How to conduct a social media audit

Photo: Joe Hall (CC)

Social media has the power to wreck our reputations in a single update. Why are we so careless when it comes to managing these properties?

Let’s ensure we’re doing right by our companies and our organizations with a social media audit.

Administrators

• Who has access to accounts? To metrics? To advertising? Be sure to remove people who have left the company!
• Is everyone set at the proper access level? Do interns really need full administrator privileges?
• Are all users’ email and other contact info up to date? Social media channels can’t notify anyone of problems or outages if their emails bounce.
• Compile a list of authorized users, including ways to alternate ways to contact them in case of emergency.

Security

• Is everyone storing their usernames and passwords securely? Hint: A sticky note on a monitor is not secure.
• Are passwords strong? Some suggestions.
• Have users activated two-factor authentication?
• What apps have access to social media channels? For example, Hootsuite, Tweetbot and many similiar apps can allow colleagues, agencies and outsiders to use company social media channels without the original user passwords. It may be time to revoke access to specific apps and users.

Channels

• Compile a list of all corporate social media accounts (URLs or apps, usernames, passwords, credit cards, authorized users, etc.). This will require searching on Google and individual social media channels.
• For the list, include any unauthorized social media accounts using the company name. Are they internal or external?
• Getting control of externally created accounts may involve contacting the social media channel’s help desk, the user directly and possibly an attorney.
• Does the company site have the correct links to social media profiles?
• Does the company’s various social media profiles have correct links to the main site and other channels?

Policy

• Does the company have an approval process before posting on social media? Does everyone know the process?
• Does the company have a formal social media policy? Has everyone been trained on it?
• What’s the chain of command for managing social media?
• Have users activated the “ask-before-sending” feature? For example, Twitter has this option.

Repeat the audit once every 6 to 12 months.

This social media audit is the first step in securing a company’s important tools and taking good care of them.

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