Ever wonder how some companies have a personalized URL? It’s easier than you think. As long as you have at least 25 fans, and you are the admin for the page in question, you too can set up a vanity URL.
That way instead of the ugly
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=105911173932
you could have:
http://www.facebook.com/YourCompanyName
Having a vanity URL (also known as username) for your company’s Facebook page will allow you to easily promote your presence on Facebook with a short, recognizable URL that can be integrated into all of your marketing communications, including your website and business cards.
Ready to get started? Simply follow these four easy steps:
Step One:
Log into your administrator account on Facebook
Step Two:
Type the following URL into your browser: http://www.facebook.com/username. You will see a screen giving you two options; one to create a vanity username for your administrator account, the second is to set them up for the Pages you oversee. It will look something like this:
Use the dropdown menu to select which page’s URL you want to change.
Step Three:
This is probably the most important step. Before your rush into picking your vanity URL, do a bit of research. Think of a few alternatives and check their availability (which can be done onsite, or before hand by using a tool such as the Facebook Vanity Search Engine). Remember, once you have confirmed your name it cannot be changed – even if you’ve made a spelling error, so ensure you double check before you confirm.
Facebook has laid out some guidelines around creating the username; please consider the following:
- Choose a username that is as close to your public figure or business name as possible (eg. NetGainsMarketing)
- Usernames can only contain alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9) or a period (“.”)
- Generic words such as “flowers” or “pizza” are not available at this time
- Only one username is allowed per Page
- Username’s must adhere to Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities
Step Four:
Confirm your new vanity URL
And there you have it, your brand new, shiny, personalized Facebook Page URL!
