Difference Between Personal And Business LinkedIn

Written By Alex Cherry

LinkedIn users have profiles set up on the network site. These profiles can be personal as well as business or company pages. Many users get confused as to which profile they should be used to have maximum reach and response from others, specifically their clients. To clear this confusion, let’s clear up the differences between a LinkedIn Personal Profile and a LinkedIn Business Page.

Personal Profile On LinkedIn

This profile is your personal page on LinkedIn and can be set up the way you think is best. Details about yourself, such as who you are, what work you do, who you work with, and your previous accomplishments, can be added to this Personal Profile. If you are a business or a company owner, you can even talk about it here. According to experts, this type of profile should be written in a personal tone to come out as an approachable person to talk with. 

LinkedIn Business/Company Page

This profile is your company’s profile on LinkedIn. Unlike the Personal Page, which can only be managed by the owner, the Company Page can be managed by multiple people that work for the company. This page allows you to manage your brand, broadcast updates and accomplishments of your company, and increase the brand’s awareness. 

Key Differences Between LinkedIn Personal Profile And LinkedIn Business Page

The main differences between a LinkedIn Personal Profile and Company Page are as follows.

Company Pages Are Passive, While Personal Profiles Are Active

The biggest difference when it comes to differentiating the characteristics of a LinkedIn Company Page from a LinkedIn Personal is about communication and reach. Company pages are passive; this means that you cannot properly connect to other users using your company’s page. This also prevents you from having direct conversations with prospects or building business relations with them. 

On the other hand, personal profiles are active. They can be used to reach out directly to different prospects, engage with them, and build strong relationships. 

Difference In Representation

LinkedIn Company or Business Pages represent organizations, while Personal Profiles represent individuals. Due to this reason, they both are designed differently and work in different manners. Furthermore, each has its own user experience, and different logarithms to function, and thus, achieve different purposes. 

For example, a personal profile informs others about the owner’s details like their education, work, interests, etc. while a company page describes the business that the company offers, information about the jobs, employees, mission, etc.

Followers And Engagement

Company Pages have followers since users cannot directly reach out to them nor connect with them personally. On the contrary, personal profiles allow you to have close connections with other users as they can directly reach out to you through your profile, increasing engagement. 

LinkedIn Advertisements

The key to making your brand successful is by having multiple advertisements to get maximum audience attraction. LinkedIn ads are a great tool that helps you reach a large audience in a short span. However, you can only run ads through a company page, and never from a personal profile. 

Which Is The Better Choice?

Both LinkedIn Personal Profiles and Company Pages have their fair share of advantages and disadvantages. However, considering the experts’ view, it is better if you focus more on Personal Profile. 

Here are the reasons why you should focus more on your Personal Profile.

People Love Connecting With Other People, Not Businesses

Human connections are vital for a strong bond and relationship. People are interested in knowing about you and prefer having connections with a person, rather than with their company. Having a well-built Personal Profile allows users to feel approachable and direct with you, bringing better engagement and following. After they get to know you better, they would surely be interested in your business as well. So it is better to first build a natural connection with them and then engage them with your company using LinkedIn Business. 

Company Pages Might Get Notorious And Boring

People get bored and tired of viewing your company page since it only focuses on a one-way broadcasting system. People want human-to-human connection where they can have an active interaction, therefore, Personal Profiles are the way to go.

Personal Profiles Stand Out

You cannot make your company page stand out a lot, other than by adding descriptions and visualizations. However, this is not the case when it comes to LinkedIn Personal Profiles. You can make yours appealing and attractive by adding videos, images, pdfs, power-point presentations, articles, as well as your projects, etc. to gain maximum audience attraction. 

People Relate Better To Personal Stories

Personal stories and related experiences have a greater impact on the audience that visits your profile. People get tired of viewing the bland company updates and want to read something they enjoy. Sharing your personal stories and experiences helps you get more engagement on the platform. Subsequently, your posts will be shown to more people, thereby, boosting your brand awareness. 

FAQs

Is a LinkedIn business page linked to a personal account?

Yes, your LinkedIn business page is linked to your personal account. To make a LinkedIn Company Page, you would first be required to have a LinkedIn Personal Profile. This is significantly better for small business owners as they would want to have a personal profile to help build their business relationships. 

Is LinkedIn Business Page free?

Yes, it is free. There is no charge to make a Company Page on LinkedIn.

How to keep your personal and business LinkedIn separate?

To keep your personal and business LinkedIn separate, you should create a Company Page for your business and not a Personal Profile for it. By having a company page, your business can be viewed by anyone when they search for your company in the LinkedIn search bar. The posts you upload will be seen by the people you follow on your LinkedIn business account or company page.