This week’s headline is yet another social media security alert. If you’re like me, you’re groaning in agony at the thought of looking up those passwords to begin with, much less changing them and remembering them for future use.
However, instead of shoving those changes to the bottom of your to-do list, seize the moment to make your life easier in the long run. Here are five quick steps to enhance your social media security, while saving you time and energy. I promise!
1. Confirm access to all your social media sites.
This is probably the most time consuming suggestion on this entire list. Go through each social media platform and confirm the following details: username, password, profile URL, and any two-step authentication steps already in place. Make sure you have full access to each site and understand how to login and log out of each one. Don’t forget: Facebook (personal and company), Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn (personal and company), Yelp, Google+, and SnapChat.
2. Reset the password and set up two-factor authentication for all applicable sites.
Now that you’re an expert at getting in and out of your social media accounts, let’s move on to resetting your passwords. By now you have likely heard of
Cambridge Analytica and their privacy scandal on Facebook. And, you probably received a recent notification from Twitter encouraging you to
change your password. So, you don’t need me to convince you why, but rather “when”… and the answer is NOW.
By the way, don’t repeat passwords and consider using a password manager, like Dashlane or 1Password. Click
here to compare which one might be best for you.
3. Determine who has access to these profiles and purge/add accordingly.
Each platform has a unique way of sharing access to a company page. For example, on Facebook, the business page has designated administrators. On Twitter, anyone who wants to access the business Twitter account simply needs the username and password. Check out our recent blog post, “
How to Share Access to Your Social Accounts“, for step by step instructions for the major platforms. The same steps are involved when you want to also take access away.
4. Introduce a Social Media Policy to your company.
While most employees mean well when they post on-line or act as a company page administrator, the bottom line is that responsible business owners must have a policy in place. This will protect you, your employee, your business, and your customers.
“Because social is sometimes treated like a personal communication tool rather than a business platform, risk monitoring & governance, employee security awareness and corporate security policies are rarely in place. But social is undeniably a business system, one that we use daily to communicate with our customers, grow our revenues and engage our employees. In fact, organizations spend on average almost 25% of their entire marketing budget on social.” – ZeroFox Strong social media policies will include things like rules and regulations, employee responsibilities, legal risks and more. Click
here for some excellent examples.
5. Update passwords every six months and stay vigilant.
There’s really not much more to add to this last suggestion, except to emphasize the importance of taking social media security very seriously.
As always, if you find yourself needing help with any one or all of these suggestions, we’re here to help keep you and your accounts safe.
–Jenny Green, Co-Owner @ Fisher Green Creative,
jenny@fishergreencreative.com
