LinkedIn Company Page vs Personal Profile
A personal profile represents a person; a Company Page represents your organization, with its own rules for admins and access.
Is this your situation?
You run your company's presence through a personal profile or a shared login, and the difference from a Company Page is not clear. This page explains what separates the two and how admin access works on a Page.
What it is
LinkedIn Pages represent collective organizations, while LinkedIn profiles represent individuals. A LinkedIn profile is a professional landing page for managing a personal brand. A LinkedIn profile represents a person, while a LinkedIn Page represents an organization. You must have a LinkedIn profile to create a LinkedIn Page. You can designate anyone affiliated with the organization as an admin of a LinkedIn Page, including yourself.
How LinkedIn handles this
- No conversion: you cannot convert a LinkedIn profile into a LinkedIn Page.
- Policy: all LinkedIn profiles must comply with LinkedIn's User Agreement and Professional Community Policies.
- Real names: LinkedIn's Professional Community Policies require profiles to use the real name of the person.
- No shared accounts: policies prohibit using or attempting to use another's account.
- No misrepresentation: policies prohibit associating yourself with a business you're not professionally associated with.
Side by side
| Aspect | Personal Profile | Company Page |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Represents a person. | Represents an organization. |
| Completion Meter | Uses a Profile level meter. | Uses the 'Complete your Page' feature. |
| Following | You can follow or unfollow people, Pages, or topics. | Members can follow the Page as a LinkedIn Page. |
| Visitor analytics | Called 'Who's viewed my profile'. | Called 'Who's visited my Page'. |
| Verification feature | Called Member verification. | Called Page verification. |
| Premium subscription | Labeled 'Get started with LinkedIn Premium subscription'. | Labeled 'Get started with LinkedIn Premium Company Page subscription'. |
Common mistakes
- Using a profile to represent the organization A profile cannot represent an organization because profiles must represent real people.Why it happens: The company's identity was built on a profile instead of a Company Page.Already happened: Review the conversion steps for turning a profile into a Page.
- Account gets logged out unexpectedly Representing an organization with a profile instead of a Page may get you automatically logged out.Why it happens: The profile stood in for a business identity.
- Repeated policy violations Repeat or prolonged violations of profile policies may lead to the account being restricted.Why it happens: The same profile kept representing the organization after earlier warnings.Already happened: If restricted, see recovering a restricted account.
Quick reference
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can a profile become a Page? | No, you cannot convert a LinkedIn profile into a LinkedIn Page. |
| Is a Page free to create? | You can create a LinkedIn Page for free. |
| Who can be a Page admin? | You can designate anyone affiliated with the organization, including yourself. |
| What does a Page help with? | Pages help members learn about the organization's business, brand, products, services, and jobs. |
| Can profiles share logins? | Policies prohibit using or attempting to use another's account. |
| What must a profile be? | LinkedIn's Professional Community Policies require profiles to use the person's real name. |
| Can profiles claim unrelated organizations? | Policies prohibit associating yourself with a business you're not professionally associated with. |
Frequently asked questions
Can we keep using a personal profile for the business?
A LinkedIn profile cannot represent an organization because profiles must represent real people.
What happens if LinkedIn notices a profile acting as a company?
LinkedIn may automatically log you out of your account in that situation.
Is there a cost to set up a proper Company Page?
You can create a LinkedIn Page for free.
Can our existing profile become the admin of a new Page?
Once you've created a new Page, you can add your profile as an admin to it.
Keeping track of who has access
Confusion over who manages a company's presence builds when a personal profile and a Company Page get treated as the same thing. Delvia helps keep a clear record of who holds admin access to your Page as that picture changes.
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