The social media landscape still has a bit of the Wild West feel to it. With the recent Burger King and Jeep Twitter hacks, it seems more vigilance is called for. Both brands noticed the breach within 15 minutes (Jeep within two, according to reports), but if you aren’t watching your social feeds as closely, here are 10 early signs that your brand’s social media accounts may have been hacked.
1) Your number of followers has jumped 300%.
2) Google Alerts says you’ve started appearing on all the best creative blogs…but you haven’t actually launched anything lately.
3) Your followers are commenting on how funny you’ve become.
4) You don’t remember approving that social media contest promising a $1 million prize that people keep messaging you about.
5) Someone in an Anonymous mask has been hanging around your office.
6) Your last 10 posts look something like, “My brnd scks. Click this link if u agree!!!!@!!!! http://definitelynotavirus.com.”
7) You mother calls worried you’ve lost your job. She read on Facebook that your company has been sold to your competitor.
8) A picture of your mascot eating the competitor’s product becomes your Instagram cover shot.
9) The aforementioned competitors start tweeting they have “nothing to do with” your brand’s account.
10) Your disgruntled intern locks himself in a closet with a laptop and suddenly your social media passwords don’t work anymore.
Photo by zigazou76
