If you don’t, it may backfire.
If you already have an Instagram account that has consistency, highly differentiated, and engaging content, or even if you’re just starting out, having an intuitive and easily recognizable Instagram username can mean the difference between rapid account growth and much slower growth related to low exposure.
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This may seem extreme, but it’s actually true.
In a highly competitive and saturated Instagram environment, like the one we live in now, every detail of your account is to be taken seriously.
Unfortunately, Instagram username optimization is something that many of us completely ignore.
Why is your Instagram Username Important?
Your username is the Instagram equivalent of your brand name.
The more intuitive and easy to remember and search, the more likely people are to discover you and share it with others; which will then grow your Instagram at a faster rate.
On the other hand, if your Instagram username is long, unintuitive, and hard to remember or spell, fewer people will find you or share it with others, which means that in the long run, fewer people will discover, engage with, and follow your Instagram content, which is sure of very high quality.
How to choose the Perfect Instagram Username?
Make it the word, people are most likely to use when they first search for you.
Unless you’re a newly released brand that only exists on Instagram, most people trying to find you on the app will likely have heard your name outside of it. That’s the name they’ll type in first when they search for you on Instagram.
If you make your username different, cooler, or more interesting than the one people know you by outside Instagram, you probably won’t show up in that first search.
Therefore, make the process of searching your account simple and intuitive for people who know you and want to find you by making your username the word they are most likely to type when they first search for you on Instagram.
Also, Watch – 13 Instagram Growth Tools | BOOST Organic Instagram Growth!
In case your ideal username is already taken, try to create the simplest and shortest variation of it possible, without using any special characters.
If the name people know you by outside of Instagram is very long, use the nickname they are likely to use.
Don’t use special characters like “.” and/or “_”: Using a special character like a period or hyphen in a username is one of the most common and easy mistakes to avoid.
Although most people think that special characters can help separate the words of a username from several words and make it “cleaner”, in reality, they unnecessarily complicate the username and make it harder to say, remember and search.
In the event that you use or plan to use a period or hyphen because the version of either of these characters in your username is taken, try instead to make it the simplest and shortest variation possible, without using special characters.
Avoiding special characters also makes the username read more cleanly.
Plus, it makes searching more intuitive, even when a potential user doesn’t know your username but does know your brand.
In a highly competitive Instagram environment where many people and competitors have similar names, the ones that don’t use special characters and are the easiest to search for will grow faster.
It’s that simple!
If you want an Instagram username that will help you grow, you need to make it the word most people are likely to use when they first search for you and avoid using special characters like periods or hyphens. You don’t need to look for complex strategies, implementing these simple tips will set you apart from your competitors tremendously!
Now, choose a username that works for you or change the one you already have to one that will work for you, not against you!
