Brands big and small are discovering and understanding the true power that social media can provide for their internet marketing strategies. Virtually everyone – from your local mom and pop burger joint to Fortune 500 companies – is now using some form of social media to advertise their offerings, promote discounts and events and otherwise grow their e-commerce models to reach new audiences. In the wake of this instantaneous form of communication, blunders and crises should be at the top of your worry list. Below, we will outline ways you can avoid having a social snafu occur on your watch.

Have A Crisis Plan

Even if you are a newcomer to social media, developing a plan to handle any backlash from an improper post or being the victim of hacking is crucial in maintaining a level head throughout any mishap. This means responding quickly through the same medium in which the mistake occurred, using hash tags to identify the incident in question (#yourbusinessapology or #yourbusinesshacked are examples) so that this is pinging search engines with the appropriate information, as well as encouraging your loyal friends and followers to share these messages on your behalf. Acting quickly and intelligently will help brunt most of any damage caused by social media blunders.

Proofread and Verify

In many cases, it is one lonely guy at a desk managing the social media empire of any business or website. This element goes to show how easy social media is, but without third-party verification or evaluation of the content before publication, it is possible that something glaring or offensive could be missed or misconstrued. Not only should any social media publisher double-check their work beforehand, but having someone on the outside read it over will help minimize the chance of any statement or post being poorly worded or cause your brand to be seen in a negative light.

Change Your Passwords

In this day and age, it is just as likely that you will suffer a social media crisis as a result of hacking than negligence, so securing your credentials is vital. There are plenty of websites out there that can help you generate strong passwords, but a little common sense goes a long way. Do not use the same password for social media management and site management, and pick a password that has nothing to do with the company. There is nothing worse than pinging search engines with keywords that ultimately comprise your password. By using letters, numbers, lower case and upper case, you can eliminate the vast majority of the risk associated with account compromise.

Avoid Unnecessary Apps

On sites like Facebook and Twitter, a multitude of applications exist that attempt to gain information about your social media accounts in one form or another. Many are innocuous and at worst want information about your browsing habits so they can generate revenue plans, but a few apps are malicious and will seek to gain total access to your social media accounts upon being installed. As a social media marketer, there are very few third-party applications you will need: those who shy away from installing each and every one that comes across their path will be much more secure.