Who Really Owns Your Business Social Media Accounts?

For many businesses, social media accounts evolve over time. One employee creates the Facebook Page, another connects Instagram, an agency starts running ads, and before long nobody is quite sure who owns what.

Everything works fine until someone leaves, an agency relationship ends, or an account gets compromised. Suddenly you're asking important questions: Who owns the account? Which email address is attached to it? Who can reset the password?

A compromised social media account can damage your reputation, send scam messages to customers, expose private conversations, and even rack up advertising costs. The best time to review your setup is before something goes wrong.

Treat Social Media as a Business System

Your social media accounts should be managed like any other business-critical system.

Create a register of every account your business owns, including:

• Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, YouTube and TikTok accounts
• Advertising accounts
• Regional or location-specific pages
• Connected scheduling and marketing tools
• Current administrators and account owners
• Recovery email addresses and phone numbers

Store this information securely and use a business password manager for passwords and recovery codes.

Keep Ownership Under Business Control

One of the biggest risks is an account tied to a former employee's email address or mobile number.

Make sure:

• Recovery email addresses belong to the business
• Recovery phone numbers are current and controlled by the company
• At least two trusted people can manage account access
• Recovery codes are securely stored and accessible when needed

Your business should never depend on a single person's personal account to regain access.

Give Everyone Their Own Login

Avoid sharing usernames and passwords.

Most social media platforms allow you to assign access levels to individual users, making it easy to:

• See who performed specific actions
• Remove access when someone leaves
• Maintain better security and accountability

If an employee or agency no longer works with your business, their access should be removed immediately.

Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Passwords alone aren't enough.

Require MFA for everyone who has access to your business social media accounts, including staff, contractors, and marketing agencies.

Authentication apps, passkeys, and security keys provide stronger protection than relying on passwords alone. Just as importantly, employees should know never to approve an unexpected login request.

Protect the Recovery Email Account

Many businesses focus on their social media password but overlook the email account used for recovery.

If a cybercriminal gains access to that mailbox, they may be able to reset passwords, change recovery details, and lock you out completely.

Protect recovery email accounts with:

• Strong unique passwords
• MFA
• Regular security reviews
• Monitoring for unusual login activity

Watch Out for Fake Support Messages

Scammers frequently send messages claiming that your page has violated a policy, lost verification status, or requires immediate action.

These messages often contain links to fake login pages designed to steal credentials.

Always access your social media platform through its official website or app rather than clicking links in unexpected emails or direct messages.

Review Connected Apps Regularly

Scheduling platforms, analytics tools, customer service applications, and advertising software often have access to your social media accounts.

Review connected applications regularly and remove anything your business no longer uses. Grant only the permissions necessary for each tool to perform its role.

Include Social Media in Employee Offboarding

When an employee, contractor, or agency relationship ends:

• Remove account permissions
• Revoke access to connected tools
• Update shared passwords where necessary
• Review recovery details
• Remove advertising permissions

Don't assume access is removed automatically across all platforms.

Have a Recovery Plan

If a social media account is compromised, every minute counts.

Document:

• Who is responsible for managing the incident
• How accounts will be secured
• How customers will be notified if necessary
• Where official recovery links for each platform can be found

A written plan can significantly reduce confusion during a stressful situation.

Review Your Setup Regularly

At least twice a year, review:

• Account ownership
• Administrators and permissions
• Recovery email addresses and phone numbers
• MFA settings
• Connected applications
• Advertising and payment access

Every business should be able to answer four simple questions:

1. Who owns each account?
2. Who has access?
3. How is that access protected?
4. What will we do if the account is compromised?

If you can answer those questions confidently, you're already in a much stronger position than many businesses. Social media may be a marketing tool, but from a security perspective, it's a critical business system that deserves the same level of protection as your email and business applications.

Article adapted with permission from The Technology Press.

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