For the past month, I have been testing Scout Labs social media monitoring solution to see if this will be a good fit for my start-up’s social media activities. During one of my monitoring sessions, I came across the following brand hijacking. At first, I found this very amusing. I admired the the absolute gall to take a competitiors brand name and incorporate it into your e-commerce and social media activities. Poor Taco Bell is a victim in the world of fast food social media engagement.
In April 2009, Vogue Austraila experienced the same issue with its brand identity on Twitter. A user created an account with their name and started to transmit embarrassing tweets. This hurt Vogue in the social media, but in real-time event management activites where they were drawing attention to their special events. Lawyers resolved the issue, but the damage was done to their brand name Down Under.
Both incidents are good examples of why businesses should create identities on-line and monitor these identities to ensure no brand hijacking can occurr. Sometimes the brand hijack is planned, sometimes the brand hijack is an accident. Whether it’s your identity or a brand, it will be hijacked, visibly or stealthly.
Visible hijacking happens when someone wants to set-up an account or fan page in the social media. Often, the on-line presence is created to meet a need by a 3rd party. I see this type of identity/brand hijacking as intentional and unintentional. It starts out as cool idea by the user, but the idea loses its luster over time, especially when legal action is threatened. Visible hijackings are done for “kicks”.
Stealth brand hijacking is planned and carried out by a competitor with the purpose of using your identity or brand name. Often, this is done to try to lead on-line audiences to a companies website or blog. Either way one sees it, they used your brand name to lead present customers and warm prospects to their web presence or on-line advertisement. Stealth brand hijackings are planned and will continue to be seen on the social web.
Here is a small list of how many social media platforms, vehicles, or tools can be used to hijack your brand or identity. After viewing this list, many people will want to quote intellectual property and trademark infringement law. Remember, many laws have not caught up with social media technology yet. Presently, it is being debated what is slander or libel on the social web. Also, under consideration is what determines on-line and off-line conversations!
-When businesses create their own on-line community and invite participants to discuss their issues with your brand and how these criticisms can be improved into that businesses similar products.
-E-books and white papers created by competitor. E-books and white papers are generated for prospects and customers on how to use a company’s product in a particular task. Who says they cannot say why your product failed in this particular instance. If it is true, then be prepared for it to be used against you on-line.
-Establishing and creating inbound links on your website to a landing page website. Domain names can be very simple to create and are seriously not policed by most company IT departments.
-Companies joining on-line communities being run by a competitior. The competitor places their brand or logo on the webpage indicating they are members.
-Some companies like to develop free on-line tools for participants. If you are already using these tools in your daily business operations, the company does have the right to list you as a user of their product.
-If your competitior is trying to increase their search engine optimization rankings on your sucessiful SEO campaign by placing your companies brand and product within their web pages.
-Again, like above. This time they create a comparison landing page with your company brands versus their brands.
-Placing news and social media releases on various news sites introducing their new and improved product (often remarketing or retargeting your audiences) when you release your new and improved product details.
-Present and former employees creating social media accounts and starting to create embarrassing content toward your present and future audiences. At times, these users could re-direct possible prospects away from an event or sale to another companies event or sale. Worst case scenario, the users of a hijacked account could post links to the competitiors websites or blogs.
-Present and former employees creating social media accounts entitled “Against (insert name of your company here)”. See this alot on Facebook and Twitter. Surprising how many employers don’t know this is happening! The owners and fans of this type of page talk about the wonderful negatives about working for your organization. Better yet, your competitors will join the page and talk about the problems with your company and its products!
Part 2 posting will discuss how to safeguard against the above problems…
Presently, I am Beta-testing the Scout Labs application for use in my business. I was not paid by Scout Labs to place their product on my blog.
Happy Holidays and a most prosperous 2010 for all! Will be on vacation starting 12/21/09-1/2/10.
