What's in a Username?

When Yael and I spoke to a freshman UCLA class on using social media for their research projects on Sub-Saharan Africa, I realized why so many people make mistakes with their usernames for Twitter, Facebook profiles and LinkedIn profiles.

Of the 20 students, only one young woman was on LinkedIn. And she was the only one already on Twitter. Of course all class members were on Facebook.

Shakespeare may have said a rose by any other name is still a rose. But if you are using social media to connect with people who might be interested in your brand, book, cause or business, you need to make sure you are using your username correctly.

Here is the username playbook so that you don't get in trouble with Facebook or LinkedIn:



Facebook: When you join Facebook, you first must set up a personal account. Under Facebook's terms of services your profile (where people "friend" you) must be in your own name and not your company's name – or Facebook can dump your account without any warning (unless you're a special exception).

Once you have a personal account, you can create a Facebook Page (formerly called a fan page) under whichever name or title you want and people can "like" your Page.

LinkedIn: When you join LinkedIn, you first must set up a personal profile with your own name – not your company's name. (That's why your profile is under the search tab PEOPLE.)

Then you can create a company page (under the search tab COMPANIES) if you have an email address that is NOT hotmail, etc. but is what I call a professional email.

Twitter: Here's the difference between Twitter and the above two social media sites when it comes to usernames:



When you join Twitter, it is perfectly acceptable to create a Twitter username that has nothing to do with your own name. Twitter usernames can be brand, book, cause or business names.

But – and this is important – I highly recommend you put your real name in the NAME field of your Twitter profile settings. This way, when people check out your Twitter profile to decide whether to follow you, they can know the person behind the account.

And this goal of establishing a personal connection is why, for many brands, it is better to use a headshot than a logo for your Twitter profile.

Regardless of what Twitter username you choose (and the username can be changed), people are still more likely to connect with the photo of a real person rather than a logo.

If you want more recommendations on an effective Twitter profile, get the Miller Mosaic free Twitter profile report or get this free report as one of several free Miller Mosaic reports.



© 2011 Miller Mosaic, LLC

Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) is the co-founder of the social media marketing company Miller Mosaic LLC.

Get the free information "8 Social Media Marketing Mistakes" and "Social Media Marketing Does Not Magically Work; You Have to Work It" at www.facebook.com/millermosaicsocialmedia