Big brands like Coke, Nokia and McDonalds have been left behind in the race to register their names on Twitter.
Out of the world’s top brands*, 47.5% have lost the opportunity to register their their key brand name on Twitter, while 35% are “maybes”, where it looks like they’ve possibly reserved their name, (although it could very easily be a squatter). Only 12.5% had secured their identities, with 5% brand’s identities still available at time of writing.
Some of those top brands, such as Dell, have registered alternative names @direct2dell and been very successful (Dell uses Twitter as an extra sales channel, releasing vouchers for customers). And there’s little chance of them getting it back off the owner, who says “My last name is Dell (but no relation)”, while on another previous entry he bemoaned being made to feel like a squatter:
“Not a twitter-squatter (sqwitter?) but starting to feel a little like one after reading FaceReviews harsh on Dell http://tinyurl.com/6nluqs“
Some user names, such as @Samsung and @HSBC, have “suspended accounts”, which means it’s likely that they’ve been squatted on. If you feel your company has been a victim of this, check out Twitter’s help portal where it will tell you what you have to do to try and wrestle it back. But, there’s by no means a guarantee of success, particularly for companies with names that are two or three letter acronyms or generic names, like JP Morgan.
So, the message is, if you haven’t already registered your company name (or if you work in PR, your client’s name), then get in there quick. And while you’re at it, register the names for Flickr, Plurk, Facebook and Myspace etc. at the same time. If you’ve asked your PR agency to do it for you, make sure you get the passwords off them as it’s all too easy for them to be left in some account executive’s email inbox irretrievable if they leave.
If you’ve missed out on your main user name, then register the next closest you can get that makes sense and promote it via other channels, such as your homepage or blog – at least then users know that it’s authentic.
It’s a time consuming job – but, given the increasing importance of social media, an important one to keep on top of.
Top 40 Brands and their profile on Twitter
1. http://twitter.com/coke – no
2. http://twitter.com/ibm – maybe; 1 follower, no updates
3. http://twitter.com/microsoft – maybe, seems to have a few followers, doesn’t look official
4. http://twitter.com/generalelectric – maybe, reserved, by no updates
5. http://twitter.com/nokia – no
6. http://twitter.com/toyota – no
7. http://twitter.com/intel – yes, but no updates
8. http://twitter.com/mcdonalds – maybe; 12 followers, no updates
9. http://twitter.com/disney – no, someone called Cherri has it http://www.cheridreams.com/
10. http://twitter.com/google – yes, but not using it
11. http://twitter.com/mercedesbenz – no
12. http://twitter.com/hp http://twitter.com/hewlettpackard – no
13. http://twitter.com/bmw – no
14. http://twitter.com/gillette – maybe; 1 follower, no updates
15. http://twitter.com/americanexpress – maybe; no followers or updates
16. http://twitter.com/louisvuitton – maybe; 4 followers, no updates
17. http://twitter.com/cisco – no
18. http://twitter.com/marlborough – maybe, but no updates or followers
19. http://twitter.com/citi – suspended, so no; maybe cyber squatted
20. http://twitter.com/honda – maybe, 9 followers, no updates
21. http://twitter.com/samsung – suspended; maybe cyber squatted
22. http://twitter.com/h&m – still available at time of writing
23. http://twitter.com/oracle – yes, in use
24. http://twitter.com/apple – maybe; 323 followers, no updates
25. http://twitter.com/Sony – maybe; 1 following, no updates
26. http://twitter.com/pepsi – yes, probably, logo and 251 followers, but no update
27. http://twitter.com/hsbc – suspended, so maybe cyber squatted
28. http://twitter.com/nescafe – suspended, so maybe cyber squatted
29. http://twitter.com/nike – no, probably not, no followers, only 3 updates
30. http://twitter.com/ups – no, looks like spam, don’t think so
31. http://twitter.com/sap – still available
32. http://twitter.com/dell – no
33. http://twitter.com/budweiser – maybe, 10 followers but no update
34. http://twitter.com/merrilllynch – maybe, but no updates or followers
35. http://twitter.com/ikea – maybe, 18 followers but no updates
36. http://twitter.com/canon – yes, logo and over 200 followers but no updates
37. http://twitter.com/jpmorgan – no, “Passionate Founder, Omnipotent Innovator”
38. http://twitter.com/goldmansachs – no, suspended
39. http://twitter.com/kelloggs – no, daniel “playing basketball”
40. http://twitter.com/nintendo – suspended, so maybe cyber squatted
* Source: Interbrand – “Best global brands” – 2008
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Depending on how mainstream Twitter becomes, do you think it could be possible that people and brands could purchase names on Twitter similar to URL’s? I’m sure Mr Dell would relinquish his Twitter name for a few hundred dollars…
It’s possible, but they’ll have to do it on the sly as it’s against Twitter’s terms and conditions. See the Twitter help section.
I think this is fair enough – after all, Twitter doesn’t want to inadvertently encourage a Twitter user name black market.
Update: I’ve also noticed that @CyberSquatters are now following me: “We seek out those who are CyberSquatting on Twitter & Expose them to the Public. DM to report a Squatter.”
Interesting – I note Red Bull (who had the mother of a Facebook following and page) have also lost out…I suppose the flip of this is to keep an eye out for new Twitter registrations for new product / film launches and the like…there maybe an little app or widget in that
Yep, although I guess the magic widget could be used for evil as well as good… ;-)
What really is suprising is how long it has taken google to get on the twitter bandwagon