Online Social Media Principles

INTRODUCTION
Everyday,peoplediscuss,debateandembraceTheCocaͲColaCompanyandourbrandsinthousandsofonline
conversations.Werecognizethevitalimportanceofparticipatingintheseonlineconversationsandare
committedtoensuringthatweparticipateinonlinesocialmediatherightway.TheseOnlineSocialMedia
Principleshavebeendevelopedtohelpempowerourassociatestoparticipateinthisnewfrontierof
marketingandcommunications,representourCompany,andsharetheoptimisticandpositivespiritsofour
brands.
ThevisionoftheCompanytoachievesustainablegrowthonlineandofflineisguidedbycertainsharedvalues
thatwelivebyasanorganizationandasindividuals:
x LEADERSHIP:Thecouragetoshapeabetterfuture;
x COLLABORATION:Leveragingourcollectivegenius;
x INTEGRITY:Beingreal;
x ACCOUNTABILITY:Recognizingthatifitistobe,it’’suptome;
x PASSION:Showingcommitmentinheartandmind;
x DIVERSITY:Beingasinclusiveasourbrands;and
x QUALITY:Ensuringwhatwedo,wedowell.
TheseOnlineSocialMediaPrinciplesareintendedtooutlinehowthesevaluesshouldbedemonstratedinthe
onlinesocialmediaspaceandtoguideyourparticipationinthisarea,bothwhenyouareparticipating
personally,aswellaswhenyouareactingonbehalfoftheCompany.Itiscriticalthatwealwaysrememberwho
weare(amarketingcompany)andwhatourroleisinthesocialmediacommunity(tobuildourbrands).The
samerulesthatapplytoourmessagingandcommunicationsintraditionalmediastillapplyintheonlinesocial
mediaspace;simplybecausethedevelopmentandimplementationofanonlinesocialmediaprogramcanbe
fast,easy,andinexpensivedoesn’’tmeanthatdifferentrulesapply.
TheCompanyencouragesallofitsassociatestoexploreandengageinsocialmediacommunitiesatalevelat
whichtheyfeelcomfortable.Havefun,butbesmart.Thebestadviceistoapproachonlineworldsinthesame
waywedothephysicalone––byusingsoundjudgmentandcommonsense,byadheringtotheCompany’’s
values,andbyfollowingtheCodeofBusinessConductandallotherapplicablepolicies.
COMPANYCOMMITMENTS
TheCompanyadheresstronglytoitscorevaluesintheonlinesocialmediacommunity,andweexpectthesame
commitmentfromallCompanyrepresentatives––includingCompanyassociates,andassociatesofouragencies,
vendorsandsuppliers.Anydeviationfromthesecommitmentsmaybesubjecttodisciplinaryrevieworother
appropriateaction.
TheFiveCoreValuesoftheCompanyintheOnlineSocialMediaCommunity
1. Transparencyineverysocialmediaengagement.TheCompanydoesnotcondonemanipulatingthe
socialmediaflowbycreating““fake””destinationsandpostsdesignedtomisleadfollowersandcontrola
conversation.EveryWebsite,““fanpage””,orotheronlinedestinationthatisultimatelycontrolledbythe
Companymustmakethatfactknowntousersandmustbeauthorizedaccordingtoapplicableinternal
protocolsinordertotrackandmonitortheCompany’’sonlinepresence.Wealsorequirebloggersand
socialmediainfluencerstodisclosetotheirreaderswhenwe’’reassociatingwiththem,whetherby
providingthemwithproductsamplesorhostingthematCompanyevents,andweneedtomonitor
whethertheyarecomplyingwiththisrequirement.
2. Protectionofourconsumers’’privacy.Thismeansthatweshouldbeconscientiousregardingany
PersonallyIdentifiableInformation(PII)thatwecollect,includinghowwecollect,store,use,orshare
thatPII,allofwhichshouldbedonepursuanttoapplicablePrivacyPolicies,lawsandITpolicies.
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 3. Respectofcopyrights,trademarks,rightsofpublicity,andotherthirdͲpartyrightsintheonlinesocial
mediaspace,includingwithregardtouserͲgeneratedcontent(UGC).Howexactlyyoudothismay
dependonyourparticularsituation,soworkwithyourcrossͲfunctionalteamstomakeinformed,
appropriatedecisions.
4. Responsibilityinouruseoftechnology.WewillnotuseoraligntheCompanywithanyorganizationsor
Websitesthatdeploytheuseofexcessivetrackingsoftware,adware,malwareorspyware.
5. Utilizationofbestpractices,listeningtotheonlinecommunity,andcompliancewithapplicable
regulationstoensurethattheseOnlineSocialMediaPrinciplesremaincurrentandreflectthemostupͲ
toͲdateandappropriatestandardsofbehavior.
COMPANYANDAGENCYASSOCIATES’’ONLINESOCIALMEDIAACTIVITIES
TheCompanyrespectstherightsofitsassociatesanditsauthorizedagencies’’associatestouseblogsandother
socialmediatoolsnotonlyasaformofselfͲexpression,butalsoasameanstofurthertheCompany’’sbusiness.
Itisimportantthatallassociatesareawareoftheimplicationsofengaginginformsofsocialmediaandonline
conversationsthatreferencetheCompanyand/ortheassociate’’srelationshipwiththeCompanyanditsbrands,
andthatassociatesrecognizewhentheCompanymightbeheldresponsiblefortheirbehavior.
OurExpectationsforAssociates’’PersonalBehaviorinOnlineSocialMedia
There’’sabigdifferenceinspeaking““onbehalfoftheCompany””andspeaking““about””theCompany.Thissetof
5principlesreferstothosepersonalorunofficialonlineactivitieswhereyoumightrefertoCocaͲCola.
1. AdheretotheCodeofBusinessConductandotherapplicablepolicies.AllCompanyassociates,from
theChairmantoeveryintern,aresubjecttotheCompany’’sCodeofBusinessConductineverypublic
setting.Inaddition,otherpolicies,includingtheInformationProtectionPolicyandtheInsiderTrading
Policy,governassociates’’behaviorwithrespecttothedisclosureofinformation;thesepoliciesare
applicabletoyourpersonalactivitiesonline.
2. Youareresponsibleforyouractions.AnythingyoupostthatcanpotentiallytarnishtheCompany’’s
imagewillultimatelybeyourresponsibility.Wedoencourageyoutoparticipateintheonlinesocial
mediaspace,buturgeyoutodosoproperly,exercisingsoundjudgmentandcommonsense.
3. Bea““scout””forcomplimentsandcriticism.Evenifyouarenotanofficialonlinespokespersonforthe
Company,youareoneofourmostvitalassetsformonitoringthesocialmedialandscape.Ifyoucome
acrosspositiveornegativeremarksabouttheCompanyoritsbrandsonlinethatyoubelieveare
important,considersharingthembyforwardingthemtoonline.relations@na.ko.com.
4. Letthesubjectmatterexpertsrespondtonegativeposts.Youmaycomeacrossnegativeordisparaging
postsabouttheCompanyoritsbrands,orseethirdpartiestryingtosparknegativeconversations.
Unlessyouareacertifiedonlinespokesperson,avoidthetemptationtoreactyourself.Passthepost(s)
alongtoourofficialinͲmarketspokespersonswhoaretrainedtoaddresssuchcomments,at
online.relations@na.ko.com.
5. Beconsciouswhenmixingyourbusinessandpersonallives.Online,yourpersonalandbusiness
personasarelikelytointersect.TheCompanyrespectsthefreespeechrightsofallofitsassociates,but
youmustrememberthatcustomers,colleaguesandsupervisorsoftenhaveaccesstotheonlinecontent
youpost.Keepthisinmindwhenpublishinginformationonlinethatcanbeseenbymorethanfriends
andfamily,andknowthatinformationoriginallyintendedjustforfriendsandfamilycanbeforwarded
on.RememberNEVERtodisclosenonͲpublicinformationoftheCompany(includingconfidential
information),andbeawarethattakingpublicpositionsonlinethatarecountertotheCompany’’s
interestsmightcauseconflict.
OurExpectationsforOnlineSpokespeople
Justaswithtraditionalmedia,wehaveanopportunity––andaresponsibility––toeffectivelymanagethe
Company’’sreputationonlineandtoselectivelyengageandparticipateinthethousandsofonlineconversations
thatmentionuseveryday.Thefollowing10principlesguidehowourCertifiedOnlineSpokespeopleshould
representtheCompanyinanonline,officialcapacitywhentheyarespeaking““onbehalfoftheCompany:””
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 1. BeCertifiedintheSocialMediaCertificationProgram.Allassociateswhowishtoofficiallyrepresent
theCompanyonlinemustcompletetheSocialMediaCertificationProgrampriortobeginningor
continuingtheseactivities.
2. FollowourCodeofBusinessConductandallotherCompanypolicies.OurCodeofBusinessConduct
providesthefoundationfortheseOnlineSocialMediaPrinciples:““Asarepresentativeof[theCompany],
youmustactwithhonestyandintegrityinallmatters.””Thiscommitmentistrueforallformsofsocial
media.Inaddition,severalotherpoliciesgovernyourbehaviorasaCompanyspokespersonintheonline
socialmediaspace,includingtheInformationProtectionPolicyandtheInsiderTradingPolicy.
3. BemindfulthatyouarerepresentingtheCompany.AsaCompanyrepresentative,itisimportantthat
yourpostsconveythesamepositive,optimisticspiritthattheCompanyinstillsinallofits
communications.Berespectfulofallindividuals,races,religionsandcultures;howyouconductyourself
intheonlinesocialmediaspacenotonlyreflectsonyou––itisadirectreflectionontheCompany.
4. FullydiscloseyouraffiliationwiththeCompany.TheCompanyrequiresallassociateswhoare
communicatingonbehalfoftheCompanytoalwaysdisclosetheirnameandtheiraffiliation.Itisnever
acceptabletousealiasesorotherwisedeceivepeople.StateyourrelationshipwiththeCompanyfrom
theoutset,e.g.,““Hi,I’’mJohnandIworkforTheCocaͲColaCompany…….””Thisdisclosureisequally
importantforanyagency/vendor/partner/thirdpartywhoisrepresentingtheCompanyonline.They
mustdisclosethattheywork““withTheCocaͲColaCompany.””
5. Keeprecords.Itiscriticalthatwekeeprecordsofourinteractionsintheonlinesocialmediaspaceand
monitortheactivitiesofthosewithwhomweengage.Becauseonlineconversationsareoftenfleeting
andimmediate,itisimportantforyoutokeeptrackofthemwhenyou’’reofficiallyrepresentingthe
Company.RememberthatonlineCompanystatementscanbeheldtothesamelegalstandardsas
traditionalmediacommunications.KeeprecordsofanyonlinedialoguepertainingtotheCompanyand
sendacopytoonline.relations@na.ko.com.
6. Whenindoubt,donotpost.Associatesarepersonallyresponsiblefortheirwordsandactions,
wherevertheyare.Asonlinespokespeople,youmustensurethatyourpostsarecompletelyaccurate
andnotmisleading,andthattheydonotrevealnonͲpublicinformationoftheCompany.Exercisesound
judgmentandcommonsense,andifthereisanydoubt,DONOTPOSTIT.Inanycircumstanceinwhich
youareuncertainabouthowtorespondtoapost,sendthelinktoonline.relations@na.ko.com.
7. Givecreditwherecreditisdueanddon’’tviolateothers’’rights.DONOTclaimauthorshipofsomething
thatisnotyours.Ifyouareusinganotherparty’’scontent,makecertainthattheyarecreditedforitin
yourpostandthattheyapproveofyouutilizingtheircontent.Donotusethecopyrights,trademarks,
publicityrights,orotherrightsofotherswithoutthenecessarypermissionsoftherightsholder(s).
8. Beresponsibletoyourwork.TheCompanyunderstandsthatassociatesengageinonlinesocialmedia
activitiesatworkforlegitimatepurposesandthattheseactivitiesmaybehelpfulforCompanyaffairs.
However,theCompanyencouragesallassociatestoexercisesoundjudgmentandcommonsenseto
preventonlinesocialmediasitesfrombecomingadistractionatwork.
9. Rememberthatyourlocalpostscanhaveglobalsignificance.Thewaythatyouansweranonline
questionmightbeaccurateinsomepartsoftheworld,butinaccurate(orevenillegal)inothers.Keep
that““worldview””inmindwhenyouareparticipatinginonlineconversations.
10. KnowthattheInternetispermanent.Onceinformationispublishedonline,itisessentiallypartofa
permanentrecord,evenifyou““remove/delete””itlaterorattempttomakeitanonymous.Ifyour
completethought,alongwithitscontext,cannotbesqueezedintoacharacterͲrestrictedspace(suchas
Twitter),providealinktoanonlinespacewherethemessagecanbeexpressedcompletelyand
accurately.

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