Your Twitter handle is just about as important to your brand as your company name or website.
In fact, choosing a Twitter handle can get confusing and overwhelming if you don’t know the basics.
In this article, you’ll get a clear explanation of your Twitter Handle, your username, display name and Twitter URL.
What is a Twitter Handle?
A Twitter handle is your unique identity on Twitter. It’s your Twitter account profile name that comes with a unique URL.
Twitter handle, and username are all the same thing. They are represented by @Name or @DIYMarketers
Where do I find my Twitter Handle?
You’ll find your Twitter Handle on your profile page and in the URL in the address bar and right underneath your profile name.
Your Twitter URL is the URL of your Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/DIYMarketers
So, when someone asks for your Twitter URL, then you give them the URL for your profile page which is found in the address bar of your browser.
Can I change my Twitter @Name without losing followers?
Yes! You can change your name, username and Twitter Handle by clicking on more
And then settings —
Here you will see the field “username”. This is your Twitter handle.
Remember each Twitter name or username is a unique identifier and is used in the unique URL that belongs to your profile.
That means that you can only choose a username or handle that is currently NOT being used by anyone else.
Once you change your username, your old username will become available for someone else to use.
Can I change the display name on my profile?
Your display name is much easier to change and doesn’t have to be unique.
Here is your display name —
To change your display name on Twitter, simply click on the “edit profile” button. A window will appear where you can edit your display name as well as your bio and profile picture.
Hope that answered all of your Twitter Handle questions — If you’ve got Twitter Handle tips or questions, share them below.
How to Choose a Twitter Handle
Your Twitter Handle is a brand asset and has value. So consider your business goals, marketing strategy and business strategy when choosing your Twitter username.
If you have a company, website or brand, you will need a Twitter name that belongs to that particular asset. Because if you choose to sell that asset, you’ll need social media channels that belong with that brand name.
If you have a personal brand, then you have a little more latitude. You may start with your brand name as the Twitter ID and then use your personal name as the display name.
You should also make sure that you grab your own name as your Twitter name. Whether you decide to use it or not is up to you.
It is an asset and you will want to make sure that you own it.
You can see that all of my attention and activity on Twitter is happening on the @DIYMarketers Twitter account. However, I also own Ivana S. Taylor which is my personal name. It doesn’t have nearly as many followers, but that’s ok.
Using your Name as a Twitter Handle
If you are in business, and especially if you are a business owner, you will need to have your own personal Twitter account.
Your Twitter account should be your name or some unique variation of your name.
Use this private account to build relationships and have personal conversations with people.
Here’s an example.
@AnitaCampbell is the CEO of @SmallBizTrends.
@SmallBizTrends was her original Twitter account. And when the business was small, she was the person behind the account.
Once the business grew and the team got bigger, she started her own private Twitter account. This way you would know when you were talking to her personally.
Authors, speakers, and other folks whose personal brand is their name and whose name is associated with multiple brands typically will use their names as a Twitter ID.
Using Your Brand or Company Name as a Twitter Handle
An established company or brand should have its own Twitter account with a branded Twitter Handle.
One challenge with having a company named Twitter account is that it can be hard to engage with your followers in a meaningful way.
Buffer (a social media scheduling software) has a practice of making sure that their company Tweets are “signed” by a real person.
I really like this practice because it maintains the integrity of the brand and their Tweets while still staying relatively personal.
Branding Your Bio
It’s always a great idea to show your connection with any companies or brands that you are associated with. The place to do that is in your bio.
In this example, you can see that Sandra Lo has her own personal Twitter Handle @sandraklo and at the same time, she mentions her affiliation with her employer, @Zoho. This way, anyone who follows her can see her connection with her employer.
If you work for a large corporation, it’s a great idea to connect your personal account with your employers brand. It’s an instant credibility boost for both.
