Managing Passwords and Accounts for Clients
You’re probably not going to love this post. Why? Because it’s boring and unexciting (way to lead with strengths, huh?).
So why am I even writing it? Because as individuals who desire to become masters of communication, we must to pay attention to even the smallest and most boring of details.
When it comes to managing social media accounts (or really, any account) for an organization, there is one order of business that is PARAMOUNT. This one thing will allow you to be ready for any addition, subtraction or change to your team.
Boring, unexciting and paramount…. What might it be?
It’s something I call a Master Accounts.
Disclaimer: I don’t know if what I’m about to share with you is against any End User Agreements, but frankly I don’t care because I’ve been doing it for years with no issue and because it’s a good practice.
What Is a Master Account?
A Master Account is any account which isn’t tied to an individual and is used for an organization.
Why Do I Need to Use Master Accounts?
Let me answer this question with a question. Do you want to give away all your passwords?
When you create an email Master Account you create a single place that is tied to everything for the organization. Receipts are sent to this account, password resets go through this account, billing reminders come to this account… you never have to give out your passwords to anyone. By having a Master Account you are setting up your company to succeed and keeping the headache of changing everything when there is a change in your department.
What Do I Use a Master Account for?
Everything. Here are a few scenarios.
Gmail: Setup a single gmail account (which will be your Google account). Give it a name like yourorg[email protected]. There’s no secret sauce… pick a name that is easy and reflective of the nature of the account. This will be your username for everything you do for the organization from here on out.
Facebook: Use your new Gmail account as the username and create a new Facebook profile account. Give the “user” a name that is not real. At my former church we had a Christmas Joseph that we hid around the office and said he was intern of morale. So I named our “user” Joseph Morale. So pick a name that works for you. Once you’ve created that account and confirmed it, make that account an administrator for your Facebook page as well as any groups.
Apple ID (iTunes): When I arrived at MPCC in 2008, one of our staffers had spent hundreds of dollars purchasing music on his personal iTunes account. This was back when we still had DRM to deal with. His purchases are useless to us because he used his account and did not leave the password. Use your new Gmail account and create an Apple ID that will serve as your organization’s account for everything. I was just released from my church, but I took absolutely zero music or App Store software with me because it was all tied to our Master Account.
Google Analytics (and every other Google Account): You do not want your personal google account wrapped up in your organizations Analytics, AdWords, AdSense, Webmaster, Plus or any other Google account. When you create your Master Account for Gmail, you now have a Google account that you need to use to create all those other profiles. Aside from Google Plus, Google has made it very easy to share access to accounts. Give your personal account access, but make the Gmail the Master Account.
So these are just a few suggestions on how you can apply the concept of Master Accounts. If you have a scenario where you have already begun using your personal or your individual work email to setup accounts and want to know how to transition, feel free to reach out on Twitter. I’M A REAL PERSON 🙂 I’d love to help any way I can.
