social media disclosure best practices toolkit

8/9/2019 Social Media Disclosure Best Practices Toolkit

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PublishedbytheSocialMediaBusinessCouncil,www.socialmedia.org Page1of9

IssuedunderCreativeCommonsAttribution3.0UnportedLicense

DisclosureBestPracticesToolkit

IntroductionThisdocumentisadraftseriesofcheckliststohelpcompanies,theiremployees,andtheiragencieslearn

theappropriateandtransparentwaystointeractwithblogs,bloggers,andthepeoplewhointeractwith

them.

Webelieveintheprinciplesoftransparencyandopenness,andthisdocumentisawayofmakingthis

realontheinside.Ourgoalisnottocreateorproposenewindustrystandardsorrules.Thesechecklists

areopensourcetrainingtoolsdesignedtohelpeducatethehundredsorthousandsofemployeesinany

largecorporationtheappropriatewaystointeractwiththesocialmediacommunity.

ScenariosAddressed

1. DisclosureofIdentity2. Personal/UnofficialBloggingandOutreach3. BloggerRelations4. CompensationandIncentives5. AgencyandContractorDisclosure6. CreativeFlexibility

ThisisanOpenSourceDocument

Thisisalivingdocumentthatwillcontinuallychange. Thisdocumentwillcontinuetoevolvewithcommunityfeedbackandparticipation. Shareandchangethisdocumentasmuchasyoulike.Itislicensedundera CreativeCommons

Attribution3.0UnportedLicense .PleaseattributetheSocialMediaBusinessCouncilandlinkto

www.socialmedia.org/disclosure.

HowtoUsethisToolkit

1. Discussthesemodelpolicieswitheveryoneinvolvedinsocialmedia:marketing,communications,legal,HR,sales,customerservice,etc.

2. Thisdocumentsupportsexistingcompanypoliciesandisnotintendedtosupersedethem.Customizethemtofityourorganization'sspecificneedsandoperations.

3. Createatrainingprogramtosharethemcompany-wide.4. Sharethemwithyouragencies,consultants,andcontractors.5. Postyourversiontoourlibrarytohelpothercompaniesdeveloppolicies.


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FrequentlyAskedQuestions

1. Whatisthepurposeoftheseguidelines? Createatrainingtool Setabaselineofbestpractices Educatecompaniesthatarenewtothis Simplifyacomplicatedtopic

2. Aretheserulesmandatoryorbinding?No,thesearebestpracticesfordevelopingyourowninternalguidelines.TheSocialMediaBusiness

Councilisnotatradeassociationorstandardsbody,sowedon'thavethemandateorauthorityto

set binding rules. We help companies learn from each other and develop best practice

recommendationsasacommunity.

3. Areyouregulatingblogsorblogging?No,notatall.Thisisanopensourcetrainingtoolforcompaniesthatwanttolearntherightwayto

interactwithblogs.Weareteachingandsharingourexperiences.

4. WhatistheSocialMediaBusinessCouncil'srole?Wearea volunteergroupofcompaniesthatshareinsightsandexperienceswitheachother.We

draftedthisdocumenttomakeiteasiertoshareourlearningwitheveryone.

5. HowdoIusetheseguidelines? Discussthesemodelpolicieswitheveryoneinvolvedinsocialmedia:

marketing,communications,legal,HR,sales,customerservice,etc.

Thisdocumentsupportsexistingcompanypoliciesandisnotintendedtosupersedethem.Customizethemtofityourorganization'sspecificneedsandoperations.

Createatrainingprogramtosharethemcompany-wide. Sharethemwithyouragencies,consultants,andcontractors. Postyourversiontoourlibrarytohelpothercompaniesdeveloppolicies.


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6. Arethedisclosureguidelinesjustforblogs?No,theseguidelinesareusefulanyplacewhereyouremployeesarecommentingorparticipatingin

aconversation.Theyareusefulforallsocialmedia,andinparticularanytimethereisaquestionof

personalvs.corporatevoice/role.

7. Areyouacceptingfeedback?Yes.We welcome and invite all interested parties to add their opinion and contribute toward

improvingtheguidelines.

8. CanIadaptthesechecklistsformyownorganizationsneeds?Yes. The Disclosure Guidelines are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-

Commercial License. Visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0 to view a copy of this

license.


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DisclosureBestPracticesChecklist1:

DisclosureofIdentity

Focus: Best practices for how employees and agencies acting as official corporate representatives

disclosetheiridentitytobloggersandonblogs.

Whencommunicatingwith blogsorbloggers onbehalf ofmycompanyoron topics relatedto the

businessofmycompany,Iwill:

1. Disclose who I am, who I work for, and any other relevant affiliations from the very firstencounter.

2. Disclose any business/client relationship if I am communicating on behalf of a third party.

3. Provideameansofcommunicatingwithme.

4. Complywithalllawsandregulationsregardingdisclosureofidentity.

5. Wewillinformemployees,agencies,andadvocatesthatwehaveaformalrelationshipofthesedisclosurepoliciesandtakeactionquicklytocorrectproblemswherepossible.

6. Pseudonyms:(OptionA)Neveruseafalseorobscuredidentityorpseudonym.

(OptionB)Ifaliasesorroleaccountsareusedforemployeeprivacy,security,orotherbusiness

reasons,theseidentitieswillclearlyindicatetheorganizationIrepresentandprovidemeansfor

two-waycommunicationswiththatalias.

7. WeDidntKnowClearlydiscloseourinvolvementonallblogsproducedbythecompanyorouragencies.


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Personal/UnofficialBloggingandOutreach

Focus:Bestpracticesforemployeesandemployersrelatedtopersonalblogsandpersonal

socialmediaparticipationthattalkaboutcompany-relatedissues.Theseareintendedto

supplementexistingemployeepolicies.

Forpersonalblogsorsocialmediainteractions:

1. Ifemployeeswriteanythingrelatedtothebusinessoftheiremployeronpersonalpages,posts,andcomments,theywillclearlyidentifytheirbusinessaffiliation.

2. Themannerofdisclosurecanbeflexibleaslongasitiscleartotheaveragereader,directlyconnectedtotherelevantpost,orprovidesameansofcommunicatingfurther

(Exampledisclosuremethodscouldinclude:usernamesthatincludethecompanyname,

linktobiooraboutmepage,orstatementinthepostitselfIworkfor

_____andthisismypersonalopinion.)

3. Employeeswillspecificallyclarifywhichposts/commentsaretheirownopinionsvs.officialcorporatestatements.

4. Writingwhichdoesnotmentionwork-relatedtopicsdoesnotneedtomentiontheemploymentrelationship.

5. Ifemployeesbloganonymouslytheyshouldnotdiscussmattersrelatedtothebusinessoftheiremployer.Ifemployer-relatedtopicsarementioned,theyshoulddisclosetheir

affiliationwiththecompany.


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BloggerRelations

Focus:Bestpracticesforhowbusinessesinteractwithexternalblogsandbloggers.

Whencommunicatingwithblogsorbloggersonbehalfofmycompany,Iwill:

1. DisclosewhoIam,whoIworkforandanyotherrelevantaffiliationsfromtheveryfirstencounter.

2. Proactivelyaskbloggerstobetransparentabouttheirrelationshipandcommunicationswithme.

3. Alwaysbetruthful.

4. Neverasksomeoneelsetodeceivebloggersforme.

5. Neveraskbloggerstowriteafakeendorsementorsomethingtheydonotbelieve.

6. Neveruseoff-topiccommentforself-promotionalintent.

7. Nevertakeactioncontrarytothespecificboundaries,termsandconditions,andcommunityguidelinessetbyeachblog.

8. Notuseservicesortechnologiesformass-postingcomments.

9. Useextremecarewhencommunicatingwithminorsorblogsintendedtobereadbyminors.

10.Complywithalllawsandregulationsregardingdisclosureofidentity.

11.Makeitcleartoouremployeesandagenciesthattheserulesapplytothem.


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CompensationandIncentives

Focus:Bestpracticeswhenprovidingincentivestobloggers.

Whenprovidingbloggerswithany form ofcompensationsuchas rewards, incentives,promotional

items,gifts,samples,orreviewitems,Iwillbecompletelytransparentby:

1. Settingformalpoliciesonusingincentiveswithbloggersforourstaffandagencies.a. Reviewproductscanbereturnedattheirowndiscretion.b. Reviewproductsmustbereturnedorpaidforatfairmarketvalue.c. Itemsofnominalvalue(lowcostproductsamplesorconsumables)maybekept.d. Review products should be returned, paid for, or retained by the blogger based on

standards for thespecificindustry. (Examples:restaurantreviewerspayfor themeal,

techreviewersreturntheproduct,hotelsprovidecomplimentarystays.)

2. Communicatingthesepoliciesclearly to thebloggerin advance,andasking that they do thesameinanypostthatmayresult.

3. Encouragingbloggerstodisclosethesourceofanycompensationdirectlyinanyposttheywriteaboutus.

4. Ifyouchoosetousepaidpostsorreviews,youmustinsurethatitisclearlydisclosedinthespecificpostthatitisanadvertisement.

5. Notmanipulatingadvertising, link-trading, or affiliate programs to impact blogger income ortraffic.

6. UnderstandingthatifIsendbloggersproductsforreview,theyarenotobligatedtocommentonthematall,andtheyarefreetowriteapositive,negative,orneutralcomment.


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AgencyandContractorDisclosure

Focus:Bestpracticesforvendors,agencies,andsubcontractorsthatactonbehalfofacompany.

Whenusingexternalagenciesorpersonneltocommunicateonourbehalf,Iwill:

1. Require my agency to disclose its relationship with my company when it conducts bloggerrelations.

2. Requiremyagencytobetruthfulandneverknowinglydeceivebloggers.3. Publiclyacknowledgewhenmyagencyand/orrelatedpartiesactcontrarytothesepolicies,and

quicklytakecorrectiveactionwherepossible.

4. Requireagenciesandagencypersonneltomeetorexceedourinternaldisclosurerequirements.5. Requireagenciestoenforcetheserequirementsontheirsubcontractors.6. Alwaysdiscussandsecureformalagreementonthesepracticesbeforeenteringintoabusiness

relationshipwithanagencyinvolvedinsocialmedia.


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CreativeFlexibility

Focus:Bestpracticesforartistic/entertainmentsituationswheretemporarilyobscuringthesponsorofa

siteisnecessaryandappropriate.

Disclosuremaybedelayedtemporarilytoallowforcreativefreedomifitmeetsallof thefollowing

criteria:

1. Theblogisclearlypartofagame,mystery,orotherprojectthatisintendedforentertainmentpurposes,nottoenablecorporaterepresentativestoposeasconsumers.Itmustbeapparent

totheaveragereaderthatthereisabusiness/marketingpurposetotheproject

2. Thesponsorwillbeeventuallyrevealedwithinareasonableperiodoftime.Example:Creatingblogstopromoteamovie.

CORRECT:Apretendblogwheresomeonewritesthattheymayhavediscoveredaliensintheirhousetopromoteasciencefictionmovie.

CORRECT:Ablogiswrittenbyacharacterifitsapparentthecharacterisfictional. CORRECT:Cluesinamysteryoralternate-realitygame. INCORRECT:Afakeconsumerblogwheretheauthorwrites:Idlovetogoseethismovie.

social media disclosure best practices toolkit

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