June 28 is the day to keep in mind if you are a Facebook user.
For all the hype about vanity URLs on Facebook, many people were surprised to find that if your Facebook Page has fewer than 1,000 fans or you created it after May 31, 2009, your Page was not eligible to get a vanity URL on June 12, when Facebook opened the doors to let people claim short, branded URLs.
But starting June 28, Facebook accounts of all sizes can get in on the act. Even if you have fewer than 1000 fans, Facebook will permit you to register your vanity URL.
If you have somehow missed out on the buzz about Facebook Vanity URLs, here is the deal:
Up until now, your Facebook profile URL or Fanbook Fan Page URL was too long and too abstract for people to easily remember. Because of this, URLs were hard to share and too unwieldy to become part of your branding package.
BUT all that changed with the opportunity to switch to Vanity URLs.
For example, now you can be: (only please use your name, Elsom is already using his.)
http://www.facebook.com/Elsom.Eldridge (for a personal profile page)
InsideFacebook.com offers these additional insights:
- “Facebook is not allowing Page owners to choose generic vanity URLs. The most SEO-able usernames are those that most closely match frequently searched terms, like “flowers” or “pizza.” However, Facebook says that generic words are not available as usernames at this time. Rather, Facebook “encourages all users and Page administrators to create a username that closely matches the true identity of their name or business.”
- Facebook is not allowing Page owners to change or transfer usernames/URLs. Once you pick a username for your page, that’s your page’s username forever – so pick one you’re going to like for the long term. This also means that it will be harder for a black market around usernames to develop.
- Facebook is allowing rights holders to prevent their trademarks from being registered as usernames. If you own a trademark that you want to prevent others from registering as their Facebook username, Facebook has created this form that you can fill out to file the request.”
Other information about selecting a Facebook user name:
- Your Facebook username has to be at five characters long, and can be letters only, a combination of letters and numbers, or numbers only.
- You can register one name only, as the Facebook Terms of Use require that you have only one account for one personal profile.
- Remember that you are creating a URL not only as part of your brand, and an easier way to share your Facebook address with others, but to make it easier for search engines to catalog you.
Whether your brand is your name or your business name, it is an important tool for creating a memorable awareness in the marketplace of who you are and what you do. So if Facebook is a social media marketing tool you have put to work for yourself, your consulting practice, or coaching practice, or are considering trying out in the future, set your alarm so that when the clock strikes midnight, you are on Facebook, ready to file for the URL that will be branded, memorable, and easy to communicate.
