Domain Squatting has been around nearly as long as the internet itself and is a recurrent problem for businesses online. This form of fakery has now extended itself onto the uber popular microblogging site Twitter. Some of the major brands to be hit with a fake profile include JS Sainsbury’s, Adidas, Coca-Cola and South West Trains. Whether the squatters are looking to cause mischief or have some other motive such as possible monetisation / selling the profile back to the brand in unclear. Twitter have in the past removed fake profiles, such as that of actor Ewan McGregor. Because many of these fake company brand profiles have little following, retailers have circumnavigated the problem by launching and promoting their own “official” Twitter page – see Debenhams Twitter page as an example of this.
Experts say that agency’s and brands need to take control of social media profiles and register them as a matter of urgency. The nightmare scenario for a brand is that a fake profile is created and then becomes a outlet for derisory, unmoderated comments. There is a Twitter page about South West trains where commuters have been venting their anger about the bad experiences they have had. At the time of writing there were 112 followers, so not really any great danger of this causing lasting damage to the company’s standing.
It does however, highlight the problem that some brands will face from social networking squatting. Twitter is most suited to brands where interactivity with the user serves as a useful marketing tool, such as leading fashion site ASOS, who incidentally also have an imitation profile, called ASOS offers. ASOS send out marketing emails on a daily basis, and so will want to inform users of new offers / items etc. But what does South West Trains, in reality, have to gain from an official Twitter page? Train companies are not, in general, held in very high regard by those who have to use their services because of the perception or reality that prices continue to rise and services continue to deteriorate. In this respect, social media profiles are surely more of an irritant to companies such as this?
With and increasing number of social media sites cropping up, it can be difficult for brands, let alone the digital agencies that represent them to keep on top it all. There is a VERY useful tool available that checks if your brand has been taken on a selection of the most popular social media profiles. My advice would be get registered on all of them, be it under the exact match of your company name or something similar, and build up an “official” following before someone usurps your efforts with a fake profile.
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