Social media plays such a big part in most people’s daily lives and most business’ marketing strategies. For marketers, investing in social media means exposure to potential customers. Unfortunately, more exposure also means unwanted attention from nefarious parties who want to access your information.

Social Media Security Threats

Social media presents small businesses with many opportunities, including customer support and the ability to communicate quickly with employees, customers, and suppliers. However, the problem is that just as you can rapidly pass on information, so can you rapidly pass on a threat.

1) Hacked Accounts

It can reflect very poorly on your business if your social media accounts are hacked. Hackers may send messages to your friends or followers or post spam for all to see. Any of these scenarios can alienate your customers and hurt your reputation.

2) Employees

It’s important to have a strong social media policy in place to prevent employees from accidentally falling for a phishing scam. Consider setting your security software to restrict access to social sites from your network, or offer training to spot suspicious online activity.

3) Scammers

Scammers may target you or your customers on your social media feeds, by impersonating customer service or distributing fake posts. Stay ahead of these types of scams by screening and moderating comments and setting up notifications for messages and comments.

Protect Your Business

While social media threats can do significantly more damage to a business than an individual, the dangers are similar. This means that many of the preventative measures are similar as well. Keep yourself and your employees informed about threats, put security precautions in place to protect your network, and regularly update your security software. An experienced IT professional can further safeguard your network.

Contact Us to learn more about protecting your business from social media threats.