Top 10 Things You Can Do to Protect Your Business’s Social Media Account

In today’s digital age, social media plays a vital role in marketing and connecting with customers. However, it also makes businesses a target for hackers and scammers. Protecting your business’s social media account is crucial for maintaining your brand’s reputation and safeguarding sensitive information. Here are the top 10 (plus a few) things you can do to secure your social media account and keep your business safe online.

Never allow an agency or manager to own your Facebook business account. You can give them access to manage your account, but always retain ownership of your business’s page and assets. If you hire agencies or managers, invite them to work on the account with specific access privileges, but never relinquish full control of your business’s account.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to secure your accounts. With 2FA, a second verification step (such as a text message code or authentication app) is required in addition to your password. This adds an extra layer of protection in case your password gets compromised.

No legitimate company will ever ask for your verification code. If you receive an unsolicited call, text, or email requesting a code, ignore it, delete it and if possible, report it as a scam or spam. This is a common element in scams used to take over accounts.

Ensure there are at least two trusted people who have administrative access to your accounts. This prevents you from losing access due to unforeseen circumstances like forgotten passwords or accidental lockouts.

Only allow trusted employees or partners to have access to your business’s social media accounts. Too many hands in the pot can increase the risk of security breaches. Use role-based permissions when possible to ensure that each user only has the access they need to perform their duties.

As your team changes, so should your social media permissions. Regularly review and update who has access to your business accounts, especially when someone leaves the company or changes roles. Remove any unnecessary access to minimize security risks.

Stay vigilant by monitoring your social media accounts regularly. Look out for unusual login attempts, unapproved posts, or suspicious activity. Many platforms offer activity logs that let you review when and where your account was accessed.

Phishing attempts can often look like urgent warnings. If you receive an email or message saying your account will be suspended for community violations or copyright issues, don’t click on the link. Instead, go directly to the platform itself to verify if the notice is legitimate.

Facebook does not ask for information via email. If you receive an email claiming to be from Facebook, avoid clicking on links or providing any information. Go directly to Facebook’s site to verify any alerts.

These notices are common phishing tools. Rather than clicking through the email or message, log in to your account separately and see if there are any actual violations.

Phishing scams are one of the most common ways hackers gain access to accounts. Train your team to recognize suspicious emails, messages, or links that could be phishing attempts. Never click on links or download attachments from unknown sources even if they claim to be the social media company itself!

Weak or reused passwords are easy targets for hackers. Make sure your passwords are strong, combining upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. Avoid using obvious words like your business name or simple phrases. Also, never use the same password across multiple accounts. Various services are hacked every week, and if your password is that same on other platforms, you can be exposed. There are many free password generators that you can use including the Suggest Password built into Chrome or the standalone BitWarden password manager to ensure your passwords are very strong.   

Make sure that your phone number and email address on your personal account (connected to your business account) are current. These are critical recovery tools if you ever need to regain access to your business accounts.

Connecting your social media accounts to third-party apps can enhance your marketing efforts, but it also opens potential security vulnerabilities. Only authorize reputable apps, and regularly audit which apps have access to your accounts. Revoke access for any that you no longer use.

Social media platforms are constantly updating their security features. This can be a full-time job so if you have questions we are always happy to help out any way we can. Reach out and ask us! 

Keeping your business’s social media account safe requires vigilance and proactive measures. By enabling 2FA, using strong passwords, limiting access, and educating your team about security best practices, you can significantly reduce the risk of your account being hacked. 

We receive many phone calls from panicked business owners who have lost access to their own accounts. While we can often help recover the account, it is not a guarantee and we hate to see people lose all their online history. Wild Iris Marketing can help you manage and secure your social media presence to ensure your brand stays safe online. Contact us to learn how we can support your digital marketing efforts!