Facebook’s Username Grab Goes Wild

Last night Facebook opened the gates to allow users to claim a specific username, which is something people have been requesting for a long time. LinkedIn allows you do that and so does Twitter so it seems that it was about time for Facebook to provide users the ability to create a personalized URL as well. For people who are using Facebook primarily as a business networking and social marketing platform, then there are additional benefits to having a specific vanity URL related to marketing and branding.

For many of us who already use either our name, our business name or another specific username, there was some added pressure to be the first to stake a claim- especially if you have a fairly common name. I chose to go with my proper name instead of my business name. I did this for a couple of reasons. First, as a Virtual Assistant, there is just as much likelihood that someone will search for me by name as they will for my business name. My URL for LinkedIn is also under my proper name. Secondly, Facebook made it very clear that users would not be allowed to change their username and were advised to choose wisely. I figured that if I ever wanted to re-brand myself or decided to change my name or my industry, then I would want to still have a relevant username/URL for my Facebook account regardless of what I was doing or the name of my business. Besides, in a few weeks, I’ll be able to choose a username for my business Fan Page that can specific to my business and thus help me in that way in the search engines.

It was reported on Mashable that 200,000 users claimed their name within the first 3 minutes after Facebook opened the gate. Today, they reported that over three million names were claimed by 2 p.m. EST. And along with that, Twitter was all a-buzz with everyone pronouncing their claims and with reports of other names being snatched up before people could claim the one they wanted. Mashable also followed up with a post today about some of the funnier, wackier and nonsensical names that were chosen.

Now, as a Social Media Virtual Assistant, I made sure to inform all of my clients who are Facebook users of the need to make sure they claim their username as soon as possible and why this was important. I also made sure to give them heads up about the Fan Page username limitations (a 1,000 fan requirement as of May 31) but that we would be able to go in and get a Fan Page username as of June 28th regardless of the number of fans. A few of my clients asked me to take care of claiming their username for them since I was already going to be claiming mine at the same time. This is yet another example of how a small business owner or solo entrepreneur can benefit from partnering with a Social Media Virtual Assistant. I stay aware of what’s going on daily in social media and am sure to alert my clients to whatever news or opportunities that I feel they will benefit from in their social media efforts.