By owning your own domain name, you have independence from social media giants. Nevertheless, some potential purchasers of your domain names may prefer to also control the matching term in social media accounts. This can be a defensive ploy, or simply the advantage of consistent branding across multiple platforms. Does this mean that domain name investors should give attention to obtaining, and perhaps developing, matching social media handles?
Which Social Media Platforms?
While Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok are some of the better known social media platforms, the full list is much longer. The first question a domain investor who has decided to invest effort in matching social handles needs to ask is: Which social media platforms?
Wikipedia maintain a list of social platforms with at least 100 million active users. For example, Facebook has a staggering 2.8 billion users, with about 1.84 billion active daily. YouTube has about 2.3 billion users, and Instagram about 1.3 billion users, with 500 million active daily.
But number of users alone does not necessarily indicate the social media handles that would be most valuable to a particular business. For example, having Twitter or LinkedIn is of more value than their placing (17th and 22nd respectively) on the list in terms of number of users.
Different Sectors, Different Social Media
The most desired social media accounts will depend on the industry sector of the domain name. A domain name intended for a coding business might have particular interest in GitHub or ProductHunt handles, while a business that did a lot of direct to user communication might value a matching WhatsApp, Telegram or Zoom account. Visual arts related businesses and organizations will have more interest in an Instagram, Pinterest or Vimeo account, perhaps, while a musician would benefit from YouTube, SoundCloud or Vimeo, among others.
Tools To The Rescue
While in theory it is a simple task to check whether any particular social media handle is available, with several hundred sites to search, it can use up a lot of time. Fortunately, online tools simplify the task to a few seconds. Here are two useful tools I found.
As well as proposing names from their registry, Namify also searches the availability of the term on a handful of the most used social media platforms.
Using Social Media Data for Domain Name Acquisitions
Quite apart from whether you plan to ever acquire social media handles, the data provided by sites like KnowEm can be one metric to consider during domain name acquisition. If a domain name is already taken in most of the popular social media platforms, while that is a negative for obtaining matching handles, it can be a positive in potential end users, or at least an indication of the general popularity of the term.
Read the Terms of Service
While buying and selling of social media handles is definitely happening, see the next section, most of the social media platforms have terms of service that do not allow it. For example, Instagram terms of use specify “You can’t sell, license, or purchase any account or data obtained from us or our Service.”
Similarly, Twitter states in its Help Center: “Attempts to sell, buy, or solicit other forms of payment in exchange for usernames are also violations and may result in permanent account suspension.” The same section also makes clear one cannot sit on unused Twitter handles, and Twitter periodically takes away unused accounts.
The Facebook terms of service specify that you should only have one account, and that you must “Not share your password, give access to your Facebook account to others, or transfer your account to anyone else (without our permission).” They also prohibit selling admin control of Facebook groups.
This article in Alternative Assets on Buying and Selling Social Media Accounts indicates that one of the few exceptions is YouTube, that apparently permits transfer of ownership of accounts. Check the most recent terms of service for any changes, however, if this information is important to you.
Marketplaces for Social Media Accounts Exist
Despite the restrictions noted above, numerous marketplaces actively sell social media accounts. Trade in Instagram handles seems particularly active. If you are interested in getting an idea of current prices, browse listings at FameSwap, that handles Instagram and YouTube accounts, or SocialTradia. It should be noted that accounts for sale on sites like these have value primarily because of followers, not because of inherent worth of the handle name itself. The pricing is usually based on an approximate rate per 10,000 followers.
What About Developing A Social Media Account
So what about the idea of developing a social media account that exactly matches one of your domain names? I would see two potential benefits of this. One would be if there is a way to transfer it with the domain name, consistent with terms of service, it could be a plus for the business acquiring the name. The second advantage is meaningful development might help attract eyes to the domain name.
That said, it is a lot of regular work to maintain meaningful activity on a social media account, and I would think in most cases the possible benefits do not justify the effort. Please share what you think in the comments section.
Discussions on NamePros about Social Media Handles
Aspects of social media accounts have been discussed a number of times on NamePros, although often with limited contributions. Here are some of the discussion threads I found.
With social media accounts ultimately outside your complete control, James Iles reminded us of the importance of operating on your own domain name: Why You Can’t Let Social Media Control Your Brand.
Which Social Media Platforms?
While Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok are some of the better known social media platforms, the full list is much longer. The first question a domain investor who has decided to invest effort in matching social handles needs to ask is: Which social media platforms?
Wikipedia maintain a list of social platforms with at least 100 million active users. For example, Facebook has a staggering 2.8 billion users, with about 1.84 billion active daily. YouTube has about 2.3 billion users, and Instagram about 1.3 billion users, with 500 million active daily.
But number of users alone does not necessarily indicate the social media handles that would be most valuable to a particular business. For example, having Twitter or LinkedIn is of more value than their placing (17th and 22nd respectively) on the list in terms of number of users.
Different Sectors, Different Social Media
The most desired social media accounts will depend on the industry sector of the domain name. A domain name intended for a coding business might have particular interest in GitHub or ProductHunt handles, while a business that did a lot of direct to user communication might value a matching WhatsApp, Telegram or Zoom account. Visual arts related businesses and organizations will have more interest in an Instagram, Pinterest or Vimeo account, perhaps, while a musician would benefit from YouTube, SoundCloud or Vimeo, among others.
Tools To The Rescue
While in theory it is a simple task to check whether any particular social media handle is available, with several hundred sites to search, it can use up a lot of time. Fortunately, online tools simplify the task to a few seconds. Here are two useful tools I found.
- NameChk With this free tool you simply enter the term, and it will show status on many dozens of social media platforms. If the box is green, it means the name is available on that social media platform, while dimmed indicates someone has it. The site also shows status of a number of domain name extensions.
- KnowEm This does an even more intensive search, covering 500 popular social networks. While KnowEm offer a paid service to subscribe to social media accounts across many networks, you can use the site freely to see platforms where a given name is still available. It also searches the USPTO Trademark database. Note that on the home page you just see results for the 25 most used social media, but if you use the Social Networks tab you get the full 500 platform search, all nicely divided by sector like photo, video, blogging, etc.
As well as proposing names from their registry, Namify also searches the availability of the term on a handful of the most used social media platforms.
Using Social Media Data for Domain Name Acquisitions
Quite apart from whether you plan to ever acquire social media handles, the data provided by sites like KnowEm can be one metric to consider during domain name acquisition. If a domain name is already taken in most of the popular social media platforms, while that is a negative for obtaining matching handles, it can be a positive in potential end users, or at least an indication of the general popularity of the term.
Read the Terms of Service
While buying and selling of social media handles is definitely happening, see the next section, most of the social media platforms have terms of service that do not allow it. For example, Instagram terms of use specify “You can’t sell, license, or purchase any account or data obtained from us or our Service.”
Similarly, Twitter states in its Help Center: “Attempts to sell, buy, or solicit other forms of payment in exchange for usernames are also violations and may result in permanent account suspension.” The same section also makes clear one cannot sit on unused Twitter handles, and Twitter periodically takes away unused accounts.
The Facebook terms of service specify that you should only have one account, and that you must “Not share your password, give access to your Facebook account to others, or transfer your account to anyone else (without our permission).” They also prohibit selling admin control of Facebook groups.
This article in Alternative Assets on Buying and Selling Social Media Accounts indicates that one of the few exceptions is YouTube, that apparently permits transfer of ownership of accounts. Check the most recent terms of service for any changes, however, if this information is important to you.
Marketplaces for Social Media Accounts Exist
Despite the restrictions noted above, numerous marketplaces actively sell social media accounts. Trade in Instagram handles seems particularly active. If you are interested in getting an idea of current prices, browse listings at FameSwap, that handles Instagram and YouTube accounts, or SocialTradia. It should be noted that accounts for sale on sites like these have value primarily because of followers, not because of inherent worth of the handle name itself. The pricing is usually based on an approximate rate per 10,000 followers.
What About Developing A Social Media Account
So what about the idea of developing a social media account that exactly matches one of your domain names? I would see two potential benefits of this. One would be if there is a way to transfer it with the domain name, consistent with terms of service, it could be a plus for the business acquiring the name. The second advantage is meaningful development might help attract eyes to the domain name.
That said, it is a lot of regular work to maintain meaningful activity on a social media account, and I would think in most cases the possible benefits do not justify the effort. Please share what you think in the comments section.
Discussions on NamePros about Social Media Handles
Aspects of social media accounts have been discussed a number of times on NamePros, although often with limited contributions. Here are some of the discussion threads I found.
- @sixtoronto started How Important is Having Social Media Handles?
- @larryscott2559 asked Any Social Media Name Investors?
- @MTB inquired Do You Check Social Media Accounts? (before registering a domain name)
- In 2017 James Iles wrote an article Would You Trade a Social Media Username for a Domain?
- Earlier this year, @redLemon asked about Other Extensions and Social Media Platforms.
- It is not quite as simple as one matching social media account name. Omar Ashraf asks What’s The Best Social Media Username for Example.com?
- An offer for a social media handle, and some of the complications in transferring one, is discussed in the thread Company Wants To Buy My Social Username, started by @gipson.
- James Iles discusses a case of using a social media handle to leverage your domain name in this tip: Register Corresponding Social Media Usernames.
- Earlier this year @Naytan asked about responding to an inquiry about Domain Inclusion Packages.
- @Promxy94 poses the somewhat broader question Does Showcasing Domain Names on Social Media Sites Help Sales?
With social media accounts ultimately outside your complete control, James Iles reminded us of the importance of operating on your own domain name: Why You Can’t Let Social Media Control Your Brand.
- What are your thoughts on obtaining matching social media accounts?
- Have prospective buyers asked you about accompanying social media handles?
- Have you tried maintaining social media handles to match any of your domain names?
- In general, which social media handles are most important?
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