Branding Your Social Media Profile (BSMP) is a new 1-on-1 program that helps brands bring their social media profile and presence to the next level. This series of articles is an introduction to some of the techniques and experiments that have been proven to make this underutilized real estate work for you. Brands and others looking for customized analysis and guidance specific to their profile(s) can register for 1:1 coaching here.
In the last BSMP* series article I explained how you can do YOUR** story-telling through your profile photos, extended name, update line, and profile description. Today I will show you another creative, original, under-utilized and fun way to tell your story: your BSMP URL!
*BSMP = branded social media profile, a term that was coined by… me.
1 – Traditional BSMP URL
First, see how your BSMP URL looks in a “traditional” way:
http://www.handmadpaws.de/ http://www.dunlopsports.com/ http://linktr.ee/sammijay3112 http://joburgrage.howler.co.za/events/joburg-rage-2020-0fd3?rep=fathior4kkkk http://www.thefoodguide.de/hamburgfoodguide
You don’t know what’s the story there, right? It’s just a bunch of names, numbers and characters, isn’t it? I call this a waste of real-estate. And so this calls for a correction!
2 – The Right Way
And here is a better way – you must agree – to display the BSMP URL:
ifundwomen.com/projects/take-lolly-next-level cokeurl.com/cokedancethefeeling a.did.as/OurCommitment ABC.net/FirstPrizeDocumentary crimelondon.shoes/get-your-kicks theweekend.co/afterhours washingtonexaminer.com/author/jerry-dunleavy http://app.radio.com/listen-live-b101-philly
Do you see the big difference here? These examples took the aforementioned letters, numbers and/or characters, and built a story that we can understand! In fact, the URL story should be so good that (if we are relevant audience) we can’t help ourselves but to be seduced and CLICK on that URL!
Pro Tip: The chance that a visitor to your profile will “get” your story from “www.xyz.com” or “www.xyz.com/8766” is very low, compared to “xyz.com/MyNextParty”…
The story can be a promotion, a new update, a new event, your services, etc.
3 – Your Statement
You often (that’s the trend…) would like to make a statement that will “glue” people who care about what you care about to your account. This kind of statement can (and probably should) be stated in a knock-out way through… the URL. Have a look here:
aka.ms/addressinginjustice blacklivesmatters.carrd.co damn.com/BLM DearMishu.com/askme 1billion4blackgirls.org
Pro Tip: It’s – in a way – really GOOD if such a statement makes those who DON’T care about what you do run away. After all, you don’t want to market to people from a different planet. Instead, you want to reach people who care.
4 – Your Differentiation
The idea is to differentiate you account. Finding the right URL can tell YOUR* story with such clarity, that by doing so you differentiate yours from the other 4 billion social media profiles that don’t do the same think you do. And so, danny.net/LifeStyle is probably not smart, but danny.net/BuildTennisMuscles is.
PS/Do this only as long as it’s “YOU”**
5 – Platform Config
Here are the steps to update your BSMP URL (I took Instagram as an example because of it’s popularity and mainstream user experience methods). Look how easy it is:
Step 1: Go to “Edit Profile”
Step 2: Enter the new URL into the “Website” field.
Step 3: “Done” (or “Save” on other platforms)
That’s it, the URL change is really simple and easy, and…
6 – You Can Update It
One of the advantages of this story-telling real-estate is that it can be updated really fast or on-the-fly:
- You can always come back to your profile, and change the URL, it takes just a few seconds.
- Option 2 doesn’t even require that, as you can change the content on the webpage itself!
Pro Tip: It is recommended that you update your URL often when it comes to new things, such as new events, new promos, new campaigns, new stories. A fresh BSMP can be a good way to encourage your visitors to visit you often!
7 – The Rest is Up to You**
All the rest is up to you – choosing names, words, games, slogans, attitude, etc. Be creative – express yourself. Dare. Go Crazy! Because if you just do what your neighbor from the same area-code did, people won’t “see the you* in you” and it won’t work.
Pro Tip: Test test test… Try different variations of your profile URL on different week days, different weeks, different festivals. It’s OK – and even recommended – to change it often, to make a mistake. And t’s OK to leave it open ended, see what works the best and nail it right there. Testing your* ultimate URL through mistakes is the only way to find out!
PS/as long as it’s YOU*
What Do We Mean by YOU**
**YOU= Since it’s your name, it has to be…you. What I mean is that – yes, you can add attitude, special characters, emojis, a unique photo, wording, crazy URL, whatever, as long as it comes from you, and as long as it reflects your brand, who you are, and where you want to be. You should revisit this constantly, persistently, and methodically. If you need 1:1 personalized consulting on how to do this and what makes sense for your brand, you can sign up now.
Takeaway: finding your story is not easy. But once you do know your story, enter that in a clear way into short enough URL on your profile, don’t under-utilize the URL area, that makes no sense because you want THAT traffic.
Enjoy the process, my heroes!
Branding Your #SocialMedia Profile (BSMP) Series: Your BSMP Bio Photo Your BSMP Extended Name Your BSMP One Sentence Wordings Your BSMP Hashtags Your BSMP Update Line Your BSMP URL How to optimize your “Branded Social Media Profile” area kick-ss CTAs for your branded social media profile Doing your profile the wrong way Coming soon: Your BSMP Emojis Your BSMP Location Your BSMP Social Media Influencer Private, personalized 1-on-1 consulting on YOUR social media profile strategy is available now.
Sincerely yours,
