Taking control of your digital assets: A New Year’s resolution
By Nikki Dunbar, founder NIX Collective.
Your digital presence is as valuable, if not more so, than your physical space. Your social media, website, and email marketing platforms represent your brand, your voice, and are the online face of your business – yet so many people overlook one critical question: Who actually owns or has access to these digital assets?
You wouldn’t leave your factory keys lying around for anyone to grab, or hand them to a contractor and forget to ask for them back. Yet when it comes to digital assets, many businesses act with far less caution.
One of the most common misconceptions is assuming everything is ‘handled’. Maybe you hired someone to build your website, manage your social media, or handle your email campaigns. It’s easy to think ‘they’ve got this covered’ without stopping to confirm the most important detail: Who actually owns what?
But what happens when that person leaves or the partnership ends? If you’re not holding the keys – both literally and figuratively – you could find yourself locked out.
Suddenly, something as simple as updating your website or restarting your social media becomes a major headache.
Just as you’d regularly update physical access in your business, keeping your digital access in check is crucial. Businesses grow, team members come and go, and access lists can quickly become a tangled mess – or worse, completely unrecognisable! Without regular updates, you risk losing track of who has control, potentially jeopardising your brand.
Here’s a scenario to consider… You hired someone to manage your social media accounts. They left, and the accounts sat idle for a year or two. When you’re ready to revive your online presence, you realise no one on your current team has the credentials – or even knows who might.
The result? Delays in getting back online, or worse, the need to create a new account from scratch. This could leave you with a dormant duplicate account which causes unnecessary confusion for your audience, plus the uphill task of regaining followers.
A little proactive housekeeping now and again can save you a world of frustration later. Taking the time to ensure you’re the rightful owner of your digital assets isn’t just about avoiding worst-case scenarios. It’s about confidence and peace of mind.
When you know exactly who has access to your accounts and can quickly make changes when needed, you’re in the driver’s seat. Your digital assets are secure and accessible – whenever you need them.
So, as you plan your marketing for the year ahead, take a look at your digital presence. Who owns your domains, your social media, and any of your online tools? Are your access permissions up to date? Because when it comes to your business, the keys to your online kingdom should always be in your hands.