follow meThis week's tip is about a really helpful LinkedIn feature that many people haven't stumbled upon. It's the Following Company feature.
 
It is part of the Company Page section of LinkedIn, which I always refer to as a separate file drawer on LinkedIn. I say this because everything else on LinkedIn is about individuals rather than companies.
 
What is this feature?
 
It allows you to tell LinkedIn what companies are on your radar screen for whatever reason. When LinkedIn becomes aware of changes related to those companies, they can notify you.
 
How do you follow a company?
 
Once you land on a company page, just click the yellow Follow button that's on the top right of the company page.
 
To find a company's LinkedIn page, click the down arrow next to the large Search box on the top toolbar. Then select Companies and enter a company name in the Search box.
 
When you're on an individual's profile, you can scroll over any of the companies listed in the Experience section. When the company detail box pops up, just click Follow Company, which is in the lower left of that box.

Which companies should you follow?
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  • Your company
  • Your competitors' companies
  • Companies you want to work for
  • Companies you want to sell to
  • Companies you may be thinking of acquiring, merging with or partnering with
  • Important current and prospective vendors or suppliers
  • Companies in closely aligned and/or related industries
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How many companies can you follow?
 
You can follow up to 1,000 companies, so have at it.
 
What things can you get notified about?
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  • Changes to the company page, including new products and services
  • New job opportunities (Job seekers -- take note of this one!)
  • Company status updates
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What less obvious things can you see or do with this information?
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  • You can see all the people who are following your company by clicking the number of followers
  • You can see all the people who are following any or all of the companies you are following or any other company for that matter
  • The company may see you are following them (another job-seeker goodie)
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The Following Company feature is a great research tool to help you keep tabs on the people and companies you care about.
 
For information about how your company can capitalize on LinkedIn, check out my free ebook 10 LinkedIn Mistakes Companies Make by clicking here.