How to set a custom Facebook page URL with fewer than 25 fans

One common gripe over Facebook page creation is that, as a page administrator, you aren’t able to set a unique URL for a page until it has at least 25 fans.

In September 2011 there was a loophole which allowed page admins to set a username for pages with fewer than 25 fans, but this soon closed up.

However, whilst setting up a page for a client yesterday, I discovered that there is indeed currently a way to set a unique username/URL for a Facebook page with less than 25 fans. It’s a little lengthy but ultimately does work.

However, it’s worth noting that this will only work for brand new pages – you can’t use this loophole to set a unique username for a page you’ve already created. You will also have to follow the entire process again for each individual page/username you want to set.

Expect this loophole to close quickly; here’s how to take advantage of it:

1. Go to Facebook.com and make sure you are logged out. Beneath the sign up form, click on the ‘Create a Page for a celebrity, band or business.’ link

2. Choose whichever category is most appropriate for the page you want to create and continue

3. Even if you already have a Facebook account, select the ‘I do not have a Facebook account’ option

4. Sign up using an email address that is not associated with any Facebook account; you could create one just for this purpose. Follow the Facebook account creation and confirmation steps

5. Set up your profile (you can come back to this later)

6. Click on ‘Edit page’ and then navigate to the ‘Basic Information’ tab on the left

7. Click on the ‘Create a username for this page?’ link

8. This brings up a notice asking you to verify your account before you can create a username. Follow the verification steps

9. Once Facebook confirms that the code is correct, the page doesn’t seem to auto-redirect anywhere. Don’t click continue again, but instead click on the Facebook logo in the top left to go back to your page’s home page feed. Click ‘Edit page’ to bring up the admin section again, and click on the ‘Basic Information’ tab

10. Click on ‘Create a username for this page?’ again and choose a username that is available

11. Success! Your username has been set. You are the proud owner of a page with 0 fans and a unique URL. If you wish, to make life easier for future management of the page, log out and log in to your usual Facebook account. Like the page from your usual account, then log back in to the page account, go into the page’s admin settings and set your main account as a page admin. You can now run the page from your usual Facebook account, using your unique URL to attract fans.

Did it work for you? What do you think of the 25 fan limit?

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