How to share your startup on LinkedIn
TL;DR
LinkedIn is the professional network owned by Microsoft, with more than 1.3 billion members. A Company Page is free, and the optional Premium Company Page costs US$99.99 a month. It suits B2B startups, founders hiring their first team and anyone selling to professionals.
What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a social network built around work: profiles, company Pages, a feed, jobs, groups, newsletters and messages. It reports over 1.3 billion members on its about page. A startup works with two assets there. The Company Page holds your logo, description, website, jobs and posts. The founders' personal profiles are where founders talk directly with buyers, candidates and investors.
The domain authority of 99 shown here belongs to linkedin.com. Links in posts and profiles are nofollow, so judge LinkedIn by conversations, followers, demo requests and hires.
Who should use LinkedIn for their startup?
Good fit:
- B2B startups that sell to managers, HR, finance, legal or sales teams.
- Founders raising money, since investors look up the founders and the Company Page before a first meeting.
- Startups that are hiring, because the Page lists your open roles next to your story.
Skip it, or give it less time:
- Consumer apps for teenagers or gamers, whose audience spends its time on other networks.
- Founders who will not post under their own name. A silent Company Page collects few followers.
How much does LinkedIn cost?
- Company Page: free. LinkedIn's help article on creating a Page confirms it.
- Premium Company Page: US$99.99 per month or US$839.88 per year per Page, according to LinkedIn's pricing page. It adds a custom call-to-action button, a list of Page visitors and automatic follow invitations for people who engaged with your posts. LinkedIn releases it gradually.
- Premium for members and LinkedIn Ads are separate paid products.
How do you create a LinkedIn Company Page?
- Sign in to your personal LinkedIn account, which you need to create a Page, and open Create a LinkedIn Page. Use a computer or an iPhone, because the Android app does not support Page creation.
- Pick Company, enter the name, public URL, website, industry, company size, company type, logo and tagline, tick the box that confirms you may act for the company and click Create page.
- Complete the About section and cover image, then ask co-founders and team members to list the startup as their current employer, so their profiles link to the Page.
- Post from the Page and reshare from your own profile. Once the Page has more than 150 followers and a record of original posts, it becomes eligible for evaluation for a LinkedIn Newsletter (access criteria). Any member can start a newsletter from a personal profile right away.
Tips to get more out of LinkedIn
- Write as a person. A short story about one customer problem, with a screenshot or photo, reads better than a press release. Post it from your profile and reshare it on the Page.
- Invite your connections to follow the Page with the invite option in the Page admin view, starting with former colleagues and customers.
- Start a newsletter from your founder profile on the problem your startup solves, and link to the product inside each edition.
- Comment on posts by your buyers before you pitch them. A useful comment makes your name familiar before the first message.
Our verdict
LinkedIn is the first social network for a B2B startup: a free Page and an active founder profile reach buyers, candidates and investors in one place. Test the Premium Company Page only after the free Page has regular posts and a few hundred followers.
More options: see all founder communities. Planning the launch around this listing? The Fe/male Switch startup game walks women founders from idea to first customers.