KJA Mind Finds

We’ve shared some insight on why Facebook is important for your business. And we’ve provided some guidelines to get you started on the right foot. Hopefully you’re taking full advantage of Facebook’s built in connectivity to engage your customers and potential customers.

A NEW TOOL
The good folks at Facebook now provide you a nice way to promote your Facebook presence: Facebook usernames. (Maybe you’ve heard them called vanity URLs. Username is their official term.) Bottom line, it’s a simple way to replace those messy numbers and letters in your existing Facebook URL with your business name. For example:

All MUCH simpler and easier to remember than http://www.facebook.com/ford#/pages/Keep-Moving/104987344840.

WHY GET A USERNAME?
Number one: Obviously, it’s easier to recall. Imagine putting that gobbledygoop URL on a business card or brochure. That’s just a typo waiting to happen. With a username, you’re able to make it simple, clean and memorable. (Sites like Twitter and MySpace offer the same type of username URL.)

Number two: better results in Google. Better search results period. Facebook grows daily. With 250 million users, it’s one of the largest networks on the web. With your username in place, chances are when someone searches for your business, your Facebook page will rank in the top 10 search results.

These type search results drive traffic to your Facebook page, attract new fans and increase interaction and engagement opportunities. All very good things.

Have we mentioned – all this is free?

HOW DO I GET THIS USERNAME?
It’s not terribly difficult, there’s just one number hurdle you must cross. Facebook requires your page have at least 25 fans in order to get a username. (This keeps people from “squatting” – or acquiring a username they have no reason to own.) If you’re not at 25, recruit fans. Think of it as another way of engaging them.

Past that, we’ll refer to Facebook’s own guidelines for creating a username.

• Create a username that is as close as possible to your public figure or business name (e.g. AshtonKutcher, PizzaHut).
• If you own the rights to a given name, make it your username so that others cannot obtain it.
• Usernames can only contain alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9) or a period (“.”).
• Choose a username you will be happy with for the long term. Usernames are not transferable.
• Your username must adhere to Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.

WHAT USERNAME DO I GET?
Considering the big reasons for securing a username (easy to remember and better search results), try to get your business name. Doing this makes your Facebook Page like a second website.

Two important pieces of information:

1. Choose wisely. You get one chance. If you don’t like it, make an error, change your mind – too bad. The only way to change your username is to delete the account and start over. Not good.
2. As of August 12, Facebook had 50 million usernames (that’s a combination of individuals and businesses). Be prepared with a second option, especially if your business name leans to the generic.

Usernames provide a zero-cost opportunity to make the most of your Facebook presence. There’s simply no reason your business shouldn’t take advantage of this tool. Visit http://facebook.com/username today and replace that anonymous URL with one that speaks your name.

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Tags: Facebook, marketing, social networking

This entry was posted on September 25, 2009 at 9:34 am and is filed under Useful Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.