LinkedIn content for architecture and engineering firm websites

LinkedIn content that supports a design portfolio

Clients choosing an architecture or engineering firm, especially through qualifications-based selection, weigh two things: comparable projects and the people who would lead theirs. Your website's project pages are usually polished but slow to update. LinkedIn is where groundbreakings, topping-out ceremonies, awards, new licenses and new hires show up first.

• The firm's LinkedIn Page: project milestones, completions and award announcements.
• Principals' profile cards: headline, current role and past experience, including earlier firms.
• Licenses and credentials: the certifications widget shows what each person lists under Licenses & certifications, with a credential link if they added one.
• A principal's own project list: the projects widget reads the Projects section of a personal profile.

Where it fits on a firm's site

• Project pages: Selected posts (Pro and Essentials) with that project's milestone and completion posts, so the page shows the project's story beyond the final photos.
• Team and leadership pages: profile cards and certifications grids for licensed principals and project leads.
• Qualifications pages for a pursuit: a Selected posts widget with the four most relevant project posts, swapped out for the next pursuit.
• Awards and recognition: Selected posts announcing recent awards, next to your own full list of awards.
• Careers: the jobs list from the firm's Page; see the careers page use case.

Licensure, titles and project credit

Titles are regulated. NCARB notes that state regulation often limits the term “architect” and its derivatives to people who have completed licensure, and that many jurisdictions also treat words like “architectural” or “design professional” as implying a license. NCEES's Model Law takes the same approach to calling oneself a professional engineer. Rules vary by state, and the state board is the authority.

A profile card shows each person's LinkedIn headline as written. A headline like “Project Architect” for someone who isn't licensed yet may conflict with your state's rules once it sits on your firm's website.

• Check the headlines shown in profile cards against your state board's title rules. Fix them on LinkedIn, then sync the widget.
• Credit projects accurately. A post about work a principal did at a previous firm, shown on your site, can suggest your firm did it; say where the work was done.
• Some clients restrict publicity about their projects, especially secure, healthcare or critical-infrastructure facilities. Check the contract before featuring a post.
• If posts include a photographer's images, confirm your license covers your website as well as social media.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check with your state licensing board or counsel.

A setup plan for a design firm

1. 1

   Sole practitioner

   Free covers one widget: your profile card. Pro (3 widgets, 2 sources) adds a projects or certifications grid from the same profile and the firm Page's feed.

2. 2

   Firm with three or four principals

   Essentials (5 widgets, 5 sources) fits the firm's feed plus a profile card for each of four principals, or the firm's feed and jobs list plus three principals.

3. 3

   Larger firms

   With more principals than sources, use the firm's company card and feed on about and news pages, give profile cards to the leaders named in most proposals, and link everyone else's name to their LinkedIn profile.

4. 4

   Keep project pages current

   Picked posts are re-fetched on your plan's schedule, so edits and deletions on LinkedIn carry through. Review your picks when a project wins an award or reaches completion.