Your username doesn’t just give people a good first impression on social media, it’s how your fans refer their friends and family to you offline. Make it easy for them to find you by having the same username across the board.

I know what you’re going to say; ‘but Phoebe, there’s some random person using my name! And they don’t even post!’

Even if your first and second name are taken on one or more platforms, you can find other alternatives, how about these alternatives: @firstnamemiddlename, @firstnameyourcity or @firstnameyourniche 

 

Usernames to avoid

We’ve all had those moments where we try to tell our friends about an Instagram account we love, only for them to say they can’t find it because it’s: @247cool_and___cute_dresses or something similar.

It’s hard to remember where underscores and numbers go in usernames – so try and avoid them where possible. There are of course exceptions to this, but it’s good to avoid them if you can. 

You can always write your full name out on your profile, so it doesn’t have to be in your username too.

 

Things to check

Check that your username is available on all platforms, even if you have no plans to use them yet. A YouTube or TikTok channel might be a good move for you next year, make sure you’re prepared now.

 

Extra credit 

For extra brownie points make sure all your bios and profile pictures are the same across your accounts too.

This is especially important if you have a common name, or if there are lots of other accounts with similar handles to yours.

You want people to know that they’ve found the right account. Bear in mind that when someone goes to tag you in an Instagram Story or a tweet they are in the composition window and can only see your username and profile picture, not your bio.

Don’t make them have to open up a new window to check it’s you because they will probably give up and not bother to tag you. 

 

TLDR: stop making it hard for people to find and shout about you!

 

I hope this helped you! If you want to learn more about Instagram marketing and how to grow your personal brand on the platform, download my 14 day step-by-step personal branding course.