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4 Easy Steps to Change Your Twitter Username

// April 3rd, 2009 // Tips

Choosing a good Twitter username is essential for your success on Twitter. The ideal Twitter username is memorable, easy to type, and helps people know something about the kind of tweets they can expect from you.

Why Change Your Twitter Username?

Why in the world would you need to change your Twitter Username? Well, consider the following scenarios:

• You realize that the original name is simply too long and you find it difficult to retweet.
• You’ve just been married and you have chosen to use your spouse’s last name.
• You are concerned the “cool” username you chose when you started using Twitter may be considered inappropriate at the company where you have just landed a job.
• You want to make sure your branding is consistent across all social media platforms.

Changing Your Twitter Username in 4 Easy Steps!

1. Create a new account with your desired name (This ensures that it is available). Note: You will have to use a different email address than the one you used to create your original account. After you create the new account, add an extra character to the end. For example, if you created an account with the name JaneDoe, change it to JaneDoe2, save the change, and logout.
2. Log into your old account and change the username to your desired name. In this example, that would be JaneDoe. Save your changes and log out of the account.
3. Log back into your new account and change it to your old Twitter username. This will ensure that you maintain possession of the name and that external links will still work. While you’re there, post a tweet about your new Twitter username… just in case somebody is directed there from an old link
4. Finally, send a DM to all your followers letting them know that you have changed your Twitter username. Idea: You can use a service such as TweetLater.com to send out recurring messages until fee that your followers are sufficiently informed.

Photo Credit: Giant Ginkgo

Tags: Settings, Username