Virtual Assistant Forums display name

[sheffieldl]

Hey, I am noticing my display name for my posts and my page shows up as sheffieldl. I see that others have their company name or their first name, etc. How can I change mine? Thanks!

Lisa.

[VAF Admin]

Hi Lisa, your post belongs in the Forum FAQ section - so it's been moved. Please be sure to select the most appropriate section for your posts here at VAF.

To answer your other questioin - on the page where you select your username at registration it reads:
USERNAME TIP: Your profile on VAF is highly optimized for search engines. As such it is recommended that you use your VA company name as your username to help clients and potential clients find you. Username changes are NOT allowed once established, so be certain of your choice. Usernames MAY contain spaces and underlines. We do not allow ALL CAPS.

[sheffieldl]

OK. Thanks for the info. Would an option be to re-join and try to correctly follow all the rules next time?

Lisa.

[VAF Admin]

No - in the same paragraph [not copied here] is a reminder that we do not allow multiple registrations.

[sheffieldl]

OK then, thanks. I appreciate your feedback and patience.

Lisa.

[EcoGreenREVA]

Lisa ~

If it's any consolation, I am kind of wishing I had NOT used my business name as my username when I registered for this site. Why? Because now I have to be extra careful with regards to what I post and how I ask questions on this site, and I'm not so sure the fact I am all over this site - at least I intend to be all over this site in the months to come as I prepare to launch my business - is all that advantageous for me in terms of using my business name as my username. In fact, I can think of scenarios where it's disadvantageous to use my business name as my username.

Case in point, after only having my domain name registered for less than a week - yes, less than a week - when I now google my business name, THIS SITE, and my Twitter page - which I also just started this past week, after reading posts on this site - are now on the top of the results page when my business name is googled.

Presumably, once my website goes live, that will be the top hit when my business name is googled... but the posts on this site are still going to be, presumably forever, somewhere downstream in the search engine results.

I don't have too much of a problem with needing to self-censor myself NOW, but down the line I could picture wanting to bounce "sticky situations" with clients off of those who have "been there down that" in the world of VAs and this forum is now off-limits for me for that type of discussion or support.

Don't get me wrong, this site is AWESOME, it's a virtual hand-holding friend/partner as I embark on my new business venture...

But the fact all of my posts, which are now connected with my business name, are optimized for search engines, is not - methinks - all it's cracked up to be, meaning it's not all that advantageous for me to be using my business name as my username.

And yes, I did read the user tip which was reprinted in the #2 post in this thread, and that's what made me decide to go with my business name for my username on this site - but if I had it to do again I would go the route of Tess, who has a virtual LLC with her husband but doesn't use her business name as her username on this site. She doesn't hide who she is, but she doesn't put her business name "out there" either... and I think that may the better overall strategy.

Of course, this may merely be "buyers regret" or more accurately, "registered username regret" on my part... along the lines of "the grass is always greener" - I dunno.

Still, next time I will mull it over for a bit longer before putting my business name out there for all to see - including the search engines... This is especially true in the start-up stages where I want to ask a lot of questions - sometimes just to verify that I'm on the right track. But to an outsider, or to a potential client, it may look like I don't know what the heck I'm doing - and that could have a negative backlash effect. I'll never really know if it did or didn't negatively impact me is some way. Because it's hard to measure since the potential client will likely only move onto the next VA on his list - so I'll never know whether or not my posts on this site, made with my business name so prominently displayed, ultimately steered business AWAY from me. <<<shrug>>>

Still the collective wisdom and synergy of this site seems to be huge - so I'm going to keep on keepin' on and hope for the best!

Bottom line... I can see advantages and disadvantages of both using and not using your business name as your username. Best wishes to you!

[Office Goddess]

If it's any consolation, I am kind of wishing I had NOT used my business name as my user name when I registered for this site. Why? Because now I have to be extra careful with regards to what I post and how I ask questions on this site.

You will be happy to know that many of the areas of the forum are private, and not indexed for general view. If you check on the main forum page, you can see at a glance which ones are protected from view (including the section relating to client issues).

[EcoGreenREVA]

You will be happy to know that many of the areas of the forum are private, and not indexed for general view. If you check on the main forum page, you can see at a glance which ones are protected from view (including the section relating to client issues).

Okay - good

I'm just getting started with acquainting myself with this site, so I haven't explored every nook and cranny of this site as of yet - and there does seem to be a lot of wisdom to be mined around here!

Early today I posted in what I noted to be a private area of the forum - the post was about American Idol - LOL!

While I'm doubtful the fact I follow American Idol, and who I supported this year will drive away clients... it's just not really "professional" and I am, afterall, making posts on this site using my business name, so I do have to be careful about portraying a "professional" image.

[Tess]

Hi Susan Lily has a really good point - and I just wanted to follow up and recommend that you log out of the boards, and then scan the home page, noting which forums are marked as PRIVATE [you can most easily tell when logged out because that's how unregistered users, including Google, see those sections] Note that even if you have a link from within one of those sections, you can't get in unless you're a logged in member of VAF. Those sections are like Fort Knox and not a single word from inside them is indexed on the web-at-large.

When we built the site we realized that in a healthy community there needs to be a way for members to share difficult times, personal issues, client related rants, and ask questions or for help with certain things without worrying about the issues you mentioned. So you'll see that there are private sections to allow for all of those things.

But we also implemented strong SEO in all of the non-private sections. When you think of all the thousands of VA sites out there, the chances of turning up in a search by potential clients is very slim. But VAF turns up 8 times out of 10 for searches related to VAs - and we know clients are landing here and we know they're contracting VAs based on the professionalism they see exhibited on the boards. Does that mean they're also likely NOT contracting some VAs based on the same, sure... but a forum - any forum - is a marketing tool the same as Twitter, or your biz cards - and ultimately it's all about how you use it. If you approach it as a professional, with a 'how can I make this work for me?' mind-set, you'll get great results. If it's a haphazard approach then you'll get haphazard results.

Forums are the original social networking tool - it's old software that's been perfected to serve not only the site itself but those who utilize it... taking advantage of that [no matter where on the web you're participating] rather than seeing it as a liability is an important first step in taking total control of your marketing message and your brand online.

I'd like to encourage you to familiarize yourself with the site and then use it to your complete advantage - that's what it's here for.

[sheffieldl]

Right on. The people that see what you write here are other VA's that have some of the same experiences. Clients arent' going to become members of VA Forums and spend time searching around as much as we do. There is so much info on this site, it is daunting and time-consuming to find it all. I see your point, though. Thanks for the feedback.

Lisa.