One of WildApricot's readers got in touch recently about a problem with getting a custom
username for her organization’s Facebook Page. Just in case other nonprofits have run into a similar situation, Jenifer has kindly given permission to share her question and respond to it here on the blog.
Question:
As someone new to Facebook trying to set up a nonprofit page, I’ve
spent hours trying to find the right apps and tweaking the settings. I’m stumbling over how to make:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Donkey-Sanctuary/152390983200
to
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Donkey-Sanctuary/
Would you happen to know where I can find this information? I keep
ending up on creating URLs for usernames and profiles, which I believe
are not the same thing.
Answer:
There are two things going on here.
The first thing I noticed was that the username Jenifer was trying to register for The Donkey Sanctuary’s
Facebook Page had hyphens in it — and usernames can only contain
alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9) or a period (“.”). Try again, I suggested to Jenifer, but this time choose a username without hyphens.
But then I actually visited the Facebook Page, and spotted a second issue —
The Donkey Sanctuary has just set up its Page, and it doesn’t yet have enough
fans to qualify for a username.
Here’s what Facebook says about that:
Your Facebook Page must meet two requirements: it must
have been live on Facebook prior to the May 31, 2009 cut-off date and
have had a minimum 1,000 fans at that time. This limitation is
temporary. All Pages created after May 31, 2009 or that had less than
1,000 fans on that day will be eligible to claim usernames on Sunday,
June 28, 2009 if they have more than 25 fans.
Bottom line:
You need 25 fans to get a username for your organization’s Facebook Page. The username also has to meet Facebook’s guidelines:
- Create a username that is as close as possible to your public figure or business name (e.g. AshtonKutcher, PizzaHut).
- If you own the rights to a given name, make it your username so that others cannot obtain it.
- Usernames can only contain alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9) or a period (“.”).
- Choose a username you will be happy with for the long term. Usernames are not transferable.
- Your username must adhere to Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.
For more information on getting a custom username for your nonprofit's Facebook Page, see Usernames: Facebook Pages in the Facebook Help Center.
Thanks, Jenifer, for sharing your question — and good luck to the donkeys!