Protect Your Brand on Social Media
By Jill Kurtz, Owner, Kurtz Digital StrategySocial media is an important way to connect with your audience. Although you can’t – and shouldn’t – be active on every social site, you do need to take steps to protect your name and brand across all channels.Make social media registration a priority, even if you don’t plan on being active.Proactively register your name on top social media channels—like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest—regardless of if you plan on being active in those channels. Establishing an account preserves your name and prevents anyone else from using it.This approach:
- Avoids potential customer confusion if someone else uses your name.
- Allows you to protect your brand reputation by not having undesirable content posted on a channel that looks like it belongs to you.
Be sure to document all the accounts you create and the access credentials. Having an account you can’t access isn’t helpful!There are tools that can help you with this effort:
Monitor social media for your name and brand.Keep an eye out for other businesses that may be accidentally or intentionally using your name in social media. Reach out to anyone who you think is creating customer confusion. Most often, this is unintentional and can be avoided with a little awareness.Consider trademark protection.Whether you plan to be active on social media or not, you may want to consider trademarking your business name. Hire a trademark attorney to help you search for available names and file an application. This can set your business up for success in the world of social media and beyond.[author]About the Author: Jill Kurtz founded Kurtz Digital Strategy to help clients see the communication potential of the newest trends and technologies. She is an expert at website strategy and redesign, social media planning, and developing exceptional content.[/author]
