Help - I need brand protection!
Online freedom opens your business up to risk. Reputational risks in the form of brand abuse; leading to brand dilution, customer confusion, reduced confidence, and trademark infringement.
Check out - 3 steps to online brand protection - it covers trademark infringement, IP violation. crisis management, registering multiple domain names, employee advocacy, and creating a social media policy.
The need for brand protection
"Throwing personnel at the problem to manually monitor the web all day using a bunch of disconnected tools might work in the beginning and for very small firms. However, nothing beats the power of an algorithm-driven brand protection tool to not only make you aware of the threats, but also make you aware of the opportunities to reenergize your brand."
Business blog, Business 2 Community
— FoodPorn (@ItsFoodPorn) November 15, 2016
But what should brands be looking out for on social media and how can they protect themselves effectively?
Brand protection – what to look for
Monitoring mentions of your brand is the first step to catching brand misuse. I don't just mean mentions in content. I'm talking tracking your brand logo in images too. Content with visuals is 40x more likely to get shared than other types of content. This means being able to track images is crucial to your brand protection strategy.
Here are four key things that brands should be watching out for...
Counterfeit goods
A counterfeiter will use a well-known logo to validate their site or merchandise; selling inferior and sometimes dangerous products that will destroy your reputation on the market.
Giorgio who?
Customer services
If a customer shares an image of your badged product with accompanying text complaining about your service, but fails to mention your brand, how would you know? To reduce reputational damage to your brand you have to identify problems and respond quickly.
— Michael Barbera (@mbarberausa) November 14, 2016
User-generated content (UGC)
You’ve launched a new product and customers love it! They’re sharing photos online, and the buzz is positive. But, they’re not talking about your brand name! You’re missing the opportunity to grab this free marketing and harness its power.
— FoodPorn (@ItsFoodPorn) November 11, 2016
Customer confusion
If a company uses a logo that mimics yours, not only are they misleading your customers, they’re devaluing your brand. Customers won’t be able to distinguish between you. Your brand will lose meaning and effectiveness in the marketplace and trust will be damaged.
— NatsGM (@NatsGMdotcom) October 31, 2016
I don't mean to sound dramatic, but if you’re a recognized and trusted brand, you’re a target!
For each of the cases above, finding brand misuse is the first step, but with 80% of images posted online lacking identifying text or hashtags, it’s a time-consuming task. Our proprietary image recognition technology helps you identify all images relevant to your brand and send you real-time alerts so you can react immediately.
The brand protection police don't exist
There won’t be blue flashing lights, there won’t be screaming sirens. Brand protection on social media is crucial. You can cross your fingers and hope your brand’s logo doesn’t get abused, or you can be proactive and contain business risks. If you'd like advice about protecting your brand, sign up for a free demo with one of our experts.
