Social media is important for every business, but if your accounts are hacked, it can cause serious damage to your business and its reputation. It is important to keep your accounts secure and your information safe. If you take the right steps, you can secure your social media accounts from unwelcome hackers. There has been a myriad of scams in recent times, and we are encouraging all business owners to be vigilant. Treat your social media like you do your online banking. Be wary of public Wi-Fi. Consider using an app to protect your passwords.
Be vigilant regarding emails that may look authentic, even if they have logins or links. Check the sender email as quite often these are spurious.
Here are some security measures that you can implement.
Create an email address solely for social media management.
Keep this exclusively for social media management, if a social media account for the company is compromised, the hacker will not be able to access any other sensitive data. Even if you use the email account exclusively for social media, remember to engage keen internet security practice, such as choosing strong passwords and changing those passwords often. Only give access to this email to a couple of team members. Make the password different from your social media accounts.
Use a strong password.
Choose a strong password, which typically should include numbers, symbols, and capital letters, but make sure it is not so complex that you cannot remember it. Avoid using the same password for each account; it is a common tactic that hackers will try when attempting to hack into your social media profiles. Keep each account as separate as possible.
Change your passwords often.
It is advisable to change the passwords for both your personal and your business social media accounts often. You should change your passwords at least once a quarter and when an employee leaves the company, or you hire a new marketing or PR person. When you change a password, make sure to share the new password with the rest of the team, but do not do it through email. Make sure you are picking a strong password each time and, when communicating the updated password to those who need it, you are not emailing this information.
Use two-factor authentication.
Whenever an employee logs in from a new device, they are required to input a PIN sent to the account owner via an app, SMS, or email. This not only protects you from stolen passwords but can ensure that whoever oversees the accounts be present or contactable when logging in on new devices.
If you want to keep your accounts very secure, set up two-factor authentication whenever someone signs into the account. Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook all have this facility.
Observe page roles and who has access to accounts.
Make sure you always know who has access to your accounts. You should regularly examine your account to see who has access and make sure that all roles are appropriately appointed.
You should limit the number of people who have access to your accounts, but more than one person should know the password. If only one person has access to an account and they leave the company, it will be tough to regain control of the account.
Most social media platforms allow you to add admins or managers to the same business profile. This way, you can protect your page’s account information but allow others to access the profile through their own account in the case of Facebook. Limit the number of admins on the account and keep this to the most trusted employees. Stay in control of your accounts.
Have a social media policy for all staff and for external marketing companies.
Ensure that all team members do not log into accounts from their personal devices. Businesses should have rules with steps for how to secure social media accounts at work. Explicit rules should state who has access to the accounts and outlooks for how to prevent security threats. The memo also should provide information about who to notify if social media accounts are compromised.
