For a variety of reasons, I am not a big fan of LinkedIn Company Pages. Requirements to initiate a page are pretty stringent and with good reason: this popular social media platform doesn’t want just anyone publishing a company page. If you’re contemplating the development of a company page for your brand, here are some requirements – and ramifications – to first consider:
- You must be a current employee of the company and it must be listed in your LinkedIn profile. In addition, you must log in with an email address that belongs to that same company in order to initiate a company page. If your LinkedIn profile isn’t linked to your company email address, you won’t be the person who develops the company page. Gmail and other personal types of email account addresses simply won’t fly.
- Your personal profile strength status must be listed as Intermediate or All Star and you must have at least several connections. No spammers or interlopers here-
- Verify that someone else within your organization hasn’t already published a page. You might be surprised that a well-intentioned individual has beaten you to the punch!
- Be certain that you have permission from management to initiate the page – and to use the corporate (or association) logo. The logo you display in the company page will not only be displayed on the company page, but also in the profiles of each individual who lists your company in their individual profile.
If you do have the authorization to move forward with the development of a company page, I encourage you to do it: even if it’s a pretty basic page. Your corporate (or association) brand needs to be preserved and protected by an authorized company official. Only authorized officials will have access to update the company page.