Will LinkedIn’s new company pages take on Facebook’s business page?

by Linda Coles

You would think that Facebook would be the front runner here as it has the advantage of more than 500 million members on it’s network and by comparison, LinkedIn has a much smaller network of only 80 million. But I wonder if the very nature, and I mean the business nature of the LinkedIn site could pull it off?

Not all businesses have a company Facebook page because they just don’t see the platform as their target market to communicate with, and if you sell ball bearings or professional services, you are probably right. So where exactly can you go to get your share of the online space, generate conversation and feedback, and get others to recommend your product or service? LinkedIn now has that place.

The company page will allow you to add in video, product images, 3 banner images linked back to your website or any where else you want to link them back to, descriptions about your products and services, and add a disclaimer. You can even load up multiple variations of the page that show different images depending on the visitor. With Linkedin members also being able to write and add recommendations about your products, it’s in a perfect situation. Take a look at Dell’s page here.

I think it is only a matter of time before they also link this page back to your group  page that you may also run so that conversations can take place. That would then pretty much wrap it up nicely, all in a very business oriented environment.

Linkedin is fast becoming a real source of business intelligence, and with the ability to now follow a company, whenever they update anything, you will be notified, so if someone leaves, you have the intelligence. Imagine that from a recruiter’s point of view, and something you won’t get with Facebook either. Imagine knowing that the new CEO has just been appointed and is looking for what you are selling.

Just like you may have a link on your website to your company Facebook page, you can now also have one that asks ‘Follow us on Linkedin”.

I wonder what the next great idea to role out will be. I would be interested in your thoughts so feel free to post them by clicking the comments button below.

Linda Coles
Member of NSANZ
Speaker and trainer on building and maintaining relationships online.
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