This post was first published on the Social Tribe blog.
Earlier this year, LinkedIn retired the Products and Services tab from Company Pages, suggesting Showcase Pages as replacements.
Faced with yet another change in this constantly evolving platform, it is tempting to defer action on this. However, here are two compelling reasons to take immediate action and some tips to ease the way:
Reasons to Act Now
1. You have until 30th May 2014 to request a copy of the recommendations you have received for your product and services.
2. The Showcase Pages URLs are created on a first come, first served basis and impact page title, so snag yours now before it is taken.
Will the Showcase Pages be replaced or changed in time? Possibly, but for now, with 300,000,000 users focused on learning, engaging and conducting business on LinkedIn, why risk missing this opportunity?
Showcase Pages
There is plenty of information available on how to set up and manage Showcase Pages. Here are some less obvious details:
Showcase Page URL Format
At the moment, Showcase Page URL format is as follows:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/title-of-your-showcase-page
As the URLs do not contain your company name, we are all competing for the same keyword-rich, snappy URLs. Why should we care about this?
Well, we all love clear URLs, but the real issue here is that this impacts your Showcase Page title: if the URL is not available, then you need to change title.
For example, if you want to name your Showcase Page ‘Social Media’ this will not be possible, as https://www.linkedin.com/company/social-media is already taken:
LinkedIn Showcase Page title may not be available
Check out the relatively small organisations that have snagged these neat URLs: https://www.linkedin.com/company/marketing
https://www.linkedin.com/company/socialmedia
https://www.linkedin.com/company/business
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ireland
Showcase Pages Cannot Be Deleted
Yes, you read that correctly. If you, as admin for your Company Page, create a Showcase Page, you do not have permission to delete it.
You can request to have it deactivated, but the URL may not be reused and you may request to have it reactivated in future. This has caused consternation among LinkedIn users, but coupled with the preceding point it looks like an opportunity to get your URL, even if you decide not to publish immediately.
Showcase Page Limits
You can create up to ten Showcase Pages for each Company Page, but no more than two in any twenty-four hours. Good to know if you are planning to set time aside to create them all at once.
Showcase Pages displayed in LinkedIn search results
Features of Products/Services Tabs vs Showcase Pages
Your Company Page followers are not migrated, so an audience must be grown for each Showcase Page. Here are some other comparisons:
| Feature | Products/Services tabs | Showcase Pages |
| Unique URL | Yes | Yes |
| Post / sponsor updates | No | Yes |
| Displayed in search results | No | Yes |
| Followers | N/A | Unique for each page |
| Administrators | Company Page admin | Assign per page, does not have to be company employee |
| Community management | Recommendations received, no management required | Manage updates, comments |
| Header image | 640 x 220 pixels | “Hero image” 974 x 330 pixels min |
| Page layout | One column | Two column |
| Page / product / service title | Max 100 characters | Max 100 characters |
| Description | Max 2,000 characters | Max 200 characters |
| Recommendations | Yes | No |
| YouTube video | Yes | No |
| Associated contact employee | Yes | No |
| Associated LinkedIn groups | No | Yes |
Action Points
1. Request a Copy of Product / Service Recommendations
If you had received recommendations for your Products and Services, a copy of these may be requested here until Friday 30th May. It is unclear how or if these may be deployed in future, but better to have them on file.
2. Create Showcase Pages for Key Products, Services or Initiatives
Go to your Company Page > Edit > Create a Showcase Page and grab those titles and URLs now in case you want to develop the pages later. Save the URL of the unpublished Showcase Page to complete later.
Have you decided to integrate Showcase Pages in your digital marketing strategy? Let us know your challenges and successes in the comments.
Karen Henry
I am a digital marketer who has recently returned home to Ireland, following a two-year stint working in Silicon Valley, California. I am an avid traveller, reader and oenophile, always happy to connect with new people, online and IRL. All content (c) Karen Henry 2010-2016