Written by: Victoria Marshall, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
What would you do if you lost access to your Meta™ Accounts? Permanently? From a business perspective, we know that Facebook™ remains “the most popular Social Media platform in 2024” and it is an amazing tool for business growth but what happens when you are “locked out” of your account? If your account has been disabled, sometimes permanently, which means you are left with no way to access your business page!
Over the last few years, it feels like more and more people are falling victim to hackers and scam artists who either want to create disruption or of course access your financial details and yet we continue to make this easy for them by not having the right safeguards on our accounts.
Protecting access to your social media is so much more than simply having two-factor authentication switched on, and if you are heavily reliant on these platforms to promote your business, then ensuring the security of your account should be very near the top of your “to do” list!
Firstly, all of these “messages” masquerading as Meta™ Support are not from them. Meta™ will never, ever tag your page, neither will they send you a direct message to your business page or your IG account. It sounds obvious, but so many businesses fall for this when they seem/sound legitimate. Please do report these accounts, as the more times they are reported, the more chance they have of being taken down.
Meta™ will however send you emails, so you need to check the source of the email before taking any action and it is very easy to do that within your security settings.
By far, one of the biggest oversights with two factor authentication is using SMS – text message. This is not considered to be the most secure and the majority of clients who have contacted me for support have had this as their authentication.
Here’s a list of some of the things that you should know about your accounts, specifically anything on Facebook.
Your personal profile URL which would look like Facebook.com/yournamehere (or it might be a series of numbers if you haven’t personalised it.
Your business page number. You will find this in the about section on your business page.
Your Business page URL which would look like Facebook.com/pagenamehere (or again it might be a series of numbers)
Your ad account ID number
Your Business manager ID number.
All of this should be noted somewhere safe, so if in the unfortunate event you are hacked, you have this information to pass along to Facebook. Simply having your page name or your profile name is not enough!
There are many safeguards that you need to have in place to protect your social media accounts, here are just a few:
Have two factor authentication set on – using an authenticator app such as Duo or Google Authenticator, I also quite like 2FAS Auth.
Have additional admins on your business page that have full control, that are NOT through business manager. Never just have you as sole admin.
Have a backup admin on your business manager that has full access and full control.
Regularly download your information.
It is up to us, to keep our accounts as secure as possible, don’t leave it until it is too late!
More information on protecting your accounts can be found here.
Victoria Marshall, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
As the founder of Alpha Digital Marketing and a seasoned online visibility strategist, Victoria Marshall has empowered small businesses since 2014 with tailor-made services for small enterprises. Victoria offers engaging training courses, hands-on workshops, and in-person training sessions, each designed to navigate the digital realm, amplify digital presence, foster connections with ideal clients, and significantly elevate sales. A recognized and sought after ad specialist who often graces various events as a speaker, generously sharing actionable tips for maximising online visibility, Victoria remains committed to translating the digital language into a powerful tool for business growth and success.
Source:
(Dixon, Stacey-Jo “Facebook - statistics & facts”, Statista, March 2024)
