BillEssley
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2013
- Messages
- 358
- Points
- 28
Having a brand name involves a lot of work: create a logo, choose the key colors, design the bags, set up an appropriate website...But the effort is worth it when the customers come to identify us and place us with respect to the competition.
However, a brand resembles a person's reputation for how fragile it is: to act according to which way or to receive certain negative comments can irreversibly damage it. This is especially true in the digital environment, where what is published is recorded basically forever.
To help you protect your brand on the internet, I have compiled 3 measures that will help you see positive results when your customers search you on Google.
1. Register your brand
When we talk about brands you do not only refer to commercial names, but it is officially understood that a brand can take many forms, like a series of words; images, graphics or symbols; shapes or figures; letters or figures, etc.
In this sense, when registering a trademark , we are granted the exclusive right to use that sign of identification for a product or service, that is, you create our own identity stamp at an "official" level.
This title not only allows us to differentiate ourselves commercially from the competition, but it will prevent another company, no matter how big, from "stealing the brand", as happened with Gmail - the Google email service - in the United Kingdom, which Googlemail had to be renamed because this name was already registered in that country.
In addition, it gives us legal protection in the event that third parties use our brand without permission or in a way that harms us. So, if you see someone who uses our name, logo, etc. Without our authorization, we will have more legal bases to request them to stop doing so.
2. Protect your domain
Ideally, your domain name should match that of our brand. However, sometimes it can be difficult, since many domains are already in use.
To solve this problem, there are several methods: if you need to recover a domain name that "belongs to us", you can resort to the purchase, the administrative way or ultimately take the matter to court.
As an additional security measure, whenever possible, you should acquire all the main extensions (.com, .net, .eu, .info, etc.) to prevent your brand, that is when a third party appropriates a domain that includes our brand and uses it for their benefit or for malicious purposes.
In this sense, as a registered trademark you have the possibility of reserving any new domain before it goes on sale for the general public. For example, you can notify customers before the launch of each new extension, so they can decide if they are interested in registering it.
3. Use social networks as an integral platform
Another important issue to protect our brand on the internet is to take care of our presence on social networks.
At this point, having a Facebook page, being present on Twitter or having an Instagram profile, to name just a few networks, is basic as part of the "virtual showcase" of a company or professional. However, this also leaves us exposed to negative comments from customers .
In practice, you should see these comments as an opportunity to build trust, since nobody who is comparing services expects to find only good opinions about a company. On the other hand, by the mere fact of responding to a client, you show seriousness and initiative. Moreover, as long as the answer is professional and educated, you will make a good impression.
On the other hand, to respond to comments, complaints from customers, you can use social networks to participate in debates or give news of the sector and promote our brand, sharing achievements or news of the company. In general, "humanizing" the brand and giving it its own voice is one of the best ways to protect our name online.
However, a brand resembles a person's reputation for how fragile it is: to act according to which way or to receive certain negative comments can irreversibly damage it. This is especially true in the digital environment, where what is published is recorded basically forever.
To help you protect your brand on the internet, I have compiled 3 measures that will help you see positive results when your customers search you on Google.
1. Register your brand
When we talk about brands you do not only refer to commercial names, but it is officially understood that a brand can take many forms, like a series of words; images, graphics or symbols; shapes or figures; letters or figures, etc.
In this sense, when registering a trademark , we are granted the exclusive right to use that sign of identification for a product or service, that is, you create our own identity stamp at an "official" level.
This title not only allows us to differentiate ourselves commercially from the competition, but it will prevent another company, no matter how big, from "stealing the brand", as happened with Gmail - the Google email service - in the United Kingdom, which Googlemail had to be renamed because this name was already registered in that country.
In addition, it gives us legal protection in the event that third parties use our brand without permission or in a way that harms us. So, if you see someone who uses our name, logo, etc. Without our authorization, we will have more legal bases to request them to stop doing so.
2. Protect your domain
Ideally, your domain name should match that of our brand. However, sometimes it can be difficult, since many domains are already in use.
To solve this problem, there are several methods: if you need to recover a domain name that "belongs to us", you can resort to the purchase, the administrative way or ultimately take the matter to court.
As an additional security measure, whenever possible, you should acquire all the main extensions (.com, .net, .eu, .info, etc.) to prevent your brand, that is when a third party appropriates a domain that includes our brand and uses it for their benefit or for malicious purposes.
In this sense, as a registered trademark you have the possibility of reserving any new domain before it goes on sale for the general public. For example, you can notify customers before the launch of each new extension, so they can decide if they are interested in registering it.
3. Use social networks as an integral platform
Another important issue to protect our brand on the internet is to take care of our presence on social networks.
At this point, having a Facebook page, being present on Twitter or having an Instagram profile, to name just a few networks, is basic as part of the "virtual showcase" of a company or professional. However, this also leaves us exposed to negative comments from customers .
In practice, you should see these comments as an opportunity to build trust, since nobody who is comparing services expects to find only good opinions about a company. On the other hand, by the mere fact of responding to a client, you show seriousness and initiative. Moreover, as long as the answer is professional and educated, you will make a good impression.
On the other hand, to respond to comments, complaints from customers, you can use social networks to participate in debates or give news of the sector and promote our brand, sharing achievements or news of the company. In general, "humanizing" the brand and giving it its own voice is one of the best ways to protect our name online.
