
Post purposefully
Only share updates relevant to your audience that educate, entertain, inform, or engage them in some way. Don’t post randomly just to increase post volume.
Be authentic
Communicate in your company’s authentic voice. Don’t use canned messaging that sounds overly promotional or inauthentic to your brand.
Honor privacy
Respect member privacy and confidentiality. Do not share members’ personal information publicly without consent.
Disclose affiliations
If sharing any content affiliated with or sponsored by another brand, disclose that information transparently. Don’t try to pass off affiliate content as purely your own.
Abide by legal guidelines
Ensure content does not violate copyright, trademark, libel, or plagiarism laws. Cite sources when sharing third-party material.
Monitor comments
Actively moderate and respond promptly to any inappropriate comments on your posts. Do not allow your page to host offensive, discriminatory or abusive content.
| Type of Content to Avoid | Explanation |
|---|---|
| False information | Do not knowingly share inaccurate or misleading claims. |
| Hate speech | Do not allow offensive, inflammatory, or threatening speech. |
| Violence and gore | Do not post violent, graphic, or disturbing imagery. |
| Illegal activity | Do not depict or promote illegal drugs, crime, etc. |
| Confidential information | Do not share nonpublic, proprietary information. |
| Affiliate content | Disclose if content is sponsored by or affiliated with another brand. |
Rules for engaging with other business pages
LinkedIn allows business pages to interact and engage with each other’s pages and content. Here are some rules to follow:
Be thoughtful about endorsements
Only endorse or recommend other companies that you have experience with and truly trust. Avoid meaningless, indiscriminate endorsements.
Don’t over-promote
Occasionally sharing content from or mentioning other companies you partner with is fine. But avoid repeatedly cross-promoting just for mutual benefit.
Respect competitors
You may differentiate yourself from competitors, but don’t attack or disparage them on LinkedIn. Keep competitive comparisons professional.
Get permission to tag
Tagging other business pages in your posts links them to your content. Only do so if they have given you permission.
Cite when sharing
When re-sharing content directly from another business page, cite them as the original source. Don’t pass it off as your own content.
| DOs of Engaging Other Pages | DON’Ts of Engaging Other Pages |
|---|---|
| – Comment on their relevant posts | – Tag them without permission |
| – Share their helpful content | – Claim their content as your own |
| – Congratulate their milestones | – Post irrelevant or spammy comments |
| – Politely correct any misinformation | – Harass, troll or attack their page |
| – Constructively contribute to discussions | – Try to hijack their followers |
Rules for advertising on LinkedIn
LinkedIn allows business pages to pay for various forms of sponsored content and ads. If you choose to advertise, there are compliance rules to follow:
Disclose sponsored content
Clearly label any paid ads or sponsored content with the text “Sponsored” or “Promoted.”
Comply with LinkedIn’s policies
Carefully follow LinkedIn’s Editorial Guidelines for all ads and sponsored content.
Avoid false claims
Do not use exaggerated superlatives or make unfounded claims about your products or services.
Use accurate creatives
Ads should accurately represent your business and offerings. Do not use fake or misleading creatives.
Target appropriately
Do not target demographics or users inappropriately based on sensitive factors like health conditions or ethnicity.
| Allowed Ads | Prohibited Ads |
|---|---|
| – Job listings | – Misleading claims |
| – Promoting brand awareness | – Copyright or trademark infringement |
| – Lead generation offers | – Illegal or banned products |
| – Content marketing posts | – Hate speech or symbols |
| – Corporate announcements | – Sensitive targeting for housing, employment, etc. |
Consequences for violating LinkedIn’s rules
It’s important for companies to follow LinkedIn’s rules and policies for business pages. Those who violate them risk having consequences imposed by LinkedIn, such as:
Content removal
Any posts or ads found to violate policies may be taken down without notice.
Limits on activity
Access to posting, commenting, sharing, or other capabilities may be restricted.
Permanent closure
For severe or repeat violations, LinkedIn may permanently close your page without the option to reopen.
Legal liability
LinkedIn may take legal action in cases of criminal activity, copyright/trademark infringement, or other unlawful behavior.
Reputational damage
Rule-breaking reflected on your business page can hurt your brand reputation and trust among LinkedIn members.
| Violation | Potential Consequences from LinkedIn |
|---|---|
| Hate speech, threats | – Remove content – Restrict account – Close account |
| Copyright infringement | – Remove infringing content – Disable account features |
| Impersonation | – Remove fake accounts – Close account permanently |
| Scams/Fraud | – Remove content – Report to legal authorities – Sue for damages |
| Harassment | – Remove content – Suspend account temporarily – Permanently ban user |
Appealing enforcement actions
If action is taken against your page, LinkedIn may allow an appeal:
Review notification carefully
Understand the specific violation cited so you can address it in your appeal.
Provide context
Explain any mitigating circumstances or additional context about the violation.
Note policy familiarity
Stress that you have reviewed and understand the policies you violated.
Describe corrective actions
Detail steps you’ve taken to ensure the violation won’t happen again.
Be respectful and sincere
Appeals with confrontational, dismissive or insincere tones are less likely to succeed.
| Helpful Points to Include | Points to Avoid |
|---|---|
| – Apologize/express regret | – Make excuses |
| – Take full responsibility | – Blame others |
| – Explain it was an isolated incident | – Downplay severity |
| – Detail prevention plan | – Demand reversal |
| – Promise it won’t repeat | – Threaten litigation |
Conclusion
Maintaining an official, compliant LinkedIn business page according to the platform’s rules and best practices enables companies to positively engage professional audiences and achieve their business goals. By understanding and following the guidelines around content, advertising, administrator roles, appeals, and more, organizations can build trust and credibility for their brand while avoiding risks like penalties or reputational damage. Regularly monitoring activity and responses on your LinkedIn business page is key to ensure users have a quality experience interacting with your company.