You came up with those fantastic username ideas for your brand or business.
But how can you quickly check that your favourite one is available on multiple
online platforms - and not just one or two?
I learned this the hard way with my Souldriven Solopreneur username. [Oh no!]
That's why in this video,
I'm about to let you in on some free tools that can help you check username
availability across a multitude of social media and other platforms in
more or less one click. Let's start with the first tool on my list.
This one is super simple to use and it covers the most popular mainstream
platforms out there. Drum rolls, please... Say hello to 'namechk.com',
and yes, check without the "e" and "c".
I'll flip my camera to show you what the tool can do and share some dos and
don'ts. So please pay attention. Go to the namechk.com website.
Then in the search field at the top of the page type in the username you want to
check availability for.
Don't type in an @ symbol or anything like that - just the pure username.
Let's go with "testtesttest123".
Tick the 'I'm not a robot.' checkbox and click the magnifying class.
Give it a bit and then check the availability results.
The page lists available domains first.
This could be good if you haven't decided on your business or brand name yet and
need a domain URL. If you can, always go with a .com domain,
except if you run a local business. I got a bit distracted here.
So back to the usernames... Scroll down until you see the 'Usernames' headline,
then click 'Check Usernames'. Let the checker do its magic.
Then click 'Show More' and click it again and again and again, until there's no
more button to click.
Now you see all the platforms and whether your username is available.
By the way, please hit 'Like' below if you appreciate what I share here.
Now let's look into how to interpret this list.
A green icon means that your chosen username is available on the respective
platform. And a red one means that your username is not available.
Now, this is important, so feel free to write it down; otherwise,
you might breeze through your username idea list without getting the results you
want.
A red icon doesn't necessarily mean that your username is not available.
Sometimes,
the username you picked is not allowed on a particular platform.
I learned this the hard with my Souldriven Solopreneur username.
Guess what happened?
Twitter doesn't accept usernames over 15 characters.
I didn't know that. As a result,
I chose a shorter username for my Twitter account
even though I'd have preferred having a consistent handle across platforms.
The guidelines when it comes to picking a username that can be used across all
major social media platforms - think Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok,
Clubhouse,
YouTube or LinkedIn - would be choosing one that is between 5 and 15 characters
long; use only letters from A to Z; use only numbers from 0 to 9; and use only,
and if you absolutely need, underscores. Yes, no hyphens,
no dots or periods in your usernames.
Sticking to these rough guidelines will ensure that you can use the same handle
across most of your accounts.
If you look at this list here and think "Wait, where is Instagram,
LinkedIn or this or that platform?
It's not on this tool's page." I've got you covered.
We'll talk about this when I get to the second tool on my list in a second.
If you're good to go as you've got all the platforms sorted right now,
leave me a comment below this video and let me know.
I'd love to celebrate with you. Before we dive into the following tool,
keep in mind that there is no one-tool- checks-all-platforms in the world.
Also, consider this:
I'd only go for a consistent handle if the username is something that you want
to use in your marketing or your client sees it or types it in.
Because yes,
having a consistent handle across platforms is critical from a memorability and
brand recognition perspective; however,
I wouldn't worry about if my WordPress username or any other backend
system isn't matchy matchy with my social media handles.
It might be even good to shake things up to make it harder for hackers. Well,
that are just my two cents. Over to tool number two...
Say hello to 'knowem.com'.
This tool checks a myriad of platforms for you. However, it's a bit more, well,
chaotic. But it's mind-blowing
if you're working with more specific platforms than the mainstream ones based on
your niche. Let's flip the camera again.
If you haven't done so yet go to knowem.com.
Type the username you want to check into the orange framed box and click 'Check
It'. Then,
click the second tab close to the main headline titled 'Social Networks'.
Scroll down a bit and you can see the wheels spinning in the blogging section.
Yay, the checker is working.
Depending on the category or categories you want to check,
simply click the 'Check This Category' button for as many categories as you
like. A side note here: the page cannot be searched for platforms,
which is a real bummer. And sometimes,
I detect a platform in a different category than I'd have expected it to be.
So take your time here. Contrary to the previous tool,
there is no red or green colouring system. If your username is available,
you'll see the word 'Available'. If not,
it's greyed out or crossed through.
If it cannot retrieve the information at this point, you'll see a pink 'Oops,
Error!' message. Impressive, right?
I want to point out a couple of platforms where you need to check the
availability manually.
The first one is "Meetup" and the second one is "Clubhouse".
If you have exhausted your username idea
list because there's only patchy availability across your preferred platforms,
then make sure to watch this video linked somewhere here at the top.
I'll share over ten strategies to come up with a unique,
creative and professional username.
And I'm sure you'll brainstorm one that's not taken yet. So give it a try.
To recap,
use namechk.com to check username availability for the most popular mainstream
platforms;
go to knowem.com if the first tool isn't doing the trick for you as you need
very niche-y platforms. For Meetup and Clubhouse,
go to those platforms directly and verify manually that your username is
available. Fingers crossed.
I hope you found this video valuable and I'd love to catch you in another one.
See ya.