Facebook Vanity URLs Are Up for Grabs Tomorrow Night!
By
Kevin Fayle
on June 11, 2009
| Last updated on March 21, 2019
Facebook has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of the social networking world, largely because people use their real names when they use the site. This gives the site credibility and helps people trust the individuals and organizations that they interact with.
Up until now, however, the URLs that Facebook uses to mark a profile have been a little less than personal. For example, an individual's profile URL usually looks like this: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=123456789&ref=profile.
Pretty much incomprehensible, right?
Starting Friday night at 9:01 PST (which technically makes it Saturday
night for those on the East Coast), Facebook will allow users to select
URLs that are a little more intuitive and user-friendly. Instead of
that long address above, users can select something like
http://www.facebook.com/blaise.dipersia, or
http://www.facebook.com/findlaw.fan.
There is a great
marketing benefit to being on a social network. Conversing with other
members of the site can spread awareness of your firm's work, solidify
brand awareness and lead to opportunities in the future. Plus, social
networking is a fun, cheap and easy way to get your message out there.
This
move to "vanity URLs," or "usernames" as Facebook calls them, offers
law firms and individual attorneys a great chance to grab a
user-friendly Facebook URL, thus giving them greater control over their
online presence and branding. The new URLs will help people find you
on Facebook, and grabbing one early will prevent others from hijacking
your brand on the network.
If you have a trademark on your practice or firm name, Facebook also offers a way to protect your mark. Simply contact them
here, and they will ensure that your name is not claimed before you have a chance to sign up for it.
These new usernames will help people find you on Facebook and will
increase your brand's presence on the Internet. And, since they're
free, what's to lose?
Just be sure to pick your username carefully since once you've selected it, there's no going back.
See Also:
Coming Soon: Facebook Usernames (
Facebook)
Facebook Vanity URLs for Businesses (
FindLaw's LawyerMarketing.com)
You Have Three Days To Pick Your Facebook Vanity URL. Choose Wisely, Or You're Screwed. (
TechCrunch)
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