Do you have the keys to all of your marketing communications tools? It’s surprising how many professionals and business owners don’t know where their website is hosted, how to access their social media pages and how to login to their websites.
If you’re a business owner reading this, you’re probably thinking, why should I? I have staff that can do this. Question: what happens if that one staff person quits, gets hurt or just isn’t around the office the day you need help? They’ve got the keys to your brand. You’re locked out.
Having these passwords is similar to having details for all of your financial and banking information. If you can’t access your bank accounts (or they get hacked) you can’t do business because you’re sidetracked working with your financial professionals and banking reps. It’s the same situation with regard to a business’ online marketing tools. Your website, social media profile and email newsletter system are intangible assets for your company–your brand assets. A business today cannot grow without these tools and is potentially at risk, depending on who has access to your brand information.
Why risk it? Take a few steps now to secure the information and have it at your finger tips when it’s needed.
- Create a document that stores all of your passwords: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, web host, email newsletters and so on. Be sure to include the website address, user name and password. Make a note what this system is used for in the business, too.
- Do not save this document in a cloud or on your shared drive. Each person should keep the information on a hard drive (better yet a USB drive). Again–these passwords are similar to your bank account numbers. Keep them safe.
- Create a team of people who have access to this information. Titles that make sense include management, owners, marketing communications professionals. Consider including someone it IT, too.
- Create a process to update this document. Every so often it’s good to change passwords. Maybe a team member leaves the business or you’ve had to share a password with a third-party professional. Updating the password and providing the list again is important to keep your information secure.
We’ve been through this process several times for our clients. It can take hours of research and tracking to find this information if the client doesn’t have it readily available. It can hold up a marketing communications project for days or weeks. Conversely having the information and a process behind it provides peace of mind that your brand assets are safe and secure.