This post is an observation about something that is a problem for many brands getting into social media.
One of the things we do for our clients is identify the correct sites to use, explain why to use them, and then help with the setup of these selected sites.
If our recommended tactics include the use of corporate pages/accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube, then it is very important that we have consistent branding across all of these channels, and that includes the usernames and vanity URLs.
During the acquisition and setup of these sites, we often run into the problem of unavailable or taken usernames and vanity URLs.
[notification type=”info”]For those that don’t know what a vanity URL is, the easy explanation is this: instead of our Facebook Page URL being http://facebook.com/pages/true-voice-media/112446741 we set it to be http://facebook.com/truevoicemedia.
See how much nicer that is? A vanity URL is just cleaner and it’s branded.[/notification]
You can only acquire a username or vanity URL if no one else has taken it, and here’s where we run into problems. Because these sites are free to signup for, people are claiming high value usernames and in some cases, letting the usernames lay dormant, or demanding high fees to turn over access (which is against the terms of service).
Domains vs Social
Website domains cost anywhere from a few dollars per year to more than $20/year (depending on the domain). If, at the end of the registration period, you don’t re-register the domain, you lose it.
By contrast, social media sites are giving away high value domains for free and there is no limit on how long you can squat on a domain on most social sites. In some cases, if you delete that account, the username is lost…forever.
This is a serious problem for social sites if they want to maintain a good relationship with their corporate clients who are the ones most likely to pay for usernames, and buy ads.
Not only are these social sites overlooking a revenue opportunity but they are so focused on ads that they are putting brands (the actual customer) in a bad position. Instead of an active brand account, good usernames sometimes sit on the web as an inactive account, and this serves no one. There often isn’t even anyone to contact about this.
But we have an idea…
The Solution. (psst…spread it around)
Here’s our suggestion:
- Still let people sign up for free.
- If they want a vanity URL, make them pay anywhere from $5/year to $20/year depending on how common the URL is (especially as it relates to brands).
- At the end of the year, if they don’t renew, they lose the URL.
Think of it as a membership fee, or a pro account.
One other option
Alternatively, social media sites could differentiate between profiles and pages by adding one extra piece to profiles.
For example: http://facebook.com/user/jeffgibbard for the profile and http://facebook.com/jeffgibbard for the page.
As a user I wouldn’t like this, but it wouldn’t be a deal breaker.
Having a branded username isn’t a right, it’s a privilege, and we think it’s been abused a bit too much. What do you think?