If you’re like me, you connect with lots of people online in many different venues.
I connect with coworkers and professional contacts on LinkedIn.
I use Facebook to stay in touch with friends and high-school and college classmates.
And I use Twitter to follow people I respect and admire in the online-marketing and social-media arenas.
I use the same picture and the same “handle” on each network. On Facebook and LinkedIn, my profile name is “Josh Fialkoff” and on Twitter I am “nooozeguy”. (You can find out about the origin of that name here). Indeed, on social networks which require handles, my identity is nooozeguy. I use the same picture too.
I’ve done this for a number of reasons.
- I want it to be as easy as possible for people to find me. Since my business is online marketing, I want to ensure that I am marketing myself correctly online. I want to dominate searches for my name and for my nickname. No one else is using “nooozeguy” so that is easy, but it is a defensive move, just as WalMart owns http://www.wal-mart.com and http://www.walmart.com. Owning all domains for forms of its name helps ensure that no one else will try to open a fake Wal-Mart Website. When I become famous (tongue inserted firmly in cheek) this will become more important.
- I want to have a uniform brand. Just as the Nike logo always has the same look, I want my “brand” to be easily identifiable. I don’t want people, especially those who may want to hire me, to have to wonder whether I am the person they’re looking for. If I’m Nooozeguy on all social networks, that makes it clear who I am. (Also, if you check out my Twitter profile, there’s a link to my Website, so the connection is further solidified.
- I want my Twitter identity to integrate with my Website. Since my domain is www.nooozeguy.com, I feel it makes sense to have the same name on Twitter.
I started thinking more seriously about this on Sunday night when Ari Herzog questioned why I am not @JoshFialkoff on Twitter. Here is part of that exchange:
@ariherzog: @nooozeguy The fact you have your body image as your avatar tells me Nooozeguy is more than a brand but a person.
@nooozeguy: @ariherzog Nooozeguy is a creative thought. Isn’t that the essence of Twitter?
@ariherzog: @nooozeguy Nooozeguy may be a creative thought, but to me it sounds like a brand. If that’s your goal, great.
@nooozeguy: @ariherzog I guess I don’t see issue here. My name & info are easy to find. Nooozeguy is a handle/persona, of which there are many online
As far as companies are concerned, I believe that their avatars should be their logos and their handles should be related to their company name or their slogan (“Coke Is It,” for instance, would be a good strategic move if that were still the company’s slogan).
But for individuals, I am not sure.
I like branding myself as Nooozeguy. It’s unique, so I have little competition, and (I think) it shows a degree of creativity, which is one of the attributes that I offer clients.
What do you think?
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I think branding yourself is essential and giving people the ability to find you online is a huge part of doing that successfully. Go with Nooozeguy, unique, creative, you. If people can’t find you on Google, you don’t exist. Keeping it consistent between venues is a smart move too, reminds me to work on that.
Thanks for you thoughts Michelle.
).
You make some great points (especially since you agree with me.
-Josh
I joined the Twitter community with only one thought in mind, to stalk my grown son at SXSW. It never occurred to me that within a few months I would have developed a following and that a year later I would start and end each day with Twitter. Now I’m stuck with that name, wadesmom. The moral to this story, think about your personal branding before choosing your “handle”. It’s hard to change.
Carolyn S.’s last blog post..Board Meeting
i guess my handle and my site name are synonomous… ppc professional
I’m happy with it.
dan perach
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