How do you pick the perfect Instagram Username and Display Name for your Business?


Your display name and username are two of the most crucial elements of your Instagram profile. Using these two as criteria, Instagram assesses if an account is relevant to a search query entered by a user in Instagram's search field by examining the username and name fields of the accounts in question.

Although an Instagram username is nothing more than a combination of letters and numbers at the top of the profile, it needs to be simple and readable.

One needs to include the keyword or phrase you want people to use when looking for you or your brand when typing in the name or username of your Instagram account.

Contents

The type of Instagram account

Before choosing a display name and a username for your Instagram account, you should also consider what type of Instagram account you would use!

In general, there are three types of Instagram accounts, as mentioned below;

  • Personal account - A Personal account is meant for the casual user. If your main goal is to communicate with your loved ones or people in general, this account is for you.

    You are free to use any name you choose in this case. It will typically be simpler for friends and family to find you if you use anything that includes your name, like @RichardMax or @Johnney123.

  • Business account - For business users, the goal of your Instagram account is to help advertise for business and its products and services while also increasing brand recognition.

    Therefore, your Instagram name should be the same as your company name whenever possible. Try to keep something close to that if it's not feasible (if it's already taken or is too complicated, etc.), or at the very least, describe your product or service in your name.

  • Influencer account - An Influencer's Instagram profile combines personal and business profile elements. You are working with a brand when you are an influencer. Therefore when it comes to making money on Instagram, you should also have a business-like mindset.

    Your account name can be just your name or your name, along with a description, a catchphrase about your niche, or the kind of activity you associate yourself with.

    For curators, the name and username can be according to the type of work involved - whether user-generated content or original.

Selecting the perfect Instagram Username and Display Name

As mentioned earlier, you can be identified on Instagram by using your Instagram username. 

Your username is connected to everything in your activities, including the information you upload and your conversations with others. 

Your Instagram username is located at the very top, while your Instagram profile can be found from your profile address by using a web browser. For example, http://instagram.com/yourusername. 

The first part is the default Instagram address, while the part of your Instagram URL that identifies your account is your username. 

When referring to a user, the '@' symbol is added before the username, making it your Instagram handle.

Points to consider when selecting an Instagram username-

  • Instagram users can be perplexed as to whether your account is your business's official account if you choose a username that differs from your business name. To prevent confusion, keep variances to a minimum.
  • Pick a username that identifies what you do, is memorable, and symbolizes your business. Your username might be your business name or a shortened version of the full company name, for example, @generalmotors or @gmc, or it can be a combination of one or two words that characterize your industry or market niche, such as @tatamotorsgroup.
  • It would help if you usually chose your username while creating a new Instagram account. Instagram will suggest a suitable username when using the online interface, and the first person to request a username will get it.
  • A checkmark will appear beside the username you entered if the username is unavailable. At this point, Instagram will auto-suggest a suitable username which can be an option to consider while choosing a username. You can also try using variations by adding underscores or periods, abbreviations, or other words, to create a username.
  • If a username is already in use or was previously used by another account, there isn't much you can do to get it transferred to your account. Visit Instagram for instructions on reporting a trademark infringement if another account uses your registered trademark as its username.
  • Before deciding on your username, it's a good idea to examine it critically. Combining more than one word into one username without any spaces between the words may cause some people to view the letter arrangement incorrectly or wrongly. In this situation, think about using underscores or periods to demarcate the words in the username, as in @your.username or @your username, as opposed to "Your Username," @yourusername, which could be misread at a glance.
  • Once you choose a username, all content referring to your profile is linked to that username's URL. Your URL would change if you ever wanted to alter the username. Thus all backlinks and links to that profile would need to be updated. For this reason, it's essential to use the correct username while creating your profile.

Points to consider when selecting an Instagram display name

Savvy professional users on Instagram take time to create quality usernames and names, by taking into account all the required elements into consideration.

The following factors should be considered in opting for the Instagram display name;

  • Use the Instagram app when creating a name and username for your account. It offers twice as many opportunities for keywords and suggests searchable criteria when your name differs from your username, which, according to some social media studies, is a proven way for your profile to perform better in searches and appear more professional.
  • Your name should be written in appropriate grammatical structure with capital letters and spacing, unlike your username, which is one word. Your name can only be 30 characters, including spaces, just like your username.
  • Your Instagram username can either be your name or your company's name. Alternatively, you can decide to utilize an acronym or a description of your company that is well-known. For instance, if your company is called Royal Bakery and is located in London, your name can be Royal Bakery, while your username can be royal.bakery.london
  • You can appear in more searches if you utilize a term or phrase in your name, username, or both on Instagram. If your username didn't contain a specific period, you should add one to the name area in addition to your real name.
  • You can alter your profile name whenever you like because it is not connected to your URL or any other distinctive features of Instagram. If more or different keywords are required to gain attention from your target audience on Instagram, you can do so.

Few pointers in finalizing a perfect Instagram Username

1. Unique and special

You need to stand out from others on Instagram! It could be tempting to choose a username similar to a rival to grab some of their attention. But, doing so can result in future copyright and trademark infringement issues.

Furthermore, you don't want to unintentionally be identified with a username that is identical and will damage your reputation.

A quick search for some of your options to see what else is available never hurts. You can then decide which way you want to go from there.

2. Relevant and purposeful

When choosing a username, your target audience and content strategy must be kept in mind.

You want it to be pertinent to whom you're trying to attract and what you're putting out there. It will help if you use the appropriate keywords. Users are more likely to find it when looking for a topic or item that interests them.

For instance, @tatamotorscar is one of the top accounts that appear when you search for "tata" on Instagram.

3. Ingenious and creative

Being ingenious and creative is vital when choosing the best Instagram username. Although you should use your exact name, it's time for Plan B if the name is already taken. 

With some out-of-the-box thinking, you may still be able to choose the perfect name, like using underscores and periods instead of apostrophes and other types of punctuation.

Sometimes the intended name can be achieved, and the name can be made more readable by strategically placing a period or underscore between words—for instance, @norton.motorcycles.

4. Keep things simple and to the point

As always, keeping things straightforward when picking an Instagram username is one of the best pieces of advice.

Although an Instagram username may contain up to 30 characters, it need not be that long and complicated to make it memorable. It is always best to be short, simple, and to the point wherever possible.

Writing out your potential username, as it would appear on Instagram is one approach to doing this. Combine all the words in lowercase, without any punctuation.

A name or username with lengthy and consecutive vowels would be challenging to read compared to the one with several characters but is straightforward to understand, making it far more simple and memorable.

Creating traffic-generating Instagram Usernames

There are several uses for your Instagram username. A well-thought-of username could be a valuable asset that can increase visitors to your account.

It's crucial to give your name and username some thought if one of your objectives is to gain a sizable following.

People frequently believe that if they use their name and post quality content, their followers will find them, which might be somewhat valid.

However, with so much content on Instagram, people won't be looking for your content just by your name. They'll look for what you sell when they search.

Include what you have to offer in your username if you want people to find you; you'll get many more hits that way.

Conclusion

We hope you understand what you want to achieve with your Instagram by going through the above points.

Choosing a suitable and successful Instagram display name and a username is the basis for mastering Instagram. Therefore it is vital to know how to choose a name and username to help you achieve your objectives.

Ultimately, the best and most widely recognized Instagram usernames are the ones that are clear, concise, and simple to remember.