How Do You Protect Your Brand?

This post first appeared as a guest post on Logallot.com...

Although we don't realize it, our reputation does actually precede us. So many of us go through life not realizing that there is a consequence, good or bad, for every single thing that we do. A series of consequences eventually turn into a reputation. Your reputation is your brand.

"Just do it" and the Swoosh logo are Nike's brands. Nike works hard in order to preserve it so that nothing negative is associated with their brand. Because if something negative (* cough * sweat shops) gets associated with their brand, then it can hurt their bottom line.

People are the same way. If you're associated with negativity, then your brand will be tarnished and it will affect your "bottom line" or in a non-business case, your popularity. Although being popular isn't the end-all, be-all, it is important to be liked. It's even more important to be loved. In order to attract anyone capable of giving you that feeling, your brand has to be above reproach.



So, the question that I ask you is: how do you protect your brand?

It's easier said than done for some. So many of us do things that seem justified at the time and eventually the situation turns South. Here are a few examples:

- I'm sure there are plenty of men and women out there who wish they'd never made a sex tape with their ex. The ex gets pissed and the next thing you know, your video is all over the Web. Instead of being newly single and coming out of a relationship with a good rep, you're now being called a "hoe" in public. Even if you performed like a 5-star porn star on the tape, do you really want that to be your only claim to fame? Probably not... unless your name is Montana Fishburne.

- I know there are people out there who wish there was a delete button on the internet that would completely remove all of the bad things you posted about your boss and/or co-workers. You would love to remove those things that wound up in print, on their desks, thanks to one of your Facebook "friends." Whatever you put on the Web is there for everyone to see forever. Let that sink in. Forever.

- We all wish we could take back that impulsive moment where we snapped on someone verbally or even worse, physically. Now we're labeled as "abusive" or "crazy" and will spend the rest of our lives shedding that image. We've all had jobs where we refer to someone as "the crazy chick" or "psycho dude." Sometimes, all it takes is just one Chris Brown-esque snap to forever be labelled in a negative fashion.

Now, some people say that they don't care what people think of them. That's not true. They're lying to themselves if they say that. We all care about what people think. Even the most obnoxious person will break down at some point because the weight of being unliked becomes too much to bear. Don't subject yourself to that.


Have pride in your brand and others will respect and adore it.

It's not difficult to do. Engage your brain before putting your mouth into gear. Don't ever think "what are the odds something will go wrong" when posting something on a social networking site that insults someone. Lastly, you should never physically or verbally assault someone.

If you follow those simple rules, then maybe you'll wind up more like Google and less like Enron.