PipeflowTwo different things on one platform
On LinkedIn there are two ways to be visible as a business. The personal profile belongs to you as a person: you connect with others, write posts, comment and receive messages. The company page belongs to the business: it has a logo, a description, job ads and posts that appear in the company's name.
A company page is always created and managed from a personal profile. So the question is rarely “either or”, but rather: where do you put your limited time?
The difference also shows in how content spreads. A personal profile is followed by people you've connected with: customers, suppliers, former colleagues and acquaintances. A company page is only followed by people who have deliberately clicked “Follow”. Especially at the start this audience is usually very small, and it grows only slowly.
Why the personal profile usually comes first
In small businesses the person behind the business is often the real reason customers come. You don't call “the joinery”, you call the joiner you've heard good things about. LinkedIn is similar: people respond more to other people than to logos. A post with a face and a personal point of view is usually read and commented on more readily than a company announcement.
On top of that, with a personal profile you can actively make contacts, send connection requests and join in conversations in other people's comments. A company page can only do this to a limited extent. It tends to wait for people to follow it.
For the self-employed, sole traders and small teams in which the boss is the face of the business, the recommendation is therefore usually: first set up your own profile well and post there regularly.
When a company page makes sense
Still, the company page has its place. It's worth it above all in these cases:
A page that is created and then forgotten does more harm than good. If the last post was a long time ago, visitors wonder whether the business still exists. So only create one if you want to look after it at least occasionally.
- Recruiting: Job ads and insights into the business look more trustworthy when there's a page people can refer to.
- Team on LinkedIn: Employees can list the business as their employer, and then the logo appears in their profiles.
- Trust: Anyone searching for your company name on LinkedIn finds a well-kept page with a description, website and location.
- Business customers: If you deal a lot with property managers, buyers or other businesses, people will also search for you there by company name.
- Succession or growth: The business should be seen independently of any one person.
How to combine both without doing the work twice
Many small businesses do well with a simple split: the personal profile is the main channel, the company page the business card. Your thoughts, experiences and insights appear on your profile. The page gets posts less often, and more on official topics such as new services, job openings, awards or holiday closures.
When you publish something on the company page, you can share it on your profile and add a personal sentence. The other way round, you link the page in your profile under Experience. That way both paths lead to each other.
Avoid publishing the same text on both channels on the same day. Otherwise anyone who follows both you and the business sees everything twice, and that soon looks careless.
An example from a tax advisory firm with a small team: the owner writes on her profile about questions founders ask her and about changes affecting her clients. The company page shows job openings, new colleagues and notices about changed opening hours. The team shares the job posts in their own networks. That way each channel has a clear job and nobody has to write things twice.
A quick decision guide
If you're unsure, answer these questions for yourself:
If the answer to the first question is “me” and you only have time for one channel, focus on your profile. If you're hiring or your team is visible on LinkedIn, also create a simple company page. After a few weeks you'll see which works better in the statistics LinkedIn shows for posts and pages.
- Do your customers mainly know you personally or mainly the company name?
- Do you have time for one channel that's used regularly, or for two?
- Are you currently looking for staff, apprentices or trainees?
- Do several people in the business use LinkedIn themselves?
Special case: practices, law firms and advisory services
Doctors, therapists, pharmacies, tax advisers, lawyers and financial and insurance advisers are also subject to their own professional rules. This applies to the personal profile as much as to the company page. No promises of cures, no promises of success and no patient or client cases, not even in a form where they could be recognised. If in doubt, your professional chamber can help.