When you are creating social media profiles, take into account your personal brand (you), and how professional your username will appear to others. I could easily use the name TLcrazycatlady on my social media profiles, and my family would know where to find me. But, while it may accurately describe me (according to my family), it’s not the best username for personal branding.
Be consistent across social media profiles
I recommend that if you are new to social media, you start out with a consistent branding approach when choosing usernames. For example, I purchased the TerryLeague.com domain before I started blogging; then I set up my Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook Page, and Google+ accounts with the same username (TerryLeague). That way, when someone tries to find me on social media, I’ve made it easier for them – and given myself a better chance of showing up in search results.
If you’ve already created accounts with a variety of usernames, you may want to consider changing them all to one, consistent name. But note that with Facebook Pages you may have to go through a review process to prove you are who you say you are.
Also keep in mind that you’ll have to update any links on existing profiles and sites/directories when making a username change.
Do some research
You may want to do a Google Search on your name (or the username you want to use) just to see what comes up in the results. If you share your name or username with a public figure or celebrity, consider customizing the username so you don’t have to share the spotlight.
I usually have to share the spotlight with John Terry, captain of the Chelsea football (soccer) team and member of the UEFA Champions League, when doing a simple search on my name. One area I personally need to improve upon is images – I need to post a few more of myself for better search results.
If you look at the image search results for Terry League, you’ll find a whole bunch of John Terry, with one of me popping up in the mix (see below for a screenshot I took from Google Search)…it’s a good thing I like soccer, and don’t mind sharing results with John Terry 😉
But images are definitely an important part of personal branding, so make sure you keep them in mind as well when setting up your username and profiles.
Brand your visual content
Speaking of images, when you create visual content for your personal brand (Image quotes for example), brand them as well by putting your username on them.
For example, if I create an Image quote like the one below and put @TerryLeague on it, I’ve made it easy for people to find my account on Twitter or Instagram, since TerryLeague is my username on both accounts, and the @ sign is a way for others to tag me or Tweet me.
So there are a few things to keep in mind when setting up or editing your social media profiles when it comes to usernames. Even if your business has separate profiles with its name prominently featured, you’ll want to make sure any of your personal accounts are identified with the best username for both yours’ and the business’ appearance.
Top Photo Credit (derived from): Kuba Bozanowski via Compfight cc