Setting up a social media account for your business is easy, quick, and pain-free.

Keeping that account secure? That’s where things can get tricky.

We’ve all heard the horror stories: a former employee still has access to your page, an accidental post goes live, a hacked account starts pushing crypto scams, or five different people are posting with five different brand voices.

Luckily, these social media disasters are preventable.

Here’s how to protect your business accounts and keep your social media strategy running smoothly.

Use Two-Factor Authentication

This is the most important step to keeping your social media accounts safe.

Without two-factor authentication (2FA), social media accounts are at risk of being compromised. A stolen or easily-guessed password can be enough to hand over the keys to your brand.

How to set up 2FA on major platforms:

• Go to your account’s security or settings page
• Enable two-factor authentication
• Choose your method (an authentication app is more secure than SMS, according to Keeper Security)
• Save backup codes in a secure location

Yes, 2FA can be annoying because it adds an extra step to logging in, but that extra step can save you weeks of damage control.

Monitor Account Activity

Many social media platforms will notify users of new logins, unfamiliar locations, or permission changes when they happen. Don’t just ignore these notifications.

Regularly reviewing login activity and alerts helps you spot suspicious behavior early and save your business from a potential hack.

Here at 9 Clouds, our team uses Slack to stay transparent. When someone logs into a client account and requests a verification code, we alert the entire team. That way, everyone knows it was one of us and not a random login attempt.

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Keep Your Platforms and Passwords Up to Date

Outdated tools can create vulnerabilities you didn’t even know existed, so make sure your social media scheduling, analytics, and publishing tools are regularly updated with the latest software updates. (Another thing to not ignore!)

The same can be said for passwords. Don’t reuse the same outdated passwords for all of your business’s social media profiles. 

Best practices:

• Use strong, unique passwords for each social media account
• Update passwords regularly
• Store your business credentials securely using a password manager like Bitwarden

Limit Who Has Access to Your Accounts

When too many people have access to your business’s social media accounts, things can go wrong.

Doing this can lead to duplicate posts, inconsistent messaging, accidental deletions, and, in worst-case scenarios, security breaches. The more logins you have floating around, the harder it is to track who did what.

Best practices:

• Only give access to essential, trained team members
• Use role-based permissions (For example, on a Facebook Page, you can give users full or partial access)
• Review and refresh account access regularly, especially after role changes or when employees come and go
• Make sure your team owns the account, not an agency or outside email account

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Use a Scheduling Tool to Post on Social Media

A social media posting tool helps ensure all of your business’s posts are accurate, on-brand, and aligned with your social media strategy before they go live.

This is especially important if multiple people contribute content. Everyone needs to be on the same page, and that’s made easier with a set tool everyone uses.

Best practices:

• Use social media scheduling tools (like Hootsuite or Buffer) 
• Assign clear roles: who drafts the post, who reviews it, and who publishes it
• Create simple brand and messaging guidelines for your team to reference

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The Next Level of Social Media Security

Want to take your business’s social media security to the next level? These extra steps can make a big difference:

• Keep personal and business accounts completely separate. Set up your business accounts using a business email and not a personal one.
• Document internal social media policies and workflows. Even a simple document can save a lot of headaches.
• Train employees before giving them access. Make sure they understand your brand voice, platform best practices, and security expectations.
• Remove third-party apps you no longer use. Maybe you used to use Canva to directly post on your Instagram page, but you don’t anymore. Removing it ensures simplicity.

Protect Your Brand Before Problems Arise

Having strong social media security can save you from lost access, damaged trust, and unnecessary stress in the future.

If you want help tightening up your social media security, building better workflows, or aligning your social media strategy, 9 Clouds can help. Whether it’s a short-term project, team training, or strategic consulting, get started by filling out our free proposal form.

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