Protect Your Social Media Accounts – And Your Reputation
Written By : Clifford Blodgett
As a financial advisor, you understand the importance of networking in building your reputation and business. You may be part of the 50 percent of U.S. financial advisors who report that they have successfully used social media networking to convert prospects into clients*. If you are, you know that you aren’t just sitting around tweeting with a bunch of trendy 20-somethings; 60 percent of you with active social media accounts are managing client portfolios worth over $20 million**.
Clearly, your social media accounts are priceless business assets. Now imagine losing access to those accounts – and to those valuable business contacts – in an instant.
Sound unlikely? Or maybe it sounds like something that could only happen to a novice internet user? Think again. The WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx team spent several years building their brand on Google Plus, only to lose the entire account and more than 30,000 followers. If it can happen to a professional sports team with an entire marketing department, it could certainly happen to you.
Fortunately, you can easily prevent this type of social media disaster. When you’re establishing any social media profile, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter, follow these guidelines to secure your account:
- Use your own email address to establish the account. Many advisors delegate this task to their marketing department, secretary, or a freelancer. It’s fine to hire someone else to manage these accounts for you – in fact, it’s a good idea to consult a professional – but you should maintain your personal access to the account at all times. If this person stops working for you at some point, you’ll still have the password and access to all of your social media profiles.
- Add more than one manager to the account. Aside from yourself, allow at least one other trusted person to have access to the account. If for any reason you are unable to log in to your social media sites, someone else will have a password.
- Any time one of these account managers leaves the company, change your passwords so that they can no longer access your social media profiles.
- Log in on a regular basis to check on your accounts. You may have assigned regular account maintenance to an employee, or outsourced this task to a marketing company, but don’t become complacent about protecting your accounts.
- Consult with an attorney about adding an internet and social media clause to all work contracts. The clause should clarify that company accounts belong to the company, and that upon termination of employment all access to social media accounts and company email addresses shall be surrendered. The last thing you need is an angry former employee who still has access to your social media profiles.
Remember that your social media profiles are an investment in your company’s future. You’ve spent time and money building an online reputation; therefore, your online contacts are valuable business assets. Taking the time to safeguard these accounts may help prevent a disastrous loss in the future.
http://marketingland.com/prominent-wnba-team-has-google-page-removed-told-to-start-over-23511
FOR INSURANCE PROFESSIONAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC 14206 – 2015/3/5
Filed under: Financial Advisor Marketing
Written By : Clifford Blodgett
Clifford Blodgett is the Director of Digital Marketing and Demand Generation at Creative One. He is integral in financial advisor interactive communications strategies, website management, social media, content marketing , and overall demand generation.