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Social Media Principles
September 2009
Blogs, wikis, online communities and social networks are all powerful communicationstools. As communications professionals we must each explore, understand and participatein this social media landscape, which encompasses everything from micro-blogging (e.g.Twitter) to blogging (e.g. blogger.com, wordpress.com) to social networks (e.g. MySpace,Facebook).To help you do so, these
Social Media Principles
have been drawn up in consultation withemployees and third parties, and in line with recognized best practice. They offer guidancein three areas:1. Personal use of social media2. Professional use of social media on behalf of Hill & Knowlton and clients3. Official Hill & Knowlton social media platformsIf you are in any doubt as to whether your activities fall within these guidelines or just needsome advice, there is a 24/7 email hotline you can use. Simply send your question to the“Social Media Guidance” email address and someone from your office or region willrespond.
Personal use of social media
If you could be identified as a Hill & Knowlton employee or use company resources for your personal use of social media, please consider the following:
•
Your clients, manager, reports and peers may read what you write.
•
Think of what you write in the same way as things you might say to a journalist, or conversations you might have with people you don’t know. If you wouldn’t say it inthose situations, exercise caution posting it on publicly available websites.
•
Never disclose any information that is confidential or proprietary to our clients, Hill& Knowlton, WPP, or any third party that has disclosed information to us (e.g. journalists, suppliers, etc.), even if you think it is secure. Your existing employmentagreement in any case prohibits this.
•
There are many things that we cannot mention as part of a publicly ownedcompany. Talking about our revenue, future plans, or the WPP share price couldget you and the company in legal trouble, even if it is just your own personal view,and whether or not you directly identify yourself as an employee of Hill & Knowlton.
•
Your personal use of social media at work should be appropriate for your role. If you are in doubt, discuss with your line manager or refer to your employmentagreement.
 
 
•
If you explicitly identify yourself as a Hill & Knowlton employee, you should make itclear that the views you express are yours alone. You may want to use thefollowing form of words on your blog, website or profile:
 These views are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer 
Professional use of social media on behalf of Hill & Knowlton and clients
When it comes to using social media professionally (i.e. as part of a pitch, client campaignor when representing Hill & Knowlton), please follow these basic principles:
•
Understand the rules, beliefs and desires of the online communities youcommunicate with.
•
Don’t engage with social or consumer-generated media on behalf of a clientwithout their knowledge, or if it contravenes their own policies.
•
Understand your clients’ policies and abide by them. Where there is conflict, Hill &Knowlton’s principles prevail.
•
Disclose who you are and who you work for (both agency and client).
•
Be honest and don’t pretend to be someone or something you are not.
•
Respect the privacy and contact preferences of each individual you interact with,where available.
•
Where practical, link to our principles in your opening communications(http://www.hillandknowlton.com/principles).
Some things to avoid…
Here are just a few common examples of what these principles
preclude
us from doing:
•
 
Encouraging colleagues/friends to vote on polls featuring clients’ products
•
 
Leaving anonymous comments on blogs or in discussion forums
•
 
Pretending to be an employee of a client
•
 
Posting or editing Wikipedia articles about clients – or ourselves
•
 
Sending pitches to bloggers who state that they do not wish to receive them
•
 
Failing to disclose our commercial relationship with clients when representing themonline
•
 
Using unapproved third party services to share information with each other,prospects or clientsIf necessary, show these principles to clients when discussing social media activities. If you are in any doubt, seek the advice of your local or regional Digital practice, or emailNiall Cook.
 
 
Official Hill & Knowlton social media platforms
 Hill & Knowlton wants to participate appropriately in this environment, and has created apresence on many social media platforms – including Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Slideshareand Scribd. We have also created our own platforms, including
Collective Conversation
(http://blogs.hillandknowlton.com) – our official blogging community providing employees,offices and practices with a space to further Hill & Knowlton’s thought leadership onprofessional topics.We always want more good bloggers, and you can apply for a blog by completin
 
g a self-assessment questionnaire (http://blogs.hillandknowlton.com/join) and agreeing to followthe
Collective Conversation
Code of Conduct:
1. Criticizing clients or colleagues
Criticizing clients or colleagues on a Hill & Knowlton website is unprofessional and theformer could even result in the loss of business, endangering the jobs of colleagues. If your post references brands or companies, check if they are a client of any office using theClient Database on hk.net. If you feel the need to offer critical advice, pass it along to theaccount team rather than post it to your blog. Also bear in mind that a company that isn't aclient today could be one tomorrow, so always disagree respectfully (see #2).
2. Respecting other opinions
There are bound to be times when we will disagree with others and want to state our position. That is fine (although see #1 above), but it should always be done respectfully.Negative comment is seldom valuable, so avoid direct confrontation with or criticism of other people or organizations - you never know when they might be your next colleague,client or even employer.
3. Breaching your employment contract
This should go without saying, but is worth reiterating. Blogging on
Collective Conversation
 does not absolve you of your existing employment obligations. These will vary from marketto market, so please ensure you have reviewed them before starting to blog.
4. Acknowledging and correcting mistakes
In order to demonstrate accountability, it is your responsibility to investigate and correctquickly any mistakes you make.
5. Preserving the original post
The Internet never forgets. As soon as you publish a post, someone somewhere will seethat version. If you make substantive changes to your post without explaining why youhave made them, you could easily draw suspicion. If appropriate, use formatting to showthe changes you have made and date any updates.
6. Deleting comments
Comments are an important part of the conversation we have on our blogs, and people willdisagree with you. Do not delete a comment just because you don't agree with thecommenters point of view or because of who they are. However, you can (and should)delete any comments that are offensive either to you or towards your clients or readers,are obviously spam with links to irrelevant blogs or websites, or are completely unrelatedto the topic of your post.
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