Corporations have come online and, in consequence, have become exposed in a distinctive way to duplicity and identity robbery. Today, fraudsters can create whole websites that look like your own and can even create social media accounts that are your brand’s voice.
What is worse? Consumers cannot say the difference if performed correctly.
These sites and pages lead the consumers to think they connect with them, and they may even buy from those sites to which they are attributable.
A business’s brand value is always the most valuable IP, so it is imperative to safeguard it vigorously. The trade graveyard is riddled with companies that never recover but have not been covered by the brand.
A brand owner can easily identify potential infringers and deal quickly and effectively with the contravener – before the injury. Your brand is your pledge for your clients, and the credibility of your business today is more critical than ever before to success. How are trademark owners to control their brand risk in limited time and budget?
Secure your online rights
Web domains and usernames in social media today are as significant as the markings themselves as hashtags, smartphone app names, and registered company names. Ensure that you protect and safeguard these as well since they are also a part of the business identity.
With the brand registration in India, you can quickly manage your brand even in the changing environment. Therefore, try and stay alert using all available resources to safeguard your business brand before you go online. Smart businesses are opting for better datasets that give insights into customer engagement with the brand. This means that we can track your brand assets worldwide – thanks to our full range of analysis products – to help you react as quickly as possible to potential infringements.
Trademark watch is critical to ensure that no other brands exploit your created marks in the online world.
See also: blogger outreach & link building
Community management and verified social accounts
An active and verifiable social media presence, including an initiative for community management will help keep your brand’s confidentiality and fight fraudsters. Using social media platforms to connect with your customers and to keep them in touch, always trying to respond to their complaints and questions across the site is a great way to stop anyone from taking over your social identity.
Anyone can own and run the Facebook pages under any name. But you can search the pages that belong to a brand and get a blue mark next to them.
With a publication page for your brand that regularly displays content, you may obtain this checkmark and be certified as the original brand owner.
Be proactive
It is never too early to think about protecting a brand – whether you are still growing, only launching, or using a brand for years. Be vigilant and check your trademarks early for possible disputes, preferably when new applications for trademarks are submitted or released. If you have done your limited liability partnership registration in India, you need to be highly proactive in your online presence within the digital world’s geographical boundaries. If your brand works internationally or if you have the potential to be global in the future, make sure that you track all relevant, even smaller markets.
It is effortless to squat, but it could also be a massive challenge to your brand. A
the fake website may opt to use your brand name or slogan pronounced incorrectly
(so, avoid trademark problems) and still, rank higher by adopting black hat techniques
that may hamper your brand image in the longer run.
Similarly, anyone can ‘squat’ a domain name that should preferably be yours. For example,
you might have registered the.com or .in domains for your company. In these situations, someone else will first buy it and ask you to pay a certain amount for owning the part. To cover yourself, before that happens, you can scoop up these changes in your territory.
Conclusion
Bear in mind the following when designing your brand guideline:
• What would you like to tell your customers as the owner of the business? Tell your staff at the very beginning what you want your clients to hear and maintain it throughout your online presence.
• Use a business or publisher brand guide that you respect. Established and tested principles still work best for online businesses.
• A brand guide is often a guide rather than a strict rulebook. No need to punish yourself and your people any time they do not stick to it.
• Make your brand guide brief and full of visual content, increasing people’s chances of reading it.
It is always better to have someone review the guide periodically and substitute elements that do not work for those that hopefully will. This person will also communicate updates to the rest of your team.