Protecting your information online is the one of the most important responsibilities any business should consider when advertising online. A hacked social account can have some pretty serious implications. Losing control of your social accounts forever, having to start fresh, cancelling credit cards, changing billing details and negotiating with your bank about how to recover lost funds all reflect the reality of losing access to your individual Facebook account. This is not only dangerous for your business but fixing these problems will almost always be a time-consuming and overwhelming exercise. Now that Facebook is connected to your Instagram and WhatsApp it has never been more vital to secure your account.
So, what’s the good news? Well, these problems can be 100% avoidable! We have developed the perfect four-step guide to securing your Facebook page and protecting this important asset. Following these four steps, will allow you to take the necessary precautions to avoid any of the above unfortunate situations, and continue Facebook advertising without any concerns.
1. Secure your Facebook account with a strong password
It may seem very obvious, but a strong and unique password should be your first step. The basic rules of a strong password apply as follows:
- Avoid including your name (or business name), street address, phone number, email address or common phrases.
- Avoid using your Facebook password on other services online. If you have had the same password for a long time (guilty) you can head over to www.haveibeenpwned.com to see if your data has been breached. If your email address is found change your passwords immediately!
- If keeping track of your passwords isn’t a master skill of yours (no judgement) we suggest using 1Password.com or lastpass.com to keep track all in one place.
2. Enable your two-factor authentication
Once you have set your password, we highly recommend enabling two-factor authentication, both for yourself and as a requirement for all employees of your business. Facebook will ask you to enter a code or confirm your login attempt each time someone tries accessing your Facebook account from a computer or mobile device that hasn’t been used to log in previously. This process decreases your chances of being hacked dramatically. Facebook makes this process quite simple but if you need assistance, you can visit the Facebook Help Centre to learn more about how to set up and manage two-factor authentication and receive alerts about unrecognised logins.
3. Review Page roles and permissions
All Facebook business pages must be connected to at least one individual account or business manager. Once a hacker gets access to an individual Facebook page, they immediately become the owner of all the pages that user has admin access to. You should immediately review your page roles and remove any previous employees or previous agencies that have permission to your page. We also suggest having more than one admin on your Facebook page as a contingency if for one reason or another, an admin can’t access Facebook.
4. Set up trusted contacts
As a further measure of security, you can create trusted contacts in Facebook. This will help you to regain access to your Facebook account and Page in the (very unlikely if you follow the first three tips) event you are ever locked out of your account. Enabling your friends as trusted contacts will be allow those selected to send you a recovery code containing a link to help you get back into your account. If you think your personal account has been compromised in any way, please visit facebook.com/hacked to get help.
Facebook is an integral part of advertising for many businesses and individuals alike, so keeping your account from being compromised, should be a no brainer. We have seen the repercussions of overlooking the above and trust us, it’s not worth it! Secure your Facebook account with these four tips today and thank us later!
