It happens to us all too often. We receive a notification telling us that someone in Paris or Beijing or Ohio has tried logging into our Instagram account last night at precisely 2:19am. We change our passwords, cross our fingers and pray it doesn’t happen again.
Unfortunately for some, however, the case is far more drastic. Many small businesses have found their Instagram accounts hacked and held for ransom. Surviving a social media hack can be one of the most emotionally draining experiences you and your brand can go through. Getting over this hill is a tough one but there are some steps to bear in mind when it comes to overcoming this experience.
Have a moment then collect your cool
Suppressing your emotions is never good. A social media hack can feel semi traumatic – all your hard work over a long period of time feels wasted. Not to mention the financial stress. Allow yourself to have a heavy cry and/or panic. It lets out the initial reaction. Once you’ve let out your emotions and cleared the slate, it’s time to collect your cool and prepare for how best to tackle this.
Sales should be spread out
This is more of a preventative tip but when working out where your sales and client acquisition are coming from, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. For example, if your Instagram was to be hacked tomorrow would you still be able to generate activity via TikTok, LinkedIn, Discord and your website?
Ask for help
Your following is loyal – even once your account is hacked. Go via influencers and mutual account to spread the word so that all hope possible is generated. You’d be surprised how sharing the news can help find you a lawyer or someone else to help get on the case.
Finance First
While social media is down, it may seem that the priority should be getting your Instagram back when in fact, maintaining revenue streams should be at the top of your list. Whether that’s putting time into learning TikTok, choosing a new CRM provider that better suits and building time into schedules to create better content for our newsletters.
Think creatively
Maybe putting a humorous and relatable spin on the tragedy via strategising a TikTok with high likelihood for going viral and thus attracting a whole new array of customers may be the creative answer to your problem. If not, brainstorm other ways to spur traffic around your brand.
