Miramar entrepreneur Keymia Sharpe vividly remembers when she launched the Instagram account for her business, Key2MIA, in March 2019.<\/p>\n
After seven years of taking people on tours of Miami, her following grew to 12,000 followers. Then something unexpected happened in July 2026.<\/p>\n
She was hacked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt said that someone\u2019s changed my password,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I logged in, I would immediately get logged out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sharpe is among many owners of small businesses who use social media platforms like Instagram to show their products and services, interact with customers and even collaborate with other businesses. But even with verification, business owners have to be careful, she warned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think people realize it\u2019s not about the follower count, but I\u2019ve also been able to get collaborations with brands and businesses,\u201d she said. \u201cTrying to re-establish those relationships can be very difficult. I still had tours that were launching and already in process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miami-based audience development professional Ashley K. Jolicoeur, an Allapattah native, works with business owners to optimize their messaging across digital platforms. Jolicoeur said that having your own platform like an email list can help after a social hack or outage.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of times, you see not just when people get hacked, but when things get shut down,\u201d she said. \u201cInstagram or Facebook go down often.\u201d<\/p>\n
Citing the temporary TikTok shutdown of January 2026 as an example, Jolicoeur frequently recommends that business owners have their own direct ways of communicating with their customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI recommend that people have an in-house platform whether that\u2019s an email list or push notifications,\u201d Jolicoeur said. \u201cThey\u2019re just ways for followers to reach you directly. A lot of businesses don\u2019t have a phone number but an email.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Keymia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Key2MIA.jpg\" "\\"Key2MIA.jpg\\"")
Keymia Sharpe, far left, is the founder of Miami tour company Key2MIA. Her company\u2019s first Instagram account was hacked. Courtesy photo <\/p>\n
Another method of maintaining cybersecurity is a bit more rigid.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a prevention perspective, have a zero trust policy\u201d said Mehran Basiratmand, Florida Atlantic University\u2019s director of innovation and programs.<\/p>\n
Basiratmand worked in information technology for nearly 34 years and worked for a company that was a Microsoft partner.<\/p>\n
\u201cAssume that any device or person can be a threat to an organization,\u201d he said. \u201cDeploy multi-factor authentication. Have a passkey or use a password to protect your assets.\u201d<\/p>\n
As artificial intelligence tools evolve at a rapid pace, Basiratmand said that asking AI like Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini or ChatGPT can help determine whether a message or site is authentic. He also recommends looking at when social media profiles were created to determine whether they are real.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s changed names several times, it probably isn\u2019t real,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Sharpe has a new Instagram account for her business and has picked up where she left off in posting content from her Miami tours. But this time, she is sharing the content across other social media platforms with different audiences. She is also blogging more and using her email list.<\/p>\n
\u201cI put YouTube on the back-burner and it\u2019s important to make sure you\u2019re spreading and diversifying your content and expertise in other areas so you don\u2019t just focus on one or two,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
With her original Instagram shut down, Sharpe has taken solace in the attention that her content has gotten on TikTok.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can work if you\u2019re willing to invest time and effort,\u201d said Sharpe, 43. \u201cI have gotten such a good response and more than I anticipated.\u201d<\/p>\n