Social media accounts are powerful. A solid post could net you a wealth of new leads, but losing your password to hackers could alienate your entire audience in one swoop.
The Fragility of Reputation
Anyone in the realm of social media marketing can tell you that one bad tweet is enough to damage a company’s reputation permanently. But the effects are two-fold:
· First, an insulting or offensive message could immediately alienate or dissuade your customers
· Second, the very fact that your account was breached could cause you to lose a lot of trust from your primary audience.
Admitting a hacked social media account is embarrassing, and is often more damaging than any post a hacker could make.
Case Studies
In February 2013, Burger King’s Twitter account was hacked by a prankster out to convince the world that Burger King was bought by McDonald’s. The episode was brief, but explosive, and brought an onslaught of mocking messages and a wounded marketing team ego.
In a slightly more serious episode, the Associated Press Twitter account was hacked, claiming an attack on the White House. The organization’s reputation took a serious blow after only one post. CBS News was hacked by similarly malicious pranksters.
How to Protect Yourself
First, make sure your password is secure. Don’t make your password the name of your company, and don’t make it “password” either. Come up with a password that is unique, with both upper and lower case letters and a few numbers for good measure.
Second, change your password often. It might be a pain in the butt to try and remember a rotating list of passwords, but it’s going to be much better for you in the long run. Try to change your password at least once a month, ideally every two weeks.
If you do happen to have your password stolen or your social media accounts hacked into, don’t panic. Respond to the situation as quickly as possible, and explain to your customers the nature of the situation. The damage is difficult to undo, but you can at least make things better for the future.
