Social media has been one of the key marketing channels for modern brands for a while now. If your company does not have a social media account, it does not exist in the minds of prospective customers. That is why we can witness all kinds of advertising approaches and psychological strategies that different brands use to stand out from their competitors.
Even though being unique is essential when it comes to creating an original brand voice, it might be difficult to resist the temptation of using a successful campaign or brand positioning as a reference.
But where is the line between plagiarism and inspiration? It is no secret that a misstep in attribution, a carelessly borrowed concept, or simply copying someone else’s ideas can quickly transform a promising online presence into a nightmare.
The Basics of Plagiarism in Social Media
No wonder that companies that understand the significance of creating 100% original content use Google plagiarism checker and many other tools to avoid unnecessary risks. Let’s discuss all the crucial reasons why you should stay away from intellectual theft in general and social media content in particular.
In a nutshell, plagiarism in social media is all about the actions that involve using someone else’s creative work without proper attribution or permission. For instance, plagiarism is taking the following actions without giving credit or obtaining permission:
- Using another brand’s social media posts, website copy, slogans, or marketing materials.
- Using someone else’s photographs, illustrations, videos, or graphics.
- Taking a unique and distinctive marketing campaign idea or core concept from another brand and using it as your own.
- Rewording someone else’s content while retaining its original meaning and structure.
- Reposting or featuring content created by users.
Professional Standards
Don’t be fooled by the casual and conversational nature of social media because the standard rules of intellectual property and ethical conduct still apply here. Therefore, when a brand posts content, it acts as a publisher and needs to ensure that its content is plagiarism-free.
Another crucial point is about the trust and credibility with the audience, as one of the primary reasons companies use social media is to create an emotional bond with their customers.
Even one case of misconduct can ruin the reputation of any business in our digital age. Moreover, brands hold responsibility not only in terms of the audience but also the copyright laws as well because they extend to online content.
The Impact on Brand Reputation
Now that you understand what kind of behavior might have the qualities of plagiarism, we can discuss the consequences a company faces.
The Erosion of the Brand-Audience Bond
Once the audience understands that a brand can deceive them by posting unoriginal content, they can’t believe anything the brand says afterward. In other words, if you can lie about that, why can’t you lie about everything else? It is especially hurtful for the brand’s reputation if it promotes values like creativity and innovation and then directly contradicts these claims by using others’ creative ideas.
Public Outrage and Backlash
Things escalate quickly when something big happens within the social media bubble. Therefore, the news about plagiarism issues will spread fast and cause an intense reaction among users. A company may have to deal with angry comments, accusations, and expressions of disappointment. Moreover, followers may choose to boycott the brand, unfollow their social media accounts, and actively discourage others from engaging with them. It’s definitely not something any marketer wished to happen.
Bad Associations
A big part of any advertising campaign is to create strong associations in the audience’s perception of specific services or products. For instance, every company wants to have a correlation in a customer’s mind with quality, reliability, etc. The chain reaction that should pop up in your brain can look like this: I need a new watch – it should be reliable – it should look trendy – I need to buy the XYZ brand. All that negative talk about your company on social media can create quite the opposite associations in people’s minds: “thief,” “copycat,” and “unoriginal” brand. And these words can stay in the users’ memory for a while.
Legal and Copyright Issues
Plagiarism can also lead to major legal consequences, such as copyright infringement claims and financial penalties. Needless to say, legal proceedings can amplify the negative publicity even more and cause additional reputational damage.
The Sound of Silence
A plagiarism incident can lead to decreased likes, shares, and comments. No one is going to push the “Subscribe” button as well because they don’t want to get accused of supporting the company’s dishonest position. In addition, social media algorithms may deprioritize content from accounts known for unethical practices.
Isolation in the Industry
Partnerships and collaborations are a huge part of the social media world. Consequently, the spoiled reputation of the company will repel all prospective partners. Moreover, existing partnerships and sponsorships may end as well for the same reason.
Without a doubt, once trust is broken, it is incredibly challenging and time-consuming to rebuild with the audience, especially when social media posts and news reports about the plagiarism incident continue to appear in search results again and again.
How to Build a Culture of Originality and Respect
After reviewing all the significant risks we’ve mentioned, doing everything possible to avoid plagiarism appears to be a logical strategy. Here are some ideas that will help your business do so.
Set the Ethical Foundation
The very first step is to create and communicate clear internal guidelines regarding content creation. Make sure to outline what the brand considers plagiarism in the context of social media content and provide specific examples. There should be no confusion and miscommunications at this stage.
It is also crucial to provide a company’s team with clear instructions on how to correctly cite sources and obtain necessary permissions for using third-party content. Every member has to differentiate between drawing inspiration from other sources and directly replicating their work.
Educate Your Employees
Having clear policies is great, but not enough. You also need to foster awareness and understanding of plagiarism risks. Regular workshops and training sessions on copyright law and ethical content creation can be an effective tool in this case.
Also, you can advise your team on what digital tools they can use to check social media content for plagiarism and use accurate citation methods. It would be great if you managed to create an environment where team members are not afraid to ask questions or raise concerns about potential plagiarism issues.
Rely on a Thorough Content Review Process
There should be someone in your team to check content for originality and proper attribution to be on the safe side. Their task will also be to conduct internal research to ensure the core concepts and messaging are original before launching a new campaign.
To Sum Up
As you can see, plagiarism creates big risks for a brand’s reputation, and the consequences of stolen ideas can be quite devastating. Therefore, every brand with a social media account needs to pay close attention to the quality and originality of content it creates and double-check every campaign before posting the information.