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Social Media Brand Abuse – How to Protect Your Company

​Whether you’re a lover or a hater of it, social media is a powerful tool for all kinds of businesses. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are great platforms to keep in touch with your target audience and share relevant content about your brand.
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Unfortunately, however, account spoofing and brand impersonation are critical risks that can and do occur on social media, so here are a few things you can do to protect your company from social media brand abuse.

​Establish an Official Presence on Social Media

Whether you’ve recently launched a blog or created a business page on social media, it’s vital that you take the correct steps in making it official. There are some social media channels that allow you to prove your authenticity, so if there is the option to have a ‘verified’ label, obtaining one and having it clearly displayed on your social media channels will instil trust in consumers that you’re the real deal.
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Some users are more social media savvy than others, so you may find that people are reluctant to use your services in fear that you aren’t who you say you are. Therefore, it’s important that you establish an official presence on social media to provide reassurance and clarity to your audience. 

​Monitor for Impersonation

In the social media world, scammers use every trick in the book to impersonate brands. The best way to prevent this from happening is by monitoring for impersonators on your social media feeds. The last thing you want is for a scammer to engage with your brand and lead customers astray, so you may want to consider using companies like FWI who provide cyber security services. Impersonators can be financially crippling to your business, so being aware of scams and identifying red flags from the beginning is key.

​Define Your Priorities

​It’s important that you establish proactive measures from the beginning, which can help in reducing brand abuse. Learning who the top offenders are, the sorts of tactics that fraudsters use, and where and when abuse takes place can help you prioritise your efforts. There are people out there whose mission it is to damage a brand’s reputation by spreading dangerous or misleading information, so staying one step ahead and understanding the behaviour traits of scammers is important.

​Educate Your Employees

For your company to stay safe on social media, it’s vital that you keep communication lines open between you and employees. If you have a dedicated team who man your social media accounts, establishing boundaries and regulations on what they can and cannot do will add an extra layer of protection for your business. Some employees may be more naïve than others, so teaching them how to use social media responsibly and the importance of not clicking on spam emails or sharing confidential information is crucial.
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Social media brand abuse can have devastating consequences for your business. Regardless of size, your reputation can be in tatters should users fall victim to scammers who are impersonating your brand. All the tips listed above can contribute towards keeping your company and your audience protected.