Debbie Laskey, MBA

These days, as newspapers and magazines are on the wane, it seems as if anyone who can write has become an online journalist to promote his or her area of expertise. In social media lingo, the title is now known as a “blogger.”

According to Wikipedia, “A blogger is a person who keeps a blog as a major activity in his or her life…Many blogs provide commentary on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries; others function more as online brand advertising of a particular individual or company. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important contribution to the popularity of many blogs.”

Since a blog is an important element of an overall social media marketing plan that may include sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Google Plus, it’s important to consider how the blog’s theme and content reflect a business’ or individual’s brand. Does the blog’s voice reflect the brand in a consistent manner? And, most importantly, who reviews the content before posting it live? Does only the Marketing Department review the content? Or, do the Public Relations, Technology, and Legal Departments also review the content?

There are some actions you can and should take to protect your content. First, set up daily alerts with Google Alerts and TalkWalkerAlerts with keywords such as your brand or brands, business name, and blog title. This way, you will receive immediate notification when and/if your content appears on an unknown website. Second, check out the US Government’s copyright site to answer a myriad of questions about copyrights for online content. And third, make sure to add a copyright symbol at the end of all blog posts and on all web pages.

In the words of Oleksiy Synelnychenko of IP WatchDog, “Under the DMCA or Digital Millennium Copyright Act, all content published online is protected under copyright law [because] any content, no matter the form it takes (whether digital, print, or media), is protected under copyright law.”

So, keep up the great writing, aka, blogging – just do your due diligence to protect your content.