5 Recommended Security Measures for Business Social Media Accounts

There are a number of security recommendations for every social media user, such as not giving your password out, as well as changing it on a regular basis. This goes for personal and business accounts, regardless of the social media networks you use. But you probably already knew that. Here are a few more steps you can take with your business pages to ensure that all your social media accounts stay secure.

1. Use software instead of giving out actual login credentials. Often, business pages have more than one person who needs access to the account. But the more employees who have access to a social media account, the higher the risk is of someone breaking into the account. Instead of giving out actual login credentials, create an account for a software program, such as HootSuite, that employees will use to make social media posts. While there is still a risk of employees sending inappropriate information through a program, they will be able to do a lot less damage.
2. Choose well-designed passwords for accounts and change them regularly, and especially after an employee leaves. Most companies opt to use obvious usernames and passwords so that everyone can remember them easily, which makes a lot of sense, but doesn’t make things very secure. Select less obvious passwords for social media accounts that include a combination of lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers and symbols. Change these passwords often and keep an up-to-date list of all of the login information. People come and go in companies all the time, so after an employee resigns or is let go, it’s time to change the usernames and passwords of all the accounts he or she had access to.
3. Avoid using work email addresses for social media accounts. Work email addresses are fairly easy for hackers to figure out, so consider associating your business’s social media with a “personal” email address you create just for the accounts.
   
4. Provide security education. Take the time to educate your employees on the importance of social media security. You should let them know that you’ll be changing up the login information on a regular basis and go over the dangers of sharing passwords with just anyone in the company. Many people are not aware that anyone with an account password can log in and use keyloggers, malware and social engineering or send phishing emails, so employees should check with their supervisor before giving out password information to fellow employees.
   
5. Monitor social media networks closely. Finally, one of the best ways to make sure that your social media networks are secure is to check in with them often. Don’t simply rely on your employees to post new content and follow up with user questions and comments. If you’re responsible for those posting on social media, you should be checking in to ensure that everything’s proceeding as outlined in your strategy.