When it comes to social media marketing Coca Cola is an often quoted company that gets it. They have more than 4 million Facebook fans, which makes their fanpage the most popular branded page on Facebook. Only Barack Obama has more fans.
More interestingly, the guys that set up the page before Coca Cola got involved are still running it, with permission and support from the company. Besides Facebook, they are also actively engaging with their fans on Twitter, MySpace, Youtube and Bebo.
As someone who has been stating the importance of social media for the last few years it is terrific to see a company with the size and relevance of Coca Cola not only noticing its impact on business, but also actively getting involved within the space.
So when the brand that, through their communications strategy, is tied to Christmas almost as much as Santa Claus himself, marketers simply have to sit up and take notice. Which is why I have been reading their recently publically published social media policy with much interest.
Have fun, but be smart
The document is made up of three separate sections:
- How the company’s core values apply to the social media space
- The company expects their associates and employees to act in this space
- Expectations for official company spokespeople within the space
You can find the complete document here.
The basic notion is that it is OK to act in this space, and even on behalf of the brand, but be sensible about your actions.
It Impacts Everyone
In a short interview with Andy Sernovitz, Adam Brown (Director of Digital Communications) explains that this document is the culmination of months of hard work between the Legal, Ehtics & Compliance, Marketing and PR departments.
This is key. In my experience many social media campaigns fail, never get of the ground or even result in an online backlash because the internal processes are simply not designed to deal with the nature of social media. It is expected that 2010 will be the year where many companies will move from tactical activty within social media to a more strategic approach.
A social media policy is a great starting point for this strategic approach, particularly when all internal departments have been involved in its creation. This document does not have to be created from the ground up, most companies will already have internal company guidelines, they simply need to be updated.
Why Is a Social Media Policy Important
Consistency – The perception people have of a brand is made up of all thecombined experiences and interactions a person has had with that brand. It’s not just about what your ad says, but also how your front line staff interact with customers, what someone’s colleague has said about that brand and, increasingly, what people say about that brand online. The social media policity can help ensure that all online interactions from employees provide a consistent message about the brand.
Responsibility – This also means that the way your employees behave online can and will reflect on your brand, both positively and negatively. A social media policy will make all your employees aware of the impact their behaviour can have on the brand and ensure they act within set guidelines. This is not just about making people responsible for their actions, but also to empower them. Empowered employees are happier in their job and more likely to speak positively about their employer.
Education – It informs employees of both the benefits and pitfalls of interacting online. If you expect people to behave in a certain way it is important to let them know what that is important and how it benefits them and the company. This can prevent a PR nightmare and even result in positive brand engagements, the building of relationships and loyalty as well as positive publicity.
Room For Improvement
Whilst the Coca Cola social media policy provides an interesting point of reference, I do have a ideas as to how the document could be improved on further.
Firstly, it reads a bit too much like a legal document. I understand Coca Cola has a huge responsibility to all their stakeholdersn and has to cover all bases, it reads too much like a “we are covering our asses document” instead of a “go out and have fun, but be careful document”. In my opinion the document does little to inspire people to go out there and join the online conversation.
Also, it does little to explain how social media effects Coca Cola as a whole and how employees could benefit from getting involved either on a personal level, or as a company employee.
The lack of examples and legal nature of its contents makes some of the statement ambiguous and are left open to interpretation. It helps create consistency and ensures people are awares of their responsibilites, but it does little to educate people.
Breaking Down The Silos
Having said that, it is great to see Coca Cola has broken through the silos and has managed to get all departments to work on this together. After all, social media has the potential to impact companies on so many levels that it should not be the sole responsibility of one department.
And would like to thank Coca Cola to make this document publically available. This space is still very much in its infancy and whilst some companies understand it better than others, everyone is still learning and trying to understand the full implications on business. Sharing documents like these does not just help other companies get started, but it helps the whole industry move forward in the exploration of social media.
