With the recent release of Netflix’s “The Social Dilemma,” data privacy is something on the forefront of everyone’s minds, and business owners are no exception. Now that the spotlight is shining bright on privacy (or lack thereof), it’s important to make sure you’re taking necessary precautions to keep your business and your information safe. Here are five ways you can make sure your business’s privacy is being protected on social media.

1. Create A Social Media Policy

Here at Blackwood, we’re big fans of what we call SOPs – or “standard operating procedures.” These outline the steps necessary to perform pretty much every task we do, and they’re one of the best ways we’ve found to keep our team organized and on track. It’s a great idea to put a standard operating procedure in place with regards to your business’s social media presence, too.

Your Business's Privacy on Social Media - Blackwood Creative

This SOP can include anything from brand voice guidelines to rules for confidentiality and use of company social media profiles. Delegate tasks with ease and have different people manage different profiles, if you want! You make the rules. Having these guidelines in place will manage your business’s privacy by outlining what is and isn’t standard for your company – that way, if something goes awry, you’ll know immediately.

Not only is it beneficial to establish your brand messaging and the style in which your business posts on social media, but it’s helpful to also outline how, when, and what you should be posting. This way, you’re always informed of what’s coming next, and there is less room for human error when posting online. 

Your Business's Privacy on Social Media - Blackwood Creative

2. Have Limited Administrators

If you already have a social media manager or an in-house marketing team member who handles your social media accounts, you’re already a step ahead for this one! In any other case, though, it’s a good idea to limit the number of people who have access to your business’s social media accounts. Staying unnecessarily logged in on a device that doesn’t need account access can potentially compromise your business’s privacy. It’s better to be safe than sorry! The fewer people who have access to your passwords, the better! You don’t want anything getting lost (or mishandled) in the process.

You can outline the people who have administrative access to your social media accounts in your standard operating procedure, or you can…

3. Designate A Person In Charge

Similar to the last point, it’s easiest (and safest) to go ahead and designate someone to be in charge of your accounts. Whether that’s a social media director or account manager, or just one employee who is given the proverbial keys, assigning one person to control the accounts provides protection against not only human error but any issues in transfer from person to person.

4. Put An Approval System In Place

Not everyone who works at your company needs to know the passwords to every account across all platforms; that’s not only an overwhelming amount of passwords to be responsible for, it’s a danger to your business’s privacy and security. Additionally, not everyone needs to be able to post! 

Your Business's Privacy on Social Media - Blackwood Creative

5. Perform A Regular Privacy Audit

The most effective way to catch areas in which your business’s privacy may be in danger is to perform a routine privacy audit. You can do this as frequently or infrequently as you like; of course, the more often you check, the quicker you may catch when something isn’t going as it should.

Additionally, there are services provided by companies such as Hootsuite’s ZeroFOX that can help you monitor your business’s privacy on social media. They’ll alert you if any malware or malicious links are detected anywhere on your social media, giving you total control over your business’s privacy. 

If your current digital marketing strategy just isn’t cutting it anymore, you’ve come to the right place. Reach out to our team of experts here at Blackwood Creative. We’re in the business of building remarkable brands – and yours could be next. Contact us today!

3 Keys to Mastering Social Media for your Business

3 Keys to Mastering Social Media for your Business

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