Loud Thinking

Keep Your Company’s Social Media Accounts Safe

It’s happened to high-profile companies like McDonalds and Jeep — hackers take control of corporate social media accounts and send inappropriate messages to tens of thousands of followers. Don’t let it happen to your company. Take these precautions:
Get serious about passwords: Don’t let social media managers choose their own passwords (“password” is still commonly used). Instead, use a social media management system that allows employees to log in with the same username and password used for company email. That way the master switch for turning accounts on and off remains in IT’s hands.
Centralize channels: Consolidate all of your accounts within a single system that allows users to publish to multiple profiles on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other networks from one secure interface.
Offer basic social media education: Just a little can go a long way. Provide training on security and compliance issues.

Adapted by HBR from “Hack-Proof Your Company’s Social Media” by Ryan Holmes.