12 Essential Tips To Protect Your Business's Social Media Accounts

tips-to-protect-your-business-social-media-account

By anytimedigital Social Media February 9, 2023

As businesses become more reliant on social media, it’s important to prioritize security. With more and more hackers targeting companies, it can be nearly impossible to stay secure online. To prevent this, it’s essential for businesses of all sizes to take proactive steps towards securing their social media accounts. From two-step authentication protocols through ethical guidelines for employees. In this article, we’ll discuss 12 tips that business’s can use to protect their social media accounts. Don’t miss out on this comprehensive list of strategies that will help keep your company safe strengthen their security posture.

The importance of protecting business social media accounts

Protecting your business’s social media accounts is more important now than ever, especially for small businesses. It is estimated that a single cyber attack costs an average of $200,000. A cost no business can afford! All businesses regardless of size should take steps to protect their social media accounts from all platforms. Therefore, they don’t fall victim to these attacks. Some of the most vulnerable social media platforms on the market right now are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. These have recently seen the most hacking issues amongst all the digital platforms out there. According to Zerofox, nearly 30 attempts to takeover corporate social networking accounts occur per year for each institution.

A business’s social media account may be hacked by either a cybercriminal or a disgruntled employee. Therefore, crating some bad consequences. For example, reputations can be ruined, customer information can be stolen and data breaches may occur. As a result, causing severe damages for any company. To protect against these possible threats, businesses should always monitor their accounts closely and update their passwords regularly. By taking these essential security precautions, businesses can protect their assets and safeguard against intrusions. Furthermore, providing greater peace of mind for themselves and their customers.

Business Vulnerabilities

Cybercriminals

Cybercriminals increasingly threaten today’s businesses in a variety of ways. One way they exploit a business’s vulnerability is by gaining unauthorized access to sensitive information. Cybercriminals are adept at finding weak points in security. For instance, default passwords, unsecured networks, or expired software. Once the criminals gain access, they can use the information for malicious purposes such as identity theft and financial fraud. In addition to stealing sensitive data, these cybercriminals could also launch malicious campaigns to damage a company’s reputation and credibility. These types of attacks can drastically reduce public trust in an organization. Therefore, resulting in both short-term and long-term losses.

Disgruntled employees

In an age of digital transformation, businesses must protect their enterprises from disgruntled former employees. While this type of security is often overlooked by companies with limited resources or smaller operations, it is integral for all businesses. Former employees are uniquely positioned to exploit any vulnerabilities in order to damage the company’s reputation. In addition, they will look for ways to compromise a business more than ever before. And, their past experience working within the company grants them access points outside of typical cyber-attack channels.

Businesses need to protect themselves by keeping employee departures on good terms. Additionally, having answers ready if they ever decide to leave while ensuring they do not take confidential information with them. Managers should also ensure that especially valuable logs, documents, and user accounts are regularly rotated round. Therefore, a rogue former employee cannot gain access. In addition to protect against malicious attacks, businesses also need to protect their public social media profiles.

12 tips to protect Your Business social media accounts

There are 12 essential tips business owners can use to protect their social media accounts. Therefore, providing an added layer of security and hopefully peace of mind.

1. Two-factor authorizations

Businesses need to protect themselves from unauthorized users gaining access to their accounts. A simple way to do this is setting up two-factor authentication. This extra layer of protection requires someone logging in to a business’s account to not only enter the username and password. However, also verify they are who they say they are with a separate device. For example, if an employee is trying to log into the company’s Facebook page, after entering their credentials they will receive an access code either as a text message or email. Once this code is entered into the login page, that person will be granted access. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube are some of the main channels that have implemented this feature on their setup pages.

2. Strong passwords

Businesses should protect their online accounts with a strong password. This includes a combination of letters, numbers, symbols, and case sensitivity for maximum security. Creating a strong password is particularly important for commercial social media profiles. It is the ultimate protection from brute force attacks such as hacking. For example, a secure password could be: “D(#EfK#ysH8A”, which combines varying characters at random. Therefore, making it extremely difficult to guess. When inventing passwords, business owners should ensure they are not repeating past entries. In addition, avoid personal information like birthdates, addresses or answers within the list. Additionally, it is important to remember multiple entry points across different platforms since hackers can use a single breach in one place to gain access to all connected accounts. Businesses must ensure that every user of the platform is also aware of how to protect themselves when creating their own contact information by setting a strong password.

3. Change passwords

Another important elements is to regularly change passwords and not use the same password across different accounts. This can be a challenging practice for businesses whose employees use multiple accounts for social media. However, it is an important security measure that should not be ignored. To make this process less burdensome and improve security, businesses should implement a strong password policy. This includes requirements such as changing passwords every few weeks or months and using unique passwords for each account. Additionally, they can use tools such as password managers that store passwords securely while helping employees manage them hassle-free. For example, LastPass is a secure password manager that allows business owners to protect their online accounts with a single master password. Meanwhile, automating the task of creating unique ones for each account ensuring complete data protection across all business platforms.

4. Locking out users

It is important to protect accounts by considering locking out users who repeatedly fail authentication attempts or changing passwords after a certain period of time. For example, if a user fails five times to enter the correct password into their social media account, they should be locked out. Additionally, they should be required to answer a security question in order to reset their password before being allowed access again. If your company uses two-factor authentication with an access code sent through SMS or email, you can set it up so that when a user fails to authenticate their account for three unsuccessful attempts, their account will be locked for fifteen minutes.

5. Educate employees

Security protocols such as never emailing login credentials or leaving them written down protect businesses from data theft or misuse. It is integral that employees are knowledgeable about security measures. Particularly, if they access customer accounts or their company’s social media. Educating staff on the importance of proper security measures and providing examples of how to protect data is essential. For instance, teaching employees not to write down passwords or share them with anyone, no matter how trusted, can help protect a business from malicious actors. Additionally, having processes in place for how often to change credentials ensures that even if compromised, there is an extra layer of protection. As a result, helping to protect against cybercrime. Providing employees with instructions about best practices for secure communication should be required for any business.

6. Privacy settings

As a business, it’s important to make sure you’re aware of any changes regarding social media account privacy settings. Often times, social media platforms introduce new features or updates that could require changes in their privacy settings. For example, if a platform changes the data they collect and share with other companies or advertisers, you may want to adjust the individual settings associated with your business’s profile account. It’s important to review these updated terms and conditions closely. In addition, check your existing privacy setting regularly for any potential changes. Additionally, you should familiarize yourself with the platform’s security measures. Therefore, you can protect yourself from cyber threats or other malicious content. Taking a few minutes each week to ensure your accounts have up-to-date privacy settings is an easy way to protect data from unwanted outside sources.

7. Wi-Fi networks

One way to protect the security of a business’s social media account information is to never use unsecured Wi-Fi networks. Avoid this when accessing content related to the brand or customers on any type of platform. An example of this would be not using a free public Wi-Fi network available at a local cafe while logging into the business’s profile on Instagram. By avoiding this, businesses may protect their digital assets from malicious activity due to lack of encryption and susceptibility. Ultimately, secure internet connections protect brands from risk associated with data breaches. Therefore, it’s essential for businesses to choose secured options for all online activities.

8. Public sharing

Companies must be aware of the potential for cyber-criminals to gain access to confidential accounts. For instance, customer databases and credit card numbers. A simple way for businesses to protect this information is by limiting what types of info are shared over social media. For example, businesses shouldn’t discuss general market trends or feature products by posting login names or addresses of customers. In addition, they should monitor any comments placed by their followers on their social media accounts. This will protect sensitive customer data while enabling your message to get out there and build relationships with your customers.

9. Monitor online reputation

It’s more important than ever to protect a business’ online reputation. Therefore, setting up Google Alerts can be an effective way of doing this. By monitoring social media conversations and reviews, businesses can protect their brand. In addition, they can react quickly to any negative posts on the internet that may go viral. To carry this out, it’s a good idea first to set up notifications for different search terms commonly associated with the company. This will help ensure that all mentions are seen instantly, without having to manually search them through a longer process. For example, if you own a small business called ‘ABC Widgets’, you could set up separate notifications for ‘ABC Widgets’, ‘ABC Widget Reviews’, or ‘ABC Widgets Experiences’. That way whenever someone writes something about your company, you’ll receive an alert containing the new word or phrase used in the post.

10. Back up all digital content

Protecting your business from a digital disaster is crucial. Digital content such as data, documents and photos are important to protect and back up. Computers and servers protect the most important data for the everyday operations of your business. For instance, client contact information, financial records, and employee information. Having multiple copies in separate locations reduces the risk of losing it all if something were to happen. For example, a hardware failure or cybersecurity breach. Ideally, businesses should regularly create backups with daily or weekly duplicates stored both offsite and on cloud-based storage services. Social media profiles also play an important role in businesses’ overall branding strategy. Therefore, they should be backed up regularly to protect against malicious attacks by hackers or other disruptions like account suspensions. This can cause costly downtime in terms of reputation management. Setting up cohesive backup plans often begins with assigning tasks to team members.

11. Monitor Incoming Messages

Social media platforms such as Facebook Messenger are helpful tools to interact with customers and partners. However, great caution should be taken with incoming messages. Hackers can take control of user accounts and use them to attack a business by sending malicious links or attachments. As a result, this could lead to data damage and financial losses. To protect themselves, it is important for companies to never click on any links or download any files contained in a suspicious message. For example, someone may send a message from an account claiming to be a partner or customer. However, the email address does not match the name given. This would be an indication that you should not click on it. By avoiding suspicious links, businesses can protect their systems from any potential harm caused by a hacker infiltrating messenger accounts.

12. Connect with trusted users

One of the most important steps a business can take is to only connect with trusted users on social networking sites. It is essential that businesses protect their accounts from imposters. They may block authentic user interaction or cause other damaging events. Moreover, allowing access only to those properly vetted is key for companies wanting to protect their security. For example, when creating accounts for new employees or vendors it should be made sure that the user created has an email address or other authentication method associated with them. In addition, businesses should review existing connections periodically just like one does when changing passwords regularly for added security measures.

In Conclusion

To finalize, businesses must be prepared to manage their social media accounts and guard against potential security breaches. It is of upmost importance for organizations to protect themselves from cyber-criminals, disgruntled former employees, bots and other malicious activity. First and foremost, account setup should be secure with strong passwords, two-factor authentication, monitoring perception and more. In addition, employees must be educated to act responsibly online. The only way to make this happen is through internal education programs. This can warn them what can go wrong if they don’t follow certain guidelines. At the end of the day, protecting your business’s social media account requires dedication. However, it can pay huge rewards in savings as well as peace of mind.

12 Essential Tips To Protect Your Business’s Social Media Accounts