At the beginning of my webinar on Twitter and LinkedIn I always poll attendees on whether they have found and claimed their nonprofit’s Company Page on LinkedIn. The answer usually hovers around a resounding 90%… “No.” The vast majority of nonprofits have not claimed or even know what a LinkedIn Company Page is. Well, that’s going to change dramatically in the coming weeks. LinkedIn has announced that “Companies” can now post Status Updates to their “Followers” via the “Companies” News Feed and it’s no surprise that the Humane Society of the United States is once again leading the way and embracing the strategy of early adoption:

Those familiar with LinkedIn Company Pages probably guessed that this functionality was coming, and in fact, have most likely been waiting for it to launch for more than a year. LinkedIn moves slowly and it’s been a good strategy for them – build anticipation and then launch a solid, well-thought-out product. And no doubt, their slow but strategic roll out of Company Pages over the last 18 months has resulted in a smart, well-built new tool for nonprofits to tap into. That said, all the automated Tweets/clutter in the in the LinkedIn “Home” News Feed is rendering that news feed almost useless. That LinkedIn launched Company Status Updates outside of the Home News Feed makes me wonder if that was their intention all along. 🙂

Related Links:
Webinar: How Nonprofits Can Successfully Use Twitter and LinkedIn
HOW TO: Claim Your Nonprofit’s Company Page on LinkedIn
Social Media for Nonprofit Organizations LinkedIn Group