Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Tips for Choosing a Twitter Handle

Posted By Amanda Walsh

123SocialMedia.com is a wonderful resource for communications professionals engaging in social media. Author Barry Hurd makes some good points for communicators trying to decide which user name to use for their social media accounts, particularly Twitter. Hurd writes, “professional communicators need to first ask “am I doing this for me personally, a project, or my company?”

Overall, I agree with Hurd when he suggests creating a FirstNameLastName Twitter handle. It is the best in terms of personal brand building. It also helps with Search Engine Optimization to increase recognition of your name on Google searches. It is a smart and easy way to promote your personal brand and name.

If you’re signing up for Twitter and want to focus on a current company project, connect the project name into the brand of the company. Consider if this project will have an individual presence separate from the company? If so, you may decide that this particular campaign or project needs its own Twitter handle. Perhaps research some keywords to describe the project and try to incorporate those into the account name.

If the Twitter account is being created on behalf of the company, choosing the company name or slogan may be options to consider. However, Hurd does warn that slogans may change with time. At the very least, registering the account will allow the company to have control over the brand.

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