A question I’ve been getting recently due to a number of companies having organizational changes is “How do I change the name of my company LinkedIn page?”
The answer is it can be done depending on the kind of name change it is and the size of your company, but there are times when you will have to create a new page. You want to avoid creating a new page so that you can retain the follows of all of your employees and alumni who are already linked to the existing LinkedIn page.
Here’s what you need to know about how to do this.
Once you have set up a LinkedIn company page, you can make changes to most aspects of the profile, using a company email address that has administrative rights to the company page (multiple people can be company administrators) – except sometimes when it comes to changing the name of your organization depending on how big the change is.
If you’re an Admin of a LinkedIn Page, there may come a time when you need to make minimal changes to the name of your Page and Showcase Page to clarify your business structure and entity information, or change your name or part of your name.
Depending on the reason for a Page name change, you may want to rebrand your LinkedIn Page or Showcase Page by creating a new Page and requesting follower migration from your old Page.
Minimal name change requirements
A minimal name change for a LinkedIn Page or Showcase Page with a:
- Small number of associated employees can be done by Page Admins through the edit modal and by notifying employees of the change.
- Large number of associated employees must be made by contacting LinkedIn.
Examples of valid name changes (this chart is from LinkedIn)
| Current name | Name change | Justification for approval |
| Company Name Inc. | Company Name LLC. | Clarify business structure |
| The Dream Company | Dream Company | Remove definite article |
| Dream Business & Co | Dream Business or Dream Business and Company | Modify or remove business entity information |
| L.I. Business & Sons | L.I. Business or Business & Sons | Reduce complexity of previous name |
Examples of invalid name changes
| Current name | Name change | Justification for denial |
| Company Name Inc. | Business Name LLC. | Complete name change |
| Dream Business & Co | Vision Business & Co. or DreamVision Business & Co. | Modifies most of the name |
| Dream | Dream (Acquired by Business & Co.) or Dream Vision | Includes business acquisition or merger |
Notes:
- Changing your Page name doesn’t change work experience on the profiles of current and former employees. LinkedIn recommends posting a Page update and notifying members so they can update their profiles to reflect the name change.
- The Page URL isn’t automatically changed when you change your Page name.
Rebranding requirements
If your organization is being rebranded and your LinkedIn Page and Showcase Page(s) require a completely different name, reach out to LinkedIn with a publicly shared press release indicating the name change as well as the reason for the rebrand. LinkedIn will provide next steps after reviewing the provided materials.
Additionally, keep in mind that Page names:
- Must accurately reflect the organization represented by the Page
- Must match the name of the business, school, brand, or organization
- Can’t contain false or misleading information
- Can’t infringe on another person’s or entity’s rights
- Can’t use any variation of “LinkedIn”
If your Page has a small number of associated employees, rebranding can be done by Page Admins through the edit modal and by notifying employees of the change.
Other name changes
If your Page’s associated employee count is high and you require a non-minimal name change that’s not the result of a rebrand, we recommend that you:
- Create a new Page.
- Notify employees associated with your existing Page of the change so they can associate their profiles with the new Page.
There are numerous benefits to creating a LinkedIn company page, from increased brand awareness and search engine optimization to promoting news about your organization and finding new talent for your business. It’s well worth it to retain your existing followers so that you don’t have to start over from scratch – but if you have to, LinkedIn now offers company administrators the ability to see a list of their actual followers, which you can then download. This document will be incredibly useful if you find yourself in the situation of needing to create a new LinkedIn company page as you can invite them to follow the new page – but again, you should try and avoid this at all costs.
Please reach out to me with any questions about this topic – I know it can seem overwhelming and a bit daunting, but there is a path forward!