4 Tips to Protect Social Accounts
As a B2B marketer, the odds of your social media accounts being compromised are higher than you might think. In fact, 25% of online accounts get hacked.
While financial data and sensitive company information gets most of the attention when it comes to cyber-security, a breach in your social media accounts can be very damaging to your public relations. As a social media manager or administrator – busy managing multiple social media accounts and several users posting to the sites – you may not be taking all of the necessary steps to protect your accounts. Here are some tips to keep your social media accounts safe:
Keep Your Passwords Random & Change Often
Do not use a generic password or something simple, such as your company name or year of founding. While it may be easier, avoid using the same password for all of your social accounts. The most popular password of 2015 was ‘123456’. ‘Password’ was the runner-up. Tools such as 1Password or LastPass can help you create strong, secure passwords and keep them protected. It is important to modify your passwords often, especially after an employee who had access leaves the company.
Limit Access to Social Accounts
Access to your social media accounts should be limited to the people who absolutely need it. If multiple people need access, you can use a social media management tool to help provide added protection to your accounts. When giving employees and contractors access to your social tools, be sure to give them only the level of access necessary to perform their job. Define roles in your social media management tool such as administrator, contributor, and editor.
Review Sites Privacy Settings
Social media accounts privacy settings tend to change often and without much word of the change, so be sure you check in on each social media platform’s privacy settings. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have pages that offer specific guidelines for maintaining privacy and security on their sites which are updated as their privacy settings change. Follow their blogs for notice of these important updates.
Get Notified of Suspicious Activity
Make sure you have a system in place to alert you of any suspicious activity on your site so you are able to monitor your sites and stop hackers immediately. LogDog gives you free protection from hackers and identify theft. They constantly monitor your sites for any suspicious activity and send you an alert.
If your account does get hacked, make sure you take control back immediately. If the password has changed, you may have to fill a support request to the platform in which case they will shut down your account. Create statements explaining that you were hacked and distribute these as soon as possible to limit the PR damage.
Any online activity puts your company at some level of risk, but by setting in place proactive measures and using tools to help keep your social media accounts safe, you will be less likely to encounter a hacking attack. Stay safe and remember to keep your accounts secure!
