Guarding Your Intellectual Property Is The Same Thing As Hiding Your Brand

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Pick an industry, any industry. Whichever you care to name, there will always be a select handful of names that rise to the top; men and women who become synonymous with the field itself. They are the Schwarzeneggers of bodybuilding, the Nigellas of food, the Bransons of business.

Their unique positioning as top names in their industries gives them a number of distinct advantages. Deals and endorsement requests come to them, the media seeks them out for their insights (which further propagates their branding), their exponentially higher pricing is taken as a given and viewed as inherently ‘worth it,’ and, ultimately, they become the leaders of tribes of believing followers. There is equity in being an industry icon.

The greater the degree to which you can become a sort of ‘celebrity’ within your industry, the greater your total cache of market goodwill.

So what about your proprietary ideas?

‘What if I share my best ideas and someone rips me off?’

Sure, but what if you guard your best ideas and nobody knows you have them… ?

At first glance, content theft seems like a legitimate concern to the aspiring industry expert. When you are positioning yourself as a prominent player, your intellectual property is the heart and soul of what you sell. It’s your core value, your distinctive brand and your unique proposition. So shouldn’t you protect it at all costs?

No, because it is also your chief marketing tool.

Here are 5 reasons that experts should use social media, articles, blogs and publications to feature their finest ideas, openly, in public forums:

1. Invisible is not profitable

Congrats! Your best content is a closely guarded secret… and for that reason, nobody knows how good you are and nobody ever uses you. By contrast, if you share your best content publicly, you will begin to carve out a public reputation as a respected expert.

2. ‘Reviewed’ is not the same thing as ‘used up.’

We may fear that someone who is interested in our ideas may view them on YouTube, or read them in a magazine, then feel that they have ‘got what they needed,’ and move on. But it rarely works that way. In reality, having determined that you have ‘the right ideas,’ high-level clients will tend to react with the invitation, ‘Please come and speak to my people on this concept.’ When they like what they read and hear, they will still tend to come to you for the implementation.

3. Visibility makes you synonymous with your content

The more you share your best ideas in articles, videos, books and speeches, the more you become associated with those concepts. Do it sufficiently, and when others try to copy you, the world responds with, “Oh, so you’re like (x original)?”, referencing you. That’s embarrassing for the newcomer, and a badge of honour for the established expert.

4. Copycats grow the total market

So you get ripped off. So what?

Tesla gives away its best IP for free. They want competitors, because the more companies build electric cars, the greater the total growth in that market.

The popularity of a concept implies more for all. If you have copycats, and the particular concept that they are ripping off is proving popular, it merely confirms the value of the concept. Make a point of ensuring that you are the most readily searchable association with this concept, and that you are seen as its most high-quality proponent, but welcome the fact that it is attractive enough to be duplicated.

5. Copycats will spend their lives playing constant catch-up

If you upload your content to a public forum, and someone copies it, by the time they begin to use it, you should already have evolved and progressed. So what if they’re copying your ideas form a year or two prior? Let them spend their time playing catch-up, while you pioneer new content and ideas.

Let the world see your best work

Your best work is also your strongest marketing material. The more they know you to be the source of truly great content, the more your name will be raised during discussions on that topic. You will become synonymous with it and that’s how you become an icon.

A hidden enigma can never be an icon. But a blazing light, proving itself time and again, can readily become the greatest in the game.

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Source by Douglas R Kruger