One critical naming decision is related to the social media names. Let´s begin with the name of your Twitter account. Sure, it can be changed in the future, but that can affect your branding. It is best to start things off right, mainly when there no excuse for getting the wrong name.
Things to Avoid
Your name is supposed to be evocative of your business and your brand positioning. It should give people the idea that your business isn’t an amateurish newbie. That means that random naming conventions are off the table. You might think adding an “x” somewhere in the name may make it look cool, but it’s going to look like spam and not a brand a person should buy and trust.
You should also avoid adding numbers to the username unless it is a part of your brand’s name. Not only does it look juvenile, but it makes it seem like you didn’t bother to put in the effort to figure out an alternative. After all, most people add numbers to their usernames because the one they wanted to be was already taken. Settling for a word + number may be suited for a personal account. But you are a brand business. This is a brand Twitter identity. So, please, put more effort into it.
Underscores are another thing that you should avoid. They add unnecessary detail to your username, and it just isn’t typically done. The only time you should consider adding an underscore is if there isn’t a good alternative or if combining the two will result in an unfortunate result, such as combining “pen” with “island.”
Golden Tips
Name your brand’s Twitter account is a matter of practicality. For example, if your account will also serve as the company’s face on Twitter, you can use a variation of your company name. Not only does this make the company seem more like a person, but it will also make you easily recognizable at a conference. There´s also the opportunity to puts your name beside the brand name, which has great benefits of its own.
You can also opt to combine the name of your company with your name or position. You can also use this for employees who are empowered to speak for the company. You can use this naming convention to create a trend and make your spokespeople easily recognizable.
You can also combine your company’s name with its related industry or your education, such as an engineer or lawyer. This is doubly useful for companies whose names do not necessarily reflect their industry or product. It also has the subtle side effect of reminding people of what your company is about and establishing them as inseparable.
Names are powerful and valuable intangible assets. They represent an identity. A right name can be the difference between being forgotten and being memorable. The same goes for a username. The correct username will always bring to mind the idea of a professional and reliable company name. The wrong username can, at worst, result in being treated as spam or like a child who happened upon the Internet one day and decided to open an account somewhere.
Choose the right name. Please.
©2020 Roberto Martins, author of The Journey of Branding – Align With the Best Global Brands
