Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

In today’s digital age, social media has become an essential part of running our music studios. Perhaps it’s not for ALL studios, I know! But a good majority of teachers use social media in some capacity to market their services.

And one of the most popular platforms we use is, of course: Facebook.

Facebook can be a great platform to connect with potential customers and grow your business. However, with the rise of cybercrime, it’s increasingly important to protect your studio’s Facebook business page from hackers.

In this blog, we’ll delve into step-by-step tutorials on how you can keep your Facebook business page secure.

Two-Factor Authentication

The first step in protecting your Facebook business page is to turn on two-factor authentication on your personal profile.

Two-factor authentication, sometimes referred to as 2FA, is a security feature that adds an extra layer of protection to your account, ensuring that even if a hacker gets hold of your password, they won’t be able to access your account without an additional code.

Here’s what Facebook says about it:

Two-factor authentication is a security feature that helps protect your Facebook account in addition to your password. If you set up two-factor authentication, you’ll be asked to enter a special login code or confirm your login attempt each time someone tries accessing Facebook from a browser or mobile device we don’t recognize. You can also get alerts when someone tries logging in from a browser or mobile device we don’t recognize.

From How two-factor authentication works on Facebook

I wish it was easy to describe where this setting is found on FB, but of course… it’s not!

Here’s a step-by-step tutorial to guide you:

Step 1:Click on your Account profile picture

Step 2: Select “Settings & Privacy”

Step 3: Select “Settings” again

Step 4: Click on “Meta Accounts Center”

Step 5: Click “Password and security”

Step 6: Click “Two-factor authentication”

Step 7: Select the account you wish to enable two-factor identification on

Step 8: At this point you’ll need to input your Facebook password and select your preferred method of verification. I didn’t make a screen capture for this step! Sawry. 🙂

Facebook’s Options for Two-Factor Authentication

Facebook offers 3 different options for 2FA. The strongest protection is the third party authentication app option. (Right now I’m using the text message option, for what it’s worth.)

• Tapping your security key on a compatible device.
• Login codes from a third party authentication app.
• Text message (SMS) codes from your mobile phone.

As a social media and marketing coach, I suggest turning on two-factor authentication for every social media account you use. Since 2FA isn’t the only form of protection you’ll need, I also suggest the following tips.

Additional Steps to Protect Your Account

• Use a very strong password for your account. Capital and lowercase letters, numbers, symbols, etc. It should be complex enough that it’s difficult (if not impossible) to remember. Keep this password in a safe place in case you need to retrieve it.
• Change your passwords at least once per year. It’s a pain in the butt, I know, but better safe than sorry! Set a reminder in your calendar to make those changes.
• Be skeptical about links or attachments, especially if they say anything like, “You won’t believe what I saw,” or “is this you?” These are phishing scams – and if you click on those links, you open yourself to being hacked as well.

Another thing to be aware of: There’s a difference between being “hacked” — aka someone actually taking over your existing profile and locking you out of your account — and someone making a fake duplicate of your profile. A duplicate is where someone steals your profile picture and starts a new account, pretending to be you. Here’s how you can report a Facebook account that is pretending to be you.

Once you’ve protected your personal profile with 2FA and a strong password, now it’s time to add another layer of protection to your Facebook business page!

Protect Your Facebook Business Page with An Additional Admin

The next step in protecting your Facebook business page (or group!) is to add another admin. Why is this important to do? Because if someone hacks your personal profile and locks you out of your account, you will also lose access to your business pages and groups — and regaining access through reporting in Facebook is extremely difficult.

In a worst case scenario, the hacker who takes over your accounts can use your business page for whatever they wish, which includes running ads and wracking up $$ bills if you have run ads in the past.

Choose a trusted person who ALSO has 2FA turned on their personal profile and is tech-savvy enough to help you regain access to your page should nefarious things occur. People who might help you: a spouse or partner, family member, or trusted colleague.

Here’s a run through of the steps to add another admin:

Step 1: Click on Your Business Page Account Icon

Step 2: Click on “Settings & Privacy”

Step 3: Go to “Settings”

Step 4: Click on “New Pages Experience”

Step 5: Click on “Add New”

Step 6: Search + select the new admin.

Step 7: “Allow this person to have full control” then “Give Access”

Step 8: Get your new admin to accept the request. Sometimes the invite will pop up in their notifications, but not always. (Oh FB, how you vex us with your inconsistencies!) If the notification does not show, have them login to Facebook, navigate to “Pages” in the right hand side menu, and click on “Invites.” OR you can just send them this link.

A little side note — be sure to click on the correct profile when you’re going through this process. As you can see in Step #6, a LOT of Brad Campbells popped up. 😉

A tip for those newly added admins: if they don’t want to receive notifications about the comments, likes, etc. that occur on your business page, they can turn those notifications off. Here’s a tutorial from FB about how to turn off page notifications on your personal profile.

How to Regain Access to Your Facebook Business Page

If you ever get locked out of your business page, you’ll want to act quickly to protect your business page and/or group. You ONLY want to go through these steps if your personal profile has been taken over and you cannot regain access — not if someone “duplicates” your personal profile as mentioned earlier in this blog article.

What to do if crap hits the fan:

1. Reach out to your co-admin and tell them that you’ve been locked out. Have them login to the business page and remove your hacked profile as an admin to the account.
2. Have your co-admin check the business page for any suspicious activity, including posts, messages, and ads. Remove any offending material.
3. Once you create a new personal profile on Facebook, have your co-admin follow the above steps to re-add you as an admin to your page.

In Conclusion

WHEW! That was quite a lot of steps, I know. But trust me — it’s worth doing. (Just ask my friends who have lost access to their FB pages with 12K+ followers. It’s really not cool when it happens.)

By following the tips outlined in this article, including turning on two-factor authentication, adding another admin to your page, using a strong and unique password, and being cautious of phishing attacks, you can ensure that your Facebook business page is as protected as possible!

Stay safe out there, music teacher friends 🙂

Was this valuable to you? Please consider passing this along to one of your music communities.

If you have any questions regarding the steps, let me know in the comments!

And if you’d like to learn MORE savvy tips to help you run your social media, check out our social media course.

It’s designed to help you optimize your Facebook, Instagram, and Google Business Profile accounts so you can attracted more of the students you love without spending TONS of time figuring out what to post!

The Social Media Savvy Studio