Does Your Facebook Username Really Matter?

Just after midnight on Friday, June 12, there was a mad rush to get a username as Facebook opened its doors to personalized URLs. While many people knew precisely what name they were going for, Twitter was alive with those wondering just how important their username really is. Now millions of users have registered. Whether you grabbed a name at the moment Facebook allowed it or are still trying to decide what to register under, you may still be wondering just what the impact is on your social media marketing strategies.

It really depends on how you use Facebook and what your brand is. If you are mostly using the site to reconnect with high school sweethearts, then chances are your own name is more than enough. However, I saw plenty of users grabbing their brand names, which they use on Twitter, Digg, and StumbleUpon. This makes sense if your main use of Facebook is for social networking and marketing, after all, many potential clients may know you best by that username and will find it easier in the long run to find you.

Another consideration is search engine results. Do you want your Facebook page coming up when someone does a search for your branded username? Whether this is your company name or a keyword rich phrase that you’ve chosen, you boost your visibility by using it on as many sites as possible. How well will Facebook rank with Google and other search engines? An initial search that I for a friend’s username came up with her Twitter profile as the third result and her Facebook page showed up directly under that, so this bodes very well for brand visibility.

Your username may not change the way you use social networks, but it can definitely add to your online reputation, which is very important when it comes to networking.