Do I need the same username for my business on all social media?

TL;DR. Got a great name for your business but now wondering if you need the same username across all social media?  Having the same name for your business on all social media networks does matter. Here’s why: you’re easier to find, it’s more professional-looking and it protects your brand from copycats. This explains more. 

 

If you’ve only recently started a coaching business, you may be wondering how to best showcase it on social media. You might be considering how you manage your names on social media. Specifically, you may be wondering whether you need the same username on all your social media networks for your business. After all, you may already have a platform with a following under your own name – can’t you just use that?  Does anyone care if it differs from the rest of your social media? Does it matter one jot?

The simple answer is yes.  All your social media accounts should be as consistent as possible when you’re in business.  When creating one for your personal use, you pick a name or nickname you like, and you’re ready to go.  But it’s a different ball game when it’s for a business. Then the social media accounts represent your business (to state the obvious!), which changes everything.

So, here’s why you should do your utmost to have the same username for your business on all social media.

 

You’re easier to find when you have the same username

 

Think about it like this.  Imagine you’re telling a prospective client where they can find you online. You’d mention your website, of course, then list the social media you’re active on. You tell them you’re @MyBusiness on Facebook, but it’s @MyBiz on Twitter and @MyBusines5 on Instagram – the problem is apparent. Not only does it take far too long to list them, but your client is also unlikely to remember any of the names. There are too many variations to recall any of them easily, and it isn’t very clear.  So now you’ve made life harder for a prospective customer, which is the last thing you want.

The aim is to make your socials simple to find and easily identifiable as yours.

Think of each social media platform as windows of a shop. Facebook is one window that showcases your services or products. Twitter is another one. A third window to your business wares might be Instagram. When a prospective customer is looking in any one window,  it needs to be clear that it’s YOUR business they’re looking at.

 

Socials and websites

 

In the 1990s, when websites started to become mainstream, securing the domain name was the key to owning your online brand name. Now that social media has exploded owning your business name on all the networks has become just as crucial.

In an ideal world, that means you would secure social handles that are consistent with your domain or business name.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the jargon, a social handle is your username. It’s often preceded by @.  So, in my case, it’s @OhMyWordSocial. It’s like the shop frontage on a bricks-and-mortar store – it identifies the business, so people know who you are.

That’s why the same username for your business on all social media networks is important. It lets prospective customers know which business window they’re looking into, no matter the platform.

Your aim is to eradicate or reduce all obstacles to being found. Don’t make your customers work to find you because many won’t do it.

 

It’s more professional to have the same username for your

business on all your social media

 

It looks professional if your branding is on-point.  To continue the example above, different social handles for a business can appear amateur.  First impressions count. When someone asks where they’ll find you on social media and you launch into a long list of different names in different places, it appears chaotic. On the other hand, customers will perceive you as a professional business if you can say I’m at @MyBusiness on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  The same name on all social media makes you appear serious about business.

People judge the professionalism of a business by looking at the visible parts. It may be subconscious, but they will do it all the same. If a business appears online under a mish-mash of names then it is sending out an unwanted message.  It puts a question mark over the professionalism and the quality of their services. You might be the best coach or counsellor in the world. Still, if your social presence looks unprofessional, it will inevitably put some people off making enquiries.

 

It’s good branding to have the same username for your business on all social media

 

If you don’t use the same name across all social media, a branding opportunity is lost.  Being haphazard just doesn’t cut it. Your social media handles need to reflect your brand name because they are a part of your brand.  This links to the professionalism point above.  One of the hallmarks of a well-run business is careful brand management.  When customers can’t easily find your social media, they instinctively feel  your business doenst have their brand under control. And that undermines confidence.  It is possible to have a brilliantly run business with inferior social media, but will they take the chance that you’re one of them?

Conversely, suppose your branding – logo, colours, fonts and name – are consistent. In that case, when your prospective customers weigh up your services, the conclusion is likely to be much more favourable.

Brand retention in prospective clients’ minds will also increase. That’s because you become much easier to remember when you use the same name across social media.

 

You protect your brand when you have the same username

for your business on all social media platforms

 

Even if you’re not active on all social media networks, it’s a wise move to secure the handle anyway. It means that you can then use it if you want to – a change of direction or you discover your heart lies on Twitter and not Facebook. But more than that, it protects your brand.

The last thing you want is for someone else to come along, take the social handle and start using it. Furthermore, there is the unwelcome possibility that they choose colours that are your brand colours. At best, prospective customers will be confused and, at worst, believe it’s you.

Next time I’ll tell you how to go about all this.

 

 

 

Main photo by kbuntu on depositphotos.com

 

 

Need more help?

I can support you with a bespoke package and work one-to-one with you.  Check out my services here.  On a budget? Take a look at Sixty Second Social. It’s tailor-made for coaches, counsellors, psychotherapists, and anyone working in the mental health sphere, who have a tight marketing budget. It provides you with fresh content, curated from around the globe, each month. For £27 per month, you get 35 links to relevant articles, together with the ready-written posts. All you have to do is upload it. In under 30 minutes each month – or 60 seconds a day, hence the name – you’ll schedule content on your social media accounts for the month ahead.  Or, if you prefer, I can do it for you, saving you even more time.