Why Your Social Media Handle Matters More Than You Think
Your online identity can make your business more successful or make people suspicious enough to back away. That’s why what users see on your SM profiles, including your social media handle, is so important.
You might think you only need a handle to identify your business. But it goes beyond just that. What is a social handle, then? And why does it matter that much? Keep reading to find out.
Contents
Social media handles explained
First, let’s address some basic questions about social handles.
What is a social media handle?
To put it simply, it is the username that follows the @ symbols on social media platforms like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, TikTok, etc.
Source: X
It’s hard to think of a brand without a social media presence (chances are, they exist, but probably in very small numbers). That’s why, whether you like it or not, you have to master SM handles and learn to spot the good ones from the disastrous ones. Speaking of which…
Good vs. Bad Social Handles
All social handles are not made equal. The difference between a good one and a bad one can be obvious.
For example, you don’t need anyone to tell you that @bestg*@%m_seo-expert1234 is a horrible profile name, which will likely attract zero professional opportunities.
Other times, though, it is more subtle, and you have to look closely to spot the issue. What does that even mean? Let’s look at some social media handles examples that highlight these differences.
Good example
A good social media handle has the same or very similar name to the brand itself. It is also short, so it’s easy for customers to remember, and it is consistent across several platforms.
Take a look at the social media page for the popular Marvel series. It bears the same name as the franchise itself. It also has no weird punctuation symbols and numbers.
Source: X
And on a different platform, you get:
Source: Instagram
Bad example
A bad social handle does not have the same look or charm as a good one. The name is hardly unique and can be mistaken for another business or a clone account. This type of mistake is usually caused by the numbers or symbols in the name. Take a look at the example below:
Source: X
In this case, even if the place has the best meals in the city, it is easy for new customers to mistrust the handle as it has a generic name — @Restaurant124.
Even though the actual name of the place appears on the top of the profile, it is still confusing and hard to tell if this is a genuine account for the business.
Worse, searching for both the same name and username on any other popular platform (like Instagram in the screenshot below) does not bring up any results that look similar to this one.
Source: Instagram
Does it matter? Yes! You wouldn’t buy guest posts from a service that has a weird-looking name, would you?
In the same way, people will be reluctant to hire you for your SEO services if your handle looks like the cat was playing with a keyboard.
So, what should your handle look like? That’s what the next section is about.
TL;DR: What is a social media handle? It is your unique username. While it sounds simple, there is a good and bad way to create one.
Handles for different socials: What do you need to know?
Now, you know the answer to the question, “What does social media handle mean?” The next step is to check how social handles are supposed to work on different popular platforms.
Source: Instagram
Instagram is the go-to social network for a lot of brands hoping to connect with their target audience. There are over 2 billion active users each month on the platform, and most spend an average of 33 minutes on the app each day — that’s a lot.
No wonder it is popular among businesses. So, what does an Instagram handle mean? On Instagram, when people use the word “handle,” they are talking about a unique username that cannot be used by anyone else but you.
Okay, now that we can answer the question, “What does Instagram handle mean?” Here’s what you need to know about creating great, memorable handles:
- Handles must not be over 30 characters and can only have letters, periods, and numbers (no punctuation marks and symbols in it, please);
- Try to include potential keywords (if they fit). In the example above, a coffee place in Paris used both “coffee” and “Paris” in their handle;
- Confirm the handle name has not been taken by a bot or random influencer’s cat account;
- You can’t use the same handle twice — so if you are a multi-location business and you want a different handle for each region, you have to tweak the name a bit (maybe add the name of the city or make some variation to it) so that it’s unique.
Here is an example of the global IG handle for the German news site Deutsche Welle (DW):
Source: Instagram
And here is another IG handle for their account focused on people’s stories:
Source: Instagram
- The easier it is to remember the handle, the better. So, keep it simple — no one wants to tag @x_girly_girl_selling_perfumes__59_x ;
- Make sure the Instagram handle meaning makes sense and aligns with your brand identity. @sensational.scents is much better for a perfume business than @diva.hairs, which makes you think of a hair salon.
Once you are done, you now have a special handle that no one else can claim. People can use this to tag you in their own posts or in other comment sections.
Also, after creating your handle, you get a unique URL that, once clicked, leads people to your profile on Instagram. If you use a guest posting service, you can share this with them so they can include it in your author bio.
TL;DR: Your handle on social media has to align with your niche and brand identity, stay within 30 characters, and be unique.
Source: The Cake Shop on Facebook
Now, you might be scratching your head and going, “What is a Facebook handle?”
This is a fair question since you are more likely to hear people say “username” instead of “handles,” but it’s the same thing.
There are billions of active users on Facebook, making it a great place for any business looking to broaden its market reach. In fact, compared to Instagram, Facebook has even more people using it daily, and the user demographics cut across many age groups.
For example, you will find 43% of the US population aged 18-34 on the platform, and 23.7% are over the age of 55. Still, if you want to leverage the platform to increase your engagement rates, you need to get your Facebook handle game on.
On Facebook, you have to follow these rules when it comes to handles:
- Your handle must be no less than 5 characters and not more than 50 characters — that’s a lot of space to be creative;
- Every social media identifier on Facebook must align with Facebook’s terms;
- You can use letters, numbers, periods, and underscores, but no domain names or country extensions, like .ca, .us, .uk, etc.;
- It must be unique, as usernames are not allowed to impersonate someone else;
- You can’t use periods to differentiate between different usernames, so you can’t use “mintShops.biz” for one account and then “Mint.shops.biz” for another one. These are all seen as the same name;
- Go with a handle that helps people get what your brand is about (i.e., it should align with your business or even contain a keyword);
- Keep it simple, short, and memorable — here is a perfect Facebook handle example:
Source: Facebook
TL;DR: Go with a social handle meaning that helps you stand out from the crowd and is easy to remember.
X (formerly Twitter)
Source: X
Back in July 2023, Twitter changed its own handle “name” and became known officially as X. The move was met with some controversy, but the platform is still pretty active.
Businesses are still using it to push engagement to their sites. Currently, there are over 429 million users, and 106 million (24%) of them are from the United States. Here is what you need to know about how handles work on the platform:
- Your username has to be less than 15 characters, but names can be longer (up to 50 characters). Keep in mind that the Twitter handle is the same as the username (not name). The handle is unique, while the name doesn’t have to be;
- You can use your real name (if you are an expert and your name is your brand) or use your company name instead;
- Your username (handle) and name can be identical like in the example below:
Source: X
- You can’t use symbols, dashes, or spaces — only letters, numbers, and underscores are allowed;
- You can’t add words like “admin” or “Twitter” to your brand names (official X accounts are the exceptions);
- You have to choose something unique, and if the handle you have in mind is not available, you can use an underscore before or after the name to create a new one.
TL;DR: If you use your real name or a unique name as a handle, just make sure it still follows the rules and is recognizable to your audience.
TikTok
Source: @bbcnews | TikTok
Everyone and their grandma now has a TikTok account, making it one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the world.
There are over 2.05 billion users globally. In the United States alone, you get over 170 million active users monthly. Compared to other platforms, it has a pretty high engagement rate — 95 minutes on average.
Here’s what you need to know about creating the perfect handle on TikTok:
- Usernames have a 24-character limit and can include numbers, letters, underscores, and periods — as long as the period does not appear at the end of the username;
- No space, emojis, or special characters allowed;
- You cannot use the same username as another person on TikTok;
- You are allowed to change your handle every 30 days;
- Don’t make your handle complicated with weird phrases or by adding unnecessary letters and numbers. Instead, use your brand name (BBC example above) or keep it simple and punchy like so:
Source: TikTok
TL;DR: Follow the usual rules and keep it simple. You can play around with your username but don’t go overboard, so you don’t have people going, “What's your handle meaning”? It should be clear what your brand is about.
YouTube
Source: YouTube
A lot of people feel like YouTube has been around forever, but does this mean it’s old news? Not at all! If anything, this means it is perfect for digital marketers and SEO experts, as it is the second most used social media platform — talk about aging well.
Here is a fun fact: over 90% of YouTube watch time actually happens on mobile devices. So, how do you get in on this action while it’s hot? There is lots of good advice. But first, create a memorable handle. Here’s how to pull this off:
- The limit is between 3 and 30 characters long.
- You can use letters and numbers from 75 languages — character limits may change based on the language;
- You can include Latin middle dots, hyphens, underscores, and, in some cases, mixed scripts;
- You can’t use controversial or offensive words as handle names;
- When in doubt, do the same as you did earlier — use your full name (or brand name) like so:
Source: YouTube
- You can’t use a phone number or a string of numbers arranged like a phone number;
- You can’t use a link as a handle, so something like www. bestseoexpert. com is not a valid handle name.
TL;DR: Keep your YouTube handle clear and simple, almost PG-friendly.
SM handles: do's and don'ts
We have covered the answers to basic questions like “What is a handle on social media?” Now, you’ve guessed it — it’s time to look at the best and worst practices.
Best practices
- Keep your handles short, recognizable, and memorable;
- Try to use a name that will remain relevant in the future, especially as you evolve;
- Be neutral in your social media handle meaning by using inclusive words;
- Make it eye-catching and easy to spell;
- If you choose to be creative, check your social media handles' meaning. Hopefully, it is nothing weird when translated into another language — very important if you have an international audience;
- If possible, try to get your account verified so it looks more credible and customers get that extra peace of mind knowing they are not clicking on an impersonator’s account;
- It can be hard to come up with a perfect name, so you might want to use a name generator, but always check if a handle has already been taken elsewhere — you can use tools like Namechk;
- Most name-generating tools can also help you see which handles are available across platforms so you can use the same names on all SM channels.
Worst practices
- Using words that can have offensive handles meaning. This includes sensitive words or downright offensive phrases — you know the ones;
- Using an ever-so-slightly different variation of a very popular account in your niche to fool people into landing on your profile. It isn’t a very sustainable way to get organic SEO traffic and opportunities, is it?
- Adding numbers into or after random letters (e.g., @SEO123EXpert78 — unless you are cosplaying as a bot).
- Using inconsistent handles across the platforms because you ran out of ideas or using the same name but very different images — all this can cause confusion;
- Leaving your profile incomplete — no bio, no image, and a few random posts.
Conclusion
We have talked about why social media handles are such a big deal and even how you can create the right one. The idea is to be respectful, professional, and consistent in the names you choose.
The next time someone asks you, “What does social handle mean?” You can confidently share with them that it’s not just about their unique username. It is also about creating a lasting impression on their audience.
The best handles are not the longest but the ones that capture your brand spirit. Don’t forget that the perfect handle can make you an unforgettable brand, while the wrong one can turn your brand into a funny meme. So, choose wisely
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