• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • AI Explored Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🌟 AI Society
  • 🗓️ Marketing Conference
  • đź‘‹ About Us
    • Marketing Events
  • Search
  • Embrace AI & MarketingGet Ongoing Training & SupportBEGIN YOUR JOURNEY NOW

    How to Effectively Rebrand Your Social Media Profiles

    by AJ Kumar / November 5, 2012

    social media how toHas your business changed since you first created your social media profiles?

    Are you considering a rebrand of your company's existing social identity?

    With the right preparation, it's possible to manage your social media rebranding efforts without losing a significant number of subscribers along the way.

    Should You Rebrand Your Social Profiles?

    Before we review the process of rebranding your social media profiles, consider whether a rebranding is truly right for your company.

    According to Luke Brassinga of Likeable Brands, “True rebranding involves updating a company's goals, message and culture.”

    branding
    Your social networking profile branding plays a major role in your company's online image. Image source: iStockPhoto.

    If you're only conducting a rebrand because you like the sound of a new name better, your end results may not be worth the extra effort and potential for losses involved in the rebranding process.

    As a result, rebranding is best suited for companies that are:

    • Changing their overall structure (perhaps as the result of a merger or acquisition).
    • Substantially diversifying their product offerings (to the point where the existing identity is no longer applicable).
    • Addressing business aspects that are outdated or failed.

    If you're approaching the rebranding process for one of these reasons, then here's what you need to do to rebrand your social media profiles.

    Step #1: Do Your Due Diligence

    When Netflix first announced its ill-fated rebranding to split the Netflix and Qwikster services, it quickly became apparent that one vital element of the due-diligence process had been glossed over.

    Because the company had failed to secure the “@Qwikster” username on Twitter, the handle was snatched up by a user who flooded his feed with images of a beloved children's character making use of illicit substances.

    jason castillo
    Netflix quickly scrapped the launch of the DVD-only service Qwikster in the face of negative publicity.

    To avoid similar missteps that may tarnish your brand's reputation, carry out the following tasks before even hinting to your audience about the potential for a rebranding:

    • Secure the .com version of your new brand name's URL.
    • Make sure that the Twitter handle you want associated with your new brand is still available.
    • Run focus groups with existing customers to uncover any hidden issues with your proposed rebranding.

    Be sure you take the time to carry out this research before you roll out your full rebranding campaign. This will prevent (or at least minimize) the potential for gaffes that could derail your future marketing efforts.

    Step #2: Understand Social Network Limitations

    As you prepare for rebranding, there are some limitations that restrict your ability to change profile information. While these restrictions shouldn't affect your ultimate ability to rebrand your social media profiles, you'll want to account for them before you begin undertaking the change process.

    Facebook—currently, Facebook does not allow page owners to change the names of their pages once they've accrued 200 likes, in order to prevent the buying and selling of Facebook fans.

    AI Business Society

    Ready to Unlock AI Marketing Breakthroughs?

    If you’re like most of us, you are trying to figure out how to use AI in your marketing. Here's the solution: The AI Business Society—a new AI marketing community from your friends at Social Media Examiner.

    The AI Business Society is the place to discover how to apply AI in your work. When you join, you'll boost your productivity, unlock your creativity, and make connections with other marketers on a similar journey.

    I'M READY TO BECOME AN AI-POWERED MARKETER

    While the recommended solution is to simply create a new page and encourage existing followers to like your new page, some users have reported reaching contacts within Facebook's customer support system who have changed brand names manually in legitimate rebranding scenarios.

    Your results may vary, but be aware that asking fans to like a new page will result in fan losses.

    change username
    To change your Facebook page name, simply erase the information found in the Name field and enter your new branding.

    Twitter—changing your username and profile information within Twitter is quite easy. You log into your profile and navigate to the Settings area. Your first step will be to change the current username listed in your account to your desired handle (assuming it's available) and click Save changes:

    Discover Proven Marketing Strategies and Tips

    Want to go even deeper with your marketing? Check out the Social Media Marketing Podcast! Publishing weekly since 2012, the Social Media Marketing Podcast helps you navigate the constantly changing marketing jungle, with expert interviews from marketing pros.

    But don’t let the name fool you. This show is about a lot more than just social media marketing. With over 600 episodes and millions of downloads each year, this show has been a trusted source for marketers for well over a decade.

    CHECK OUT THE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PODCAST NOW
    rebrand on twitter
    Rebranding your account on Twitter is an easy process.

    Next, navigate to your Profile section to update your Twitter image, name, bio and URL:

    profile section
    Make sure all possible Twitter profile fields reflect your new brand.

    Making these changes will disseminate your rebranded information across your profile automatically.

    You'll still want to conduct an outreach campaign to educate followers on why these changes have occurred and what your new brand represents.

    YouTube—while YouTube doesn't allow users to change their registered usernames, it is possible to create vanity URLs that effectively “mask” an old channel's content to display at a rebranded URL.

    For complete instructions on how to carry out this process, take a look at the video below:

    LinkedIn—finally, while there are no issues changing your personal LinkedIn profile, the rebranding process becomes more complicated when it comes to LinkedIn Groups and Company Pages.

    As of now, Group identities can only be changed five times, though this restriction applies to both changing your Group name and Group logo. To prevent complications, have your Group logo ready to go before changing your Group name in order to minimize the number of changes needed in the rebranding process.

    In addition, LinkedIn Company pages can only be changed by contacting the LinkedIn Help Center directly.

    rebranding linkedin page
    Rebranding your LinkedIn Company page is an important part of maintaining a consistent digital presence.

    You'll need to provide details on the reason behind the change, as well as confirm that you own both the current account and new branded identity.

    Once this process is completed, you'll also want to go through your updated page to ensure that any references to your old identity are removed.

    Step #3: Communicate Clearly to Your Customers

    Besides managing these technical concerns, customer communications should remain a top priority throughout the rebranding process.

    Make sure that all of the following elements play a part in your communications strategy:

    • Create a video explaining the reasoning behind your rebranding—knowing why a company is changing its image may make the transition easier to swallow for some customers.
    • Make it very clear what is and is not changing—Netflix failed to immediately announce that it was changing not just its image, but the login process required to request videos as well, and the public outcry was swift. Avoid this mistake and confirm up front what the transition means for your customers.
    • Communicate using as many formats as possible—informed customers are happier customers, so publish communications regarding your rebranding on your blog, your social media profiles, your email newsletter and any other web property your customers frequent.
    Good customer communication is the key to an effective rebranding. Image source: iStockPhoto.

    Don't expect that your customers will be on board with your rebranding process initially. Most people are naturally resistant to change and will view your transition with everything from fear to skepticism to anger.

    However, by clearly communicating from the get-go, you'll ensure the process is carried out in the appropriate order and you'll minimize the impact of lost customers and goodwill as you rebrand your image.

    What do you think? Do you have any other suggestions on how to rebrand your business on your social media profiles? Please leave your questions and comments below.

    Images from iStockPhoto.
    AI EXPLORED

    Curious About How to Use AI?

    Our newest show, AI Explored, might be just what you're looking for. It's for marketers, creators, and entrepreneurs who want to understand how to use AI in their business.

    It's hosted by Michael Stelzner and explores this exciting new frontier in easy-to-understand terms.

    Pull up your favorite podcast app and search for AI Explored. Or click the button below for more information.

    I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AI

    Tags: Social Media Strategy

    About the authorAJ Kumar

    AJ Kumar is co-founder of Single Grain, a digital marketing agency based in San Francisco. Single Grain specializes in helping startups and larger companies with search engine optimization, ppc, and social media strategies.
    Other posts by AJ Kumar »

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (43 pages, 50+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    AI

    Next Frontier Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 17th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 385,000 marketers!

    Simply click the button below to get the free report:

    Footer

    Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle
    Copyright © 2025 Social Media Examiner®
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our social media marketing industry report
    • Our generative AI marketing industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS