Social Media Security: Tips To Prevent A Marketing Disaster
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In this day and age, every business seems to be using social media in some form or another. They should, too. Social media is a very important marketing tool that increases brand awareness to a significant degree. But, a lot of businesses don’t quite understand it in the way they should, either. They see it as an easy, free solution to their otherwise complicated marketing woes. That isn’t the case, as everything you do in an online space is potentially disastrous. Use the following tips to help prevent a social media marketing disaster in your company.
Implement A Work-Based Social Media Policy
In the first instance, it’s crucial to develop a social media policy throughout the business. This means that everyone is on the same page in regards to what your social media output intends to do. It can include everything from the amount of images you’re allowed to include, to the type of lingo you adopt. Ultimately, this encourages everyone with access to social media to stay on the same page. Without it, you might find swear words and inappropriate images finding their way into your online presence.
Be Mindful Of Legal Issues
There are things that you can and can’t do when it comes to social media. For example, you’re not going to be allowed to use images that are copyrighted. You’re going to need to understand how to credit other pages and websites before you get involved in this. Also, think about the way your employees work with their own social media pages. You can’t go around forcing them to share business posts on personal pages, as this might get you into trouble.
Employee Training Is A Must
You’ve already implemented the policy, so employee training isn’t necessary, right? Wrong. Just like anything else on the internet, social media can be affected by viruses and hackers. One uninformed employee that doesn’t understand about privacy settings could cause some serious hassle. Before long, posts might be intercepted, deleted and modified by a third party. If a hacker takes over your social media account, you don’t know what they might do.
Backup Your Posts
This is one that many companies simply don’t even think about. But, in the case that a hacker decided to delete your entire account, you’d lose all your important information. It might include images and videos that weren’t stored anywhere else. And, what if the site simply disappears in the near future? How will you get that content back? Instagram posts, for example, can be backed up with tools like Instaport. Facebook offers an integrated solution to backup your content, too. Think about this now before it’s too late!
Keep Company Passwords Protected
One of the reasons why social media security issues often present themselves is due to an inability to protect passwords. The first and most important thing that needs to be done is to set a password that is difficult to hack. Secondly, providing only those with a need to access each site with the password is crucial. And, regularly changing up the password is important if you want to deter potential criminals online. There are many management systems that actually work to protect these passwords for you with extra security.
Avoid Controversial Issues
When you think of a marketing disaster in relation to social media, what do you think of? Passwords being stolen? Possibly. Boring your followers? Maybe. But, I bet the first thing that comes to mind is saying the wrong thing. By taking a viewpoint on a highly controversial topic, you’re set to alienate a certain portion of your audience. What’s the way out of this? Don’t talk about controversial topics! This is a business page for your business needs. It doesn’t need to get involved with topics of discussion that could get your company in trouble.
Review Every Few Months
All the tips we’ve talked about today are important to follow when you’re setting up your social media presence. But, it shouldn’t stop there. The world of social media is ever-changing. New platforms spring up all the time, and old ones disappear. New security measures come into place, and certain areas become more vulnerable than others. And, of course, your business is changing, too. Your dedicated social media marketer might leave the company, taking all the login information with them. You can’t allow that to happen, so it’s important to review your processes every few months. Identify weak areas, and bolster them to ensure social media security doesn’t become a problem.
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