Recently, my boyfriend and I were lying in bed. I was working on some content for a client of mine – while he caught up on some ‘NewGirl’ on netflix. I looked over to him – and as bland as could be – informed them that I had just purchased his name’s .com and .net – so he better be nice to me for future reference.
I’m not sure he realized what had just happened… After all – outside the geek world of digital marketing – most people don’t realize the importance of “owning our brand” (of which our name is certainly part of). Websites such as http://namechk.com/ and http://knowem.com which check the availability of your name across various social media platforms – exist for exactly this reason.
Now if you have a name that’s common – “John Smith” or “Jane Doe” – protecting your brand makes it a bit more difficult as those .com’s are surely taken. However, if you are known for something i.e, “Graphic Design” – “John Smith Graphic Design” can become easier – especially with a few easy SEO tips ( writing content, keyword research, linking, etc.).
The reality is however – owning our own domain (and keeping it updated and/or active whether you use it as a personal domain, professional domain, blog etc)
With such a small, minute amount of time and engagement with others – you can in turn protect your name/and your brand – so that should any mishaps in the future prevail, you are not banging your head against the wall wishing you had taken the advice.
#JustSaying
🙂
Blair Pettrey - Inbound Marketing Frederick, Maryland 
I almost never comment, however I looked at a lot of remarks on Protecting Brand You!
| BLAIR PETTREY dot COM. I actually do have 2 questions for you if
it’s allright. Could it be simply me or does it give the impression like some of these remarks
look as if they are coming from brain dead folks? 😛 And, if you
are writing on other online sites, I’d like
to follow you. Would you list of the complete urls
of all your social community pages like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile?