Should You Use Your Real Name or a Brand Name on Twitter?

 
Linda Locke
Editor, MLMWoman.com

Should you use your real name on Twitter or a brand name?  The trend has been leaning towards using your real name, but that's not always a good idea if you have a strong brand name that suits you better.

Here's why: I follow Ken Robert on Twitter as @MildlyCreative and recently his friend Charlie Gilkey advised him to change his handle on Twitter to his real name. After just a day Ken changed it back. Why? Because it felt wrong and just didn't fit him as well as @MildlyCreative does. It describes what he does so much better than his real name. It's his brand and he's sticking to it.

Another example is my friend, Barbara Winter, who goes by @joblessmuse on Twitter. Barbara is the best-selling author of How to Make a Living without a Job. Her name is well-known, but her Twitter handle of @joblessmuse is so much more effective, since it too focuses on who she is and what she does.

And for those of you who can't decide which is better, your real name or a brand name - no worries -- you can use them both.  Just use your real name for one account and set up another with your business name. I recently did just that and added a new Twitter account for my MLMWoman.com site: @MLMWomanNews This allows me to share information that is targeted to my MLMWoman brand and leaves my own personal account open for a more general audience.

So think carefully about the name you use on Twitter and other social media sites especially if you're in business for yourself. Make sure it's the best indicator of your business and your brand.

Remember: The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names. ~ Chinese Proverb

Comments

[124Online]

I agree I think this is an excellent spot to brand yourself. I mean there isn't anything wrong with having a personal Twitter account and keeping it in your name, but I really believe that you should keep your business, well.... business centric in other words talk shop on the business account and talk personal on the personal account.

[124Online]

I think you should use your own name when you actually want to be associated with the product, if not I would just go with aliases