Brand hijacking isn’t new. The $1.9 trillion bootleg luxury goods industry to corner shops in Turkey with suspiciously close names to long-standing U.K. high street stores tells you that. Today, with the proliferation of social media and internet-based businesses, however, brand hijacking is a bigger risk to small businesses than ever before.
Scam calls are becoming more frequent and sophisticated, and each day more of our data is available to take advantage of.
Entrepreneurs need to be aware of these threats and take steps to reduce the chances of malicious entities ruining their brands.
What Are The Hijacking Threats?
Cybersquatting
Cybersquatters tarnish a brand’s reputation and demand ransom money. How? By registering a brand’s domain name with a different top-level domain (the part after the dot i.e. .uk, .com, etc.) or registering a very similar domain name.
Phishing
By creating fake social media profiles, websites or emails, phishing entities mislead customers into giving up sensitive information or financial data. This leads to damaged trust with customers.
Counterfeiting
Counterfeiters hijack a brand by selling imitation services or products containing the original brand’s name. They are usually of a lower quality which can cause customer dissatisfaction and negative word of mouth.
Here Are 7 Ways To Combat Brand Hijacking
Secure The Right Domain Names
This is a simple way to avoid cybersquatting headaches. Consider buying misspelled versions of your domain names, and securing a range of top-level domains (.com, .uk and co.uk are recommended if you’re a U.K. business).
Enlist Trademark Protection
A huge step in protecting your brand is by registering your name, logo and relevant intellectual property as trademarks. This provides a layer of legal protection that gives you the right to take legal action against infringers. As many small business owners are also the face of their brand, registering your actual name is another good form of protection. You will need to consult with trusted legal experts to properly protect your brand and its assets through trademarking.
Use Monitoring Tools
Online hijacking attempts can be nipped in the bud if you are vigilant of your brand’s online presence. Tools such as Google Alerts (google.com/alerts#) are speedy to set up and effectively scan the web for mentions of whatever you set up the alert to look for. You can also regularly look at social media platforms, domain registrations and online marketplaces to see if there are any unauthorized uses of your name, logo or products.
Apply Other Legal Protection
Where appropriate, utilize non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to deter all types of hijacking. Create partnership agreements with anyone who has ownership of your brand so that all parties are clear on who is responsible for certain actions, and who is entitled to parts of the business including profit splits. Also, be prepared to take swift legal action in the event of brand hijacking. Legal professionals will be able to advise if an NDA is appropriate, what to put in a partnership agreement and what to do if any further action is needed.
Strengthen Cybersecurity
You can strengthen the security of websites, social media accounts and customer databases. Do this by using authentication methods like two-factor authentication, SSL certificates and data encryption to protect sensitive information. Additionally, keep software up to date.
Educate Your Customers
If your brand does fall victim to phishing, as in, a malicious entity does contact your customers, make sure to educate and assure your customers on what to look out for. Remind them of the exact ways you will contact them, share any red flags in phishing communications that have been brought to your attention and advise them on what to ignore. This is easier if you pre-empt that phishing might happen and work to provide a clear route for them to contact you in the event they receive suspicious communications.
Protect Social Media Handles
Lastly, make sure to secure social media handles on all platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Threads, Lemon8 etc) with your brand’s name. If the exact handle isn’t available, the closest one to your brand name will do. Even if you aren’t planning to use all of these platforms, having them registered does two things. First, it makes it harder to impersonate your brand on that platform. Second, in the event that you do want to use those social media platforms down the line, you’ll already have the handle and won’t have to potentially pay someone else who secured the profile for personal reasons, or in the hope that one day your business would need it and pay them for it.
Brand hijacking will never stop, but staying educated and protected will reduce your chances of falling victim.
As an entrepreneur or small business owner this may seem like a lot of work, however, as your business grows, implementing these strategies is key. In doing so, you can ensure your business’s long-term success in the market.
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