A traditional digital marketing campaign involves content marketing, promotion via social media, email marketing campaigns, and customer relationship management. And to suffice all these parameters a lot of planning, time, effort and teamwork is needed to produce great results.
However, security experts say that unless the marketing heads include cybersecurity measures to defend their IT assets, none of the campaigns are going to meet their expectations.
Now, to those who need some knowledge share on this issue, Cybersecurity Insiders brings to you some vital points that help overcome cybersecurity challenges in digital marketing.
Content Marketing- We all know that blog posts help companies market their products and services to a wide range of internet traffic. And WordPress happens to be one such sure shot platform which helps easily upload, edit and feature new content making it a successful Content Management System(CMS).
However, as hackers are becoming familiar with WordPress operations and flaws, the website is being used to distribute malware to users which can not only put the site visitors at risk but can also cause reputation damage.
Therefore, security experts want marketing heads to focus more on the security features of their CMS platforms by regularly updating them with all necessary security plug-ins. Also, make sure that the platform is secured with a strong password and also ensure that the default login URL ending with /wp-admin is changed. Never use Wi-Fi networks which aren’t secure to access the CMS platforms and if possible enable the 2FA.
Email Marketing- In general, when a hacker logs in to an email account in a fraudulent way, they can send spam, virus infections and phishing emails to your contacts. And as ISPs and web search engines have highly active spam filters, they can blacklist your email ids which can put a ‘full stop’ on your email marketing future. So, better to use software that will provide monitoring and security for your email messaging service through encryption. Also, a security audit from time to time should be done to keep your email system safe and secure from unwanted intrusions.
Keep your CRM secure- A customer relationship management helps in building a strong relationship with your customers. And so installing an SSL(Secure Sockets Layer) protocol on the website helps in keeping the data transfer in an encrypted form which makes it hard for hackers to snoop into the access. Also, ensure that your CRM systems have strict data security policies in place for the staff while accessing sensitive data.
Social Media Marketing- Data shared irresponsibly over social media always invites trouble and might also grab the attention of hackers. It can also lead to a situation where the social media accounts are hijacked to spread malicious posts or fraudulent and embarrassing info that can spoil your online reputation. So, it is better to establish a pre-determined security policy for your social media activity like using strong passwords, preventing spams, blocking phishing scams, and avoiding suspicious add-ons or apps that may disburse malware. On an additional note, giving social media access to trusted employees and educating them on how to lessen risks and act responsibly will help in keeping the social media marketing campaigns safe from cyber threats.
On a concluding note, make sure that the cybersecurity measures you take should embrace all the internet activity and not just data protection.
