Get Control Over Your Digital Assets in 3 Simple Steps

A digital asset is any online entity that you’ve invested time and/or money into and expect a result from. Some of your digital assets may include a website, your company logo, images, file pertaining to your finances, or confidential employee information. These assets carry value in their ability to generate leads, assist in digital marketing, and keep your employees safe. If left unsecured, a third party could gain access to these assets and wreak havoc on your business. Here’s 3 steps you can take to get control over your digital assets:

1. Create Generic Company Email Addresses

Create generic IDs such as info, sales, admin, social media @yourcompanyname.com. Use these addresses to buy hosting and domain services. Use them to set up social media accounts, payment integration, and digital marketing ventures. It’s extremely important to utilize these addresses rather than personal addresses when registering important company accounts. If crucial accounts are linked to a personal email, your assets could be at risk if that person leaves the company, forgets their passwords, or decides to misuse their control of the account.

You can also utilize these addresses on your website as specific points of contact. Ask prospective employees to forward their applications to HR@yourcompanyname.com, direct all general inquiries to info@yourcompanyname.com. This will not only help you stay organized, but it will save you the hassle of changing your website when specific points of contact change within a department.

2. Don’t Give out Passwords, Allow Admin Control Instead

Every time you give out your login credentials to a third party, you put your company at risk. The third party could decide to take your website or information hostage, leaving you totally out of control of your assets. To avoid giving out passwords, most web hosting platforms and social media platforms offer admin options. These options allow you to give your colleagues admin access to your page without your login info, and you’ll have the option to revoke their access at any time.

In the same vein, it’s extremely important not to allow agencies or hosting sites to buy or own the rights to your website. If you don’t have direct access to your site, you’ll most likely have to pay a fee every time you request a change to be made through the web development company who hosts your site.

3. Keep Passwords and Controls in Secure Place

As you create new accounts with your company’s credentials, keep all the information in one secure place. Sharing this information via email or Google docs may not be totally secure, but there several online places offer both security and shareability. One option would be LastPass, a password management services that stores all of your passwords in one place. LastPass offers extra security features like password audits, to identify weak passwords and help you generate new ones. It can also auto change your passwords, which can be valuable if someone leaves the company and you need to easily reset multiple passwords.

Kirk is the leading expert in everything from digital marketing to web design and development, and everything in between. For help with gaining control over your digital assets, call us at603-766-4945.