A company’s online brand represents everything that a company claims and wants to be. It gives customers and potential customers a clear idea of how the business views itself, which often translates into how others will come to view the business over time. In short, a company’s online brand is an important intangible asset that needs to be safeguarded at all costs. Failing to protect it could have a profound negative effect on the business’ ability to succeed in the future.

What Makes an Online Brand ?

Building an online brand starts with a concept. That concept is then turned into a product line. Once a product line is in place, it’s time to give the company a name and a face that goes right to the essence of the organization. You should keep this in mind when you develop your website and digital marketing campaigns. They should help represent:

• What is the company selling?
• Why are these products/services important and how are they better than those offered by competitors?
• What does the company stand for from a social perspective?
• What is the Company’s mission.

Safeguarding Your Online Brand’s Identity Starts with These Essential 5 Steps

As an entrepreneur, you have no doubt invested a great deal of time and money into creating and positioning your business for success. This includes the development of a unique website and digital marketing campaigns. With so much invested, you will find you have much to lose should your online brand be breached or harmed. You owe it to your business, employees and yourself to take the steps necessary to safeguard your online brand’s identity, thereby protecting the sanctity of your business. The following steps are an essential part of providing the needed protection.

1. Take Your Time Developing Your Online Brand –

The whole point of developing a online brand is to uniquely identify your company among an enormous list of competitors. You want to make sure your company’s symbols (logo, website) and messages (content, digital marketing campaigns) are indeed unique. As part of this process, you have to do some research. You want your website to look and function well in order to generate excitement and create buying. You also want your company’s message and marketing efforts to standout by avoiding the status-quo. These things can only be achieved by taking your time to develop the details. In a digital world, things thrown together in a hurry look unprofessional, causing potential customer and vendors to look elsewhere.

2. Be Distinct – You want to make sure your company’s name and website are distinct enough to eliminate any possible confusion. You can hire someone to research for names, logos and websites that might be similar to yours. If you find too many similarities with others, you should make the necessary adjustments needed to make sure everything is distinct. The last you want to encounter is having your company confused with a company that has a poor reputation.

3. Legally Protect Your Assets – Through the years, the company’s logo and website will be the visual symbols used by the business community to identify your company. They should be a bold and precise representations of the business and what the business does. After all, these assets will permeate everything, including your digital marketing efforts, packaging, promotional material, letterhead, and social media accounts. After investing time and money developing these unique assets, you need to protect them from plagiarism and copyright infringement by scavengers. This protection is easy to secure by having a policy of registering all of your intellectual assets and obtaining proper copyright and trademark protection through the proper authorities.

4. Check in With Customers and Vendors – From time to time, it’s very useful to survey those parties who respond to your online brand. The purpose of the survey is to find out how effective your brand is at telling your company’s story and instilling confidence in others regarding the company’s ability to provide excellent service and reliable products. Have them comment on your website, logo, digital marketing materials and social media presence.

5. Commit to Your Brand – During times when the business faces financial difficulty, there is a tendency to panic and start making wholesale changes to the brand, including your website. While it might be necessary to do so in some situations, it can get expensive and caution should be exercised. The last thing you want to do is lose continuity with customers by changing your brand too soon, too often or for all the wrong reasons. Give your brand a chance to take hold.