As cyberthreats evolve, it’s important to stay on top of security best practices. And keeping social media accounts safe is as important as protecting other arms of your organization.

“Social media security risks for businesses and organizations can’t be taken lightly,” says John Colburn of Sprout Social. “A brand’s online presence is deeply connected to its reputation—a breach can damage customers’ confidence and put company information at risk.”

To protect your accounts, start with the basics. Colburn says strong passwords are the first line of defense, so your organization should set high standards for gatekeepers to follow when creating new ones.

“The National Institute of Standards and Technology, for example, requires federal agencies to use passwords that are at least 8 characters long but goes on to show that password length is most important. We would go a step further and recommend a passphrase that is at least 12-18 characters.”

You can take password security to another level with two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication, which require additional pieces of evidence from users to grant access to accounts.

“This prevents attackers from accessing accounts with just a password. If someone tries to sign in from an unrecognized device, for example, they might be required to enter a one-time code from an approved mobile device and authenticator application,” Colburn says.

Establishing a social media policy can also help employees understand how to handle the use of official accounts.

To Elaborate or Not to Elaborate

.@millanda shares questions we should consider to help determine whether your topic should go long. #contentmarketing https://t.co/0EzAFc2Pa6 pic.twitter.com/wIACN5ejo7

— Content Marketing Institute (@CMIContent) April 3, 2020

Want to create a piece of long-form content? You might have a lot to say, but not every topic or idea should be thousands of words, argues Amanda Milligan, the marketing director at Fractl, on the Content Marketing Institute blog.

When deciding if a piece should be long form, keep the reader in mind, Milligan suggests.

“Why is someone choosing to look for an article about this topic? Put yourself in the mind of the reader and figure out what they want to learn from reading your content,” she says. “Keyword research is such an important component at this stage of consideration.”

Other Links of Note

Is this the right time to give your organization a deep clean? A recent post from Fionta offers 13 ways your nonprofit can declutter this spring.

National Volunteer Week is coming up. Your Membership shares three tips to make it a successful one.

Not sure what collaboration tools to use? CMSWire’s Dom Nicastro looks at how the most popular programs stack up.

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