#2




How Brands Can Change Their
Usernames on Social Networks:
A Simple Go-To Guide


                    presented by
Introduction
       Did your company recently update its image by
       changing its name, and now you’re stuck figuring out
       how to reflect these changes on your social networks?

       Changing a username isn’t as tricky as you may think,
       but finding best practices and instructions for each
       individual social network can be time-consuming. We’ve
       curated all the information you need to change your
       usernames and minimize any confusion that your
       networks may face.

       We’ll break it down into actions you can take before,
       during, and after the change.




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks       presented by
How do I change my
       Twitter username?


How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks   presented by
What you need to know about Twitter…


        Changing your Twitter username will not affect your
        existing followers, direct messages, lists, or @replies.
        All of that information is tied to your Twitter account,
        which means you can easily change your username at
        any time.


        How? è




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks      presented by
Changing your Twitter username.


        •  Log in to Twitter.
        •  From the upper right-hand drop-down menu where
           your username is displayed, click “Settings.”
        •  Change the name listed in the “Username” field on
           the first page you see.
        •  Save your changes.




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks   presented by
What to do after changing your Twitter
        username…
        Although the transition within Twitter is relatively
        seamless, search engines will hold your old handle in
        their index, which means that if people are searching
        for your Twitter account on Google, they may reach
        your old page and see a 404 error.

        Therefore, when changing your Twitter username we
        advise reserving your old username immediately after.


        How? è


How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks    presented by
Reserving your old Twitter username.


        •  Log out of Twitter and create a new account. (You
           can use the same email address.)
        •  Use your old username for this Twitter account and
           set the profile URL so that it directs people to the
           new username.
        •  In the bio, you can say something like: “This account
           has moved. Please follow @newusername instead.”
        •  You can also post a tweet with the same message.




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks     presented by
How do I change my
       Facebook Page
       username?


How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks   presented by
What you need to know about Facebook…

        At this point, it is only possible to change a Facebook
        Page name if the page has less than 100 “likes.”

        If your Page has a larger user base, you will have to
        create a new one.


        How? è




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks        presented by
Changing your Facebook Page name if you
        have less than 100 “likes.”

        •  Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage
        •  Click on the “Edit Page” link.
        •  On the “Basic Information” page, you can change
           the name in the “Name” field.




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks     presented by
Changing your Facebook Page name if you
        have more than 100 “likes.”

        •  Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
        •  Create a new Page with the updated name, being
           sure to brand it clearly with info, photos, and status
           updates.




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks       presented by
What to do after creating a new Facebook
        Page…

        Everyone who “liked” your previous Page will have to
        “like” your new one. Your goal is to maintain the bulk
        of your fan base and to successfully communicate the
        switch to the new Page.


        How? è




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks    presented by
Making a successful transition from your old
        Facebook Page to your new one.

        •  Set a date when the company will “officially” go to the new
           Page.
        •  Communicate the change to existing fans.
        •  Post engaging things on the new Page, and encourage fans
           from the old Page to check them out.
        •  The week leading up to your official change to the new Page,
           post links to it on your old Page.
        •  Post simultaneous messages to the old Page and the new
           Page for a couple weeks until people adjust to the change.
        •  Leave the posts directing people to the new Page on the wall
           of the old Page after your “official” move. Delete the old
           Page after about a month.


How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks            presented by
How do I change my
       LinkedIn company
       page?


How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks   presented by
What you need to know about LinkedIn…

        You can change a LinkedIn company name, but in
        order to do so you must contact customer service.



        How? è




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks    presented by
Changing your LinkedIn company name.


        •  Make sure you have a confirmed company email
           address registered to your account.
        •  Contact LinkedIn Customer Service and provide the
           following information:
             •  Company Name.
             •  The change you would like to make.




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks   presented by
How do I change my
       YouTube username?


How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks   presented by
What you need to know about YouTube…

        Currently, you cannot change your username— there is
        simply too much information tied to each account. You
        may, however, sign up for a new account with the
        username that you desire, and re-upload each video to
        your new account.


        How? è




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks   presented by
What to do after creating a new YouTube
        account…

        Similar to when you create a brand new Facebook
        Page, your goal is to maintain the bulk of your fan
        base and to successfully communicate the switch to
        the new page.


        How? è




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks      presented by
Making a successful transition from your old
        YouTube account to your new one.

        •  Post a video to the old account announcing the change and
           directing people to the correct URL.
        •  Post information about the new YouTube account on your
           other social networks.
        •  Leave the video directing people to the new account on the
           old YouTube. Delete the entire old YouTube account after
           about a month.




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks            presented by
How do I change my
       Flickr username?


How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks   presented by
What you need to know about Flickr…

        You can easily change your Flickr username at any
        time. However, once you have created your
        customized Flickr web address (e.g. http://
        www.flickr.com/photos/yourusername), you cannot
        change it.


        How? è




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks    presented by
Changing your Flickr username.


        •  Go to http://www.flickr.com/account/
        •  Click the ‘edit’ button next to ‘your screen name’




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks        presented by
Creating a customized Flickr web address.


        •  Go to http://www.flickr.com/account/
        •  Click the ‘edit’ button next to ‘your Flickr web address’




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks         presented by
Remember

       It’s important to maintain continuity between
       your social networks. Your audience needs to
       be able to quickly find you, so when you make
       any drastic changes, be sure to communicate it
       clearly to your fan base.




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks   presented by
agencypja.com

       We like to figure out the hard stuff. A fully integrated B2B/
       B2C agency with a strong focus on digital and social media,
       PJA Advertising + Marketing creates breakthrough
       marketing programs that engage sophisticated audiences,
       elevate your brand, and get you the credit you deserve.

                   Jessica Weil
                   Social Media Analyst
                   PJA Advertising + Marketing




How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks       presented by

How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks: A Simple Go-To Guide

  • 1.
    #2 How Brands CanChange Their Usernames on Social Networks: A Simple Go-To Guide presented by
  • 2.
    Introduction Did your company recently update its image by changing its name, and now you’re stuck figuring out how to reflect these changes on your social networks? Changing a username isn’t as tricky as you may think, but finding best practices and instructions for each individual social network can be time-consuming. We’ve curated all the information you need to change your usernames and minimize any confusion that your networks may face. We’ll break it down into actions you can take before, during, and after the change. How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 3.
    How do Ichange my Twitter username? How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 4.
    What you needto know about Twitter… Changing your Twitter username will not affect your existing followers, direct messages, lists, or @replies. All of that information is tied to your Twitter account, which means you can easily change your username at any time. How? è How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 5.
    Changing your Twitterusername. •  Log in to Twitter. •  From the upper right-hand drop-down menu where your username is displayed, click “Settings.” •  Change the name listed in the “Username” field on the first page you see. •  Save your changes. How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 6.
    What to doafter changing your Twitter username… Although the transition within Twitter is relatively seamless, search engines will hold your old handle in their index, which means that if people are searching for your Twitter account on Google, they may reach your old page and see a 404 error. Therefore, when changing your Twitter username we advise reserving your old username immediately after. How? è How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 7.
    Reserving your oldTwitter username. •  Log out of Twitter and create a new account. (You can use the same email address.) •  Use your old username for this Twitter account and set the profile URL so that it directs people to the new username. •  In the bio, you can say something like: “This account has moved. Please follow @newusername instead.” •  You can also post a tweet with the same message. How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 8.
    How do Ichange my Facebook Page username? How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 9.
    What you needto know about Facebook… At this point, it is only possible to change a Facebook Page name if the page has less than 100 “likes.” If your Page has a larger user base, you will have to create a new one. How? è How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 10.
    Changing your FacebookPage name if you have less than 100 “likes.” •  Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage •  Click on the “Edit Page” link. •  On the “Basic Information” page, you can change the name in the “Name” field. How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 11.
    Changing your FacebookPage name if you have more than 100 “likes.” •  Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php •  Create a new Page with the updated name, being sure to brand it clearly with info, photos, and status updates. How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 12.
    What to doafter creating a new Facebook Page… Everyone who “liked” your previous Page will have to “like” your new one. Your goal is to maintain the bulk of your fan base and to successfully communicate the switch to the new Page. How? è How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 13.
    Making a successfultransition from your old Facebook Page to your new one. •  Set a date when the company will “officially” go to the new Page. •  Communicate the change to existing fans. •  Post engaging things on the new Page, and encourage fans from the old Page to check them out. •  The week leading up to your official change to the new Page, post links to it on your old Page. •  Post simultaneous messages to the old Page and the new Page for a couple weeks until people adjust to the change. •  Leave the posts directing people to the new Page on the wall of the old Page after your “official” move. Delete the old Page after about a month. How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 14.
    How do Ichange my LinkedIn company page? How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 15.
    What you needto know about LinkedIn… You can change a LinkedIn company name, but in order to do so you must contact customer service. How? è How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 16.
    Changing your LinkedIncompany name. •  Make sure you have a confirmed company email address registered to your account. •  Contact LinkedIn Customer Service and provide the following information: •  Company Name. •  The change you would like to make. How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 17.
    How do Ichange my YouTube username? How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 18.
    What you needto know about YouTube… Currently, you cannot change your username— there is simply too much information tied to each account. You may, however, sign up for a new account with the username that you desire, and re-upload each video to your new account. How? è How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 19.
    What to doafter creating a new YouTube account… Similar to when you create a brand new Facebook Page, your goal is to maintain the bulk of your fan base and to successfully communicate the switch to the new page. How? è How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 20.
    Making a successfultransition from your old YouTube account to your new one. •  Post a video to the old account announcing the change and directing people to the correct URL. •  Post information about the new YouTube account on your other social networks. •  Leave the video directing people to the new account on the old YouTube. Delete the entire old YouTube account after about a month. How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 21.
    How do Ichange my Flickr username? How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 22.
    What you needto know about Flickr… You can easily change your Flickr username at any time. However, once you have created your customized Flickr web address (e.g. http:// www.flickr.com/photos/yourusername), you cannot change it. How? è How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 23.
    Changing your Flickrusername. •  Go to http://www.flickr.com/account/ •  Click the ‘edit’ button next to ‘your screen name’ How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 24.
    Creating a customizedFlickr web address. •  Go to http://www.flickr.com/account/ •  Click the ‘edit’ button next to ‘your Flickr web address’ How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 25.
    Remember It’s important to maintain continuity between your social networks. Your audience needs to be able to quickly find you, so when you make any drastic changes, be sure to communicate it clearly to your fan base. How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by
  • 26.
    agencypja.com We like to figure out the hard stuff. A fully integrated B2B/ B2C agency with a strong focus on digital and social media, PJA Advertising + Marketing creates breakthrough marketing programs that engage sophisticated audiences, elevate your brand, and get you the credit you deserve. Jessica Weil Social Media Analyst PJA Advertising + Marketing How Brands Can Change Their Usernames on Social Networks presented by