Brand Management and Social Media Profiles

On Tuesday 7 March 2017, Matt Drudge sent a tweet out and posted on his main page [The Drudge Report] that facebook pages were NOT his. The facebook accounts were then flagged and caught up in the debate of fake news. While fake news seems to be one of the current controversies, having a social account [or location] taken by someone else is an online brand management issue.

By not claiming a social profile, time was later spent on brand management.

Breakdown – Or Somewhat Technical Details

Website Title	Website URL	Owner
Drudge Report	https://www.drudgereport.com	Matt Drudge / Main Website
Matt Drudge [Facebook]	https://www.facebook.com/mattdrudge/	NOT SHURE WHO OWNES THIS PAGE
The Drudge Report Official [Facbook]	https://www.facebook.com/thedrudgereportofficial/	PAGE NOW TAKEN DOWN
DRUDGE [twitter]	https://twitter.com/DRUDGE	Matt Drudge / twitter account

The purpose of this article is not to start a fueled political debate. It is to point out that one of the major traffic sites on the internet had to actively call out attention to imposters of the brand!!! A few days later, it appears that one of the facebook pages has been taken down. The other, I’m not sure if it is now under the control of Matt Drudge, or still an imposter. This is interesting on many levels. While many new companies leverage social media to improve their visibility online, the Drudge Report doesn’t need social media to generate traffic… and yet time was spent calling attention to imposters that have crept in through social media.

Claiming Social Links Is Part of Brand Management.

With the wealth of social media companies and available profiles, it’s almost as if the vanity URLs associated with them are one of the new real estate rushes of the internet. I remember back in the `90’s when the internet was new. All of us college students had access. Corporations were just starting to learn about it. I had some friends that started registering domains for the sole purpose of selling them to companies later on. It wasn’t a sustainable business model, but hey, for a college kid to pick up several grand, not too bad. Today, instead of just going through ICANN to register a company URL, the challenge of brand management today is extended to the wealth of social profiles and the ever changing landscape of web startups trying to squeeze in and be the next facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram.

An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure

Benjamin Franklin wrote this when discussing fire safety, but it applies to many areas of life and business. Whether you have a large or small company it doesn’t matter. Whether you have already established your brand or not, social profiles are an important part of a well-managed brand. When used properly, social media can help shape your online image. When social media is neglected, it’s left for others to come in and hijack.

We Use Social Media As Part of the SEO Strategy

At Fire Media Lab, social media is just part of the strategy for SEO and brand management. If you are interested in having us help you with your brand management, social footprint or SEO, fill out the client discovery form and we will help identify ways to promote and protect your brand.

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