Have you been out in the social spaces and seen all the absurd names people use as their…aaah..Name? There really are some very interesting names and a lot of not so interesting names people use for some reason.
Recently I tracked down the REAL people behind a few of these unusual names to ask why they used the name. What I found was bizarre to say the very least and explains a lot of the mental state many business people are in with how they think things work online.
Name Game
One of the persons using a man’s name along with their business name on the same line was actually a women. When asked what was up with the name she explained she was told by an SEO firm she needed to use a man’s name with her business name in everything she was touching online. She went on to say consumers “don’t give a rat’s ass” about dealing with the real person of the business.
So she placed the unsightly name in every social network thinking it would draw attention to her business. When asked if it was working she attempted a less convincing rebuttal to what she was doing was working. Then after being told what her viewers thought of her name she admitted she was getting far too many people not taking the name seriously with many contacting her because they thought the name was a joke. She admitted that if she has not spent tens of thousands of dollars with an SEO firm for the set up of her business she probably would do things differently.
Yes, another poor soul sold a bag of goods from what one can only assume came from one of the many Black Hat SEO scammers roaming the internet.
Is Your Name Really ‘Great Golf Swing’?
One of the real travesties of the ‘Business Name in Social Spaces Game’ has to do with the golf professionals who not only post the PGA Logo in their avatar but, also put ‘PGA’ in their name. Many will avoid using their name altogether and post only their Slogan as their name. this is a huge FAIL.
In talking to an executive director of the PGA about how their logo is used by their members I found the PGA would rather these professional not use the PGA logo the way they are using it. He admitted that placing the name ‘PGA’ in their name field did look “desperate” and “unprofessional”.
In talking to a few of the PGA member who used the PGA Logo and the PGA name in their name I was told first it was the only way they could distinguish as a ‘Real’ Golf Professional. A few others mentioned they were told my ‘Social Media Experts’ that having the PGA in their name would also improve their SEO rating.
On the most part the many PGA members I know would rather use social media as it is intended and stand on their own name as professional instead of relying upon the PGA logo, or name, to impress upon the viewer they are better than someone else. They let their teaching do the talking and leave the ‘Name Game’ to others less confident in themselves.
Business Name is not Social
One of the biggest wrong doings a business person can do is place their business name in place of their name. This is not being ‘Social’. Not only does this confuse the consumer it runs them off. Businesses who succeed in marketing online in the social space do so by having a person or group of people, using their real name, to promote their business.
The few business people I ran down to ask why they just used their business name insisted it was the product or business they wanted noticed not them, the person or their name. They are under a strange impression that the social space is like the rest of the internet where posting a web-site is all they need to do to get attention. A few made claim they were making serious contacts for business using the business name instead of their real name. However, none of them would define what ‘serious contacts’ meant or if it equaled making a sale.
Studies are showing a tremendous change in the behavior of consumers who are in the online social networks. They are pulling back from who, what and how they are spending their time online. Large numbers of people who have been online for more than a year are purging their Following on Twitter and Disconnecting from unknown friends on Facebook to eliminate the misguided businesses who ‘Just don’t get how social media works’. Many of the savvy consumers are making ‘Loser Lists’ of people they want to avoid in their social spaces. Most on the list are Business Names.
Mega Sites Taking Responsibility
Plus, the social networks are starting to take a look at themselves and what they see in the way of unconventional use of names is not appealing to their advertisers and investors. More and more requirements of using a valid name will become part of being a member of a social network. Seems the tide is turning against those who use a business name in social spaces.
It is hard to reason why so many people do not want to take their existence online seriously. Hiding someone’s real identity online by using a fictional name is one thing, but to post a ridiculous name or be identified by a business name in a social network makes no sense and really works against the business.
The consumer movement to requiring ‘Real’ in their lives is changing the landscape of social networks. Those business people insisting on using old methods of marketing are going to find themselves talking to each other as more people online shut them off. The business environment online needs to change with the consumer interest if it is to survive.
Let me know how I can help.
