|
New research has revealed that almost half of the region's leading brands and businesses do not yet have a dedicated Twitter feed, while around a fifth have had their identities Twitter-jacked (in other words, registered by an individual with no connection to the company whatsoever).
The findings come courtesy of the Manchester office of Lewis PR, which surveyed 100 of the North West's biggest business names - such as JJB Sports, New Balance, www.moneysupermarket.com and www.footballpools.com  A dangerous branch of comms? Of that 43%, three quarters had not even attempted to register a Twitter name, leaving them vulnerable to the 'social media highwayman' that see Twitter-jacking as an opportunity to either have fun, damage a brand or try and make money by selling on the identity. The phenomenon is a growing problem for the site and mirrors the trend of cyber-squatting (or domain hogging) that marked the rise of the internet before the turn of the millennium.  Stone: verification being tested A beta version of this registration/verification process is reportedly being trialled this summer and will be introduced for public figures, celebrities and agencies, but not, as yet, brands. The only apparent safeguard (if there are any more you techno fiends know of then we'd love to hear about them below, Ed) is to check that the Twitter link on a brand's website correlates with the actual feed you're viewing. Something not everyone is likely to do. Speaking of the results of the survey Angela Workman, LEWIS PRs Manchester head, said: "Companies must protect their brand from this threat. If they don’t take the initiative then someone else will, with potentially damaging consequences.” How-Do's Twitter feed - which we can verify is definitely from us - can be found here. Something to add? Then leave a comment below or email us now.
Sponsored links:
|
