Social Media Standard Guidelines FINAL

PURPOSE Codify Unilever’s cross-functional, global approach to social media management.

INTENDED AUDIENCE This document is relevant for any Unilever employee involved in developing, overseeing, or implementing a social media strategy and/or any Unilever employee discussing our brands or the company in social media. media. It is particularly relevant for teams in Brand Marketing (Brand Development and Brand Building), Media, Marketing Communications (Brand PR), Corporate Communications, Consumer Services (Careline), CMI, and Legal. However, given the interdisciplinary nature of social media as well as the likely prevalence of social media in employees’ personal lives, this document is relevant for nearly all Unilever employees. In addition, as most work in social is conducted by agencies on our behalf, it is important that they too understand and adhere to this Standard and Guidelines, particularly as it relates to legal matters and crisis management plans.

INTRODUCTION & CONTENTS With over 650 million consumers now using Facebook around the world, 200 million using Twitter, and blogs and social networks now supplanting email as the most popular forms of communications in many markets, social media has become truly mainstream. Appropriately, our brands are following consumer behaviour and marketing in the social space as well. The question is no longer whether whether we we should engage in social media, but how well we well we will do it. While social media presents many exciting new opportunities to engage consumers in a two-way dialogue about our brands, identifying and cultivating advocates, and driving lifts in brand equity as well as sales, its highly-public and viral nature mean that small, seemingly insignificant actions can have far-reaching consequences. There are numerous examples of companies and brands “getting it wrong” in this space. While our ability to truly “control” what happens in the social media space is limited, through proper planning, knowledge building, constant monitoring, and rapid response, Unilever can be prepared to manage corporate and brand reputation effectively. This Social Media Standard and Guidelines represent a compendium of these topics, detailing our crossfunctional approach to managing our brands’ and our company’s reputation in the social media space around the world. Specifically, this paper details Unilever’s approach to: 1. Defining brand marketing and engagement strategy in social media 2. Agreeing roles & responsibilities, processes, and ways of working across global, regional and local units, cross-functional internal teams and with our external agency partners 3. Understanding laws, regulations & policies pertaining to social media (including employee usage) 4. Planning for potential social media crises, 5. Monitoring social media 6. Measuring the impact of social media activities Finally, we have included an appendix with links to additional Unilever resources regarding social media strategy, oversight, and execution.

Confidential. For Internal Use Only

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Acknowledgements As fitting with the topic, this paper, while authored by Debbie Weinstein from the Global Media Innovation team, was a crowd sourced effort from functions across Unilever, including Legal, Corporate Communications, Marketing Communications, CMI, and Digital Marketing Services. We would particularly like to acknowledge the following individuals for their significant contributions to this paper: Christine Cea (Director, US Marketing Communications), Debbie Weinstein (Director, Global Media Innovation), Margaret DiGorgio (Global Director Digital Marketing Services), Miguel Pestana (VP, Global External Affairs, Communications), Patti Wakeling (Global Media Insights Director), Stephen Pain (VP. Reputation Strategy), and Susie Franklin (General Counsel, Category)

Babs Rangaiah VP, Global Media Innovation


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We believe firmly in the adage, “the best defence is a good offence.” Nowhere is this as true as it is in social media where the pace of conversation moves at the speed of typing 140 characters into Twitter and the very nature of user-generated content means conversations involving our brands are happening everywhere, all the time. Whether we are involved or not, our only hope to achieve success and mitigate potential risk in this complicated space is to prepare thoroughly. In this space, it is not only how you respond, but also how fast . The sections below review the six key areas where we need to focus this preparation.

Defining brand marketing and engagement strategy in social media

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WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? “Social media” is an umbrella term for a broad range of internet-based tools that allow content to be created by people using highly-accessible and scalable publishing technologies. Of course, content has always been created by people; at its most basic form, a conversation between friends is a form of content. In the past, though, achieving mass distribution of that content required expensive investments in the tools of production (for example, a printing press or a video editing suite.) Today, publishing technologies like Wordpress or Twitter and distribution platforms like YouTube and Flickr are readily and freely available, enabling anyone, anywhere to create content and share it with many people, instantly. Currently (and this is a constantly evolving list) , the main types of social media (along with an example) include: Social networks (Facebook), Blogs/Micro-Blogs (Twitter), Forums (Mumsnet), Content-sharing sites (YouTube), Review sites (Tripadvisor.com), Wikis (Wikipedia), Location-based services (Foursquare), and Social commerce services (Groupon.) Brian Solis, a well-known industry blogger, created The Conversation Prism (below) in an attempt to categorize all the activity going on in social media by the conversations/activities that define the culture and value of each community.

The Conversation Prism By Brian Solis & JESS3


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WHY IS IT RELEVANT FOR BRANDS? Watch this video to get inspired about why our brands should play in social media http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: •

It’s where consumers are spending their time. Blogs and social networks are now more popular than email. Two-thirds of the world’s internet population visit social media sites. Five of the top ten most popular sites globally are social networks!

•

It’s the most trusted medium for consumers. When people are asked what source of advertising they trust, 90% trust recommendations from family & friends … and 70% trust opinions posted online by strangers. “Earned media” through blogs, posts and online conversations makes social platforms an especially strong medium for fostering peer-to-peer recommendations, building brand equity and increasing brand loyalty.

•

Social media allows us to engage with consumers in powerful new ways : identifying brand advocates, engaging in two-way dialogue, supercharging word-of-mouth marketing efforts.

•

We’re already there, anyway! People are talking about our brands in the social space whether we engage in the conversation or not; we can either help guide the conversation, or remain at the mercy of whoever has the loudest megaphone; we can either listen to unearth insights, or ignore the continuous flow of brand/product feedback and suggestions.

HOW CAN UNILEVER’S BRANDS USE SOCIAL M EDIA MOST EFFECTIVELY? While successful brand activity in the social media space involves some channel-specific aspects (in particular, being “always on” and conversational), the four key steps we recommend brands follow to develop their social strategy are not unlike any other marketing plan they would develop: A. UNDERSTAND YOUR TARGET - partner with CMI and Media to understand how, where, when and why social media fits into consumers’ lives. •

What are your target’s online media behaviours and attitudes? What is she/he looking for from a brand in social media (e.g., offers? badge value? information? entertainment?)

•

What activity is already going on in the social space around your brand, category, and related topics? Incorporate listening observations and insights into a holistic view of your consumer.


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B. DEFINE YOUR OBJECTIVES •

What impact are you trying to have on your business through your activities in social media?

•

Assigning objectives based on the Channel Selection Tool (e.g., See, Feel, Think, Do, Share) will ensure social media activities are properly focused to achieve a winning outcome ( Note: Links to the Channel Selection Tool are available in the Appendix)

C. IDENTIFY THE RIGHT “SPACE” •

With insight about the target and specific objectives in mind, determine the right space in which to play. If your target is your general consumer base and your goal is to identify and cultivate advocates, getting them involved with social campaigns, then a social network like Facebook may work for your brand. If your target is passionate foodies and your goal is to drive not only awareness, but also credibility about a new product launch, then syndicating content/experiences to a top food blogger like Orangette could be effective. Brands seeking to reach consumers who are heavily focused on “how to”, solution-based content might determine that a channel on YouTube with relevant video content might be the right way to go. And, of course, brands might decide that it makes sense to play in multiple spaces, whether to accomplish different objectives or to reach different audiences. Whichever way you go, include plans to connect with key opinion formers and influencers as you define your “space.”

D. DEVELOP & EXECUTE AN ACTION PLAN Finally, it’s time to create the plan that will take the strategy into action. Key enablers to the action plan include: •

COMPLEMENT LOCAL WITH GLOBAL: One-time global investments can be leveraged in technology, look & feel, guidelines/guardrails, as well as a continuous stream of interesting content both at the masterbrand equity level as well as to support specific Integrated Brand Communication campaigns. Meanwhile conversations and activations are most effectively executed locally. See topic 2 below for Unilever’s recommended division of responsibility between global and local teams.

•

LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY: Technology can help us act efficiently and effectively in this space. In the case of Facebook, for example, Unilever has identified a best-in-class page management software vendor, Buddy Media (contact your Digital Marketing Services partner for more details.) Similarly, the Sysomos listening tool (see topic 5 below and contact your CMI partner for more details) is a best-in-class social media listening tool that allows technology to help us do the work of filtering all the conversations going on in the social space about our brands.

•

ASSIGN CLEAR ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES AND WAYS OF WORKING: Successful execution in social media requires collaboration across functions and geographies as well as with external agencies. This cross-functional and multi-agency approach requires clear delineation of responsibilities and ways of working. See topic 2 below for Unilever’s recommended approach to who does what in the social media space.

•

KNOW THE RULES: While a new media channel for Unilever, many of our existing policies and practices apply. In addition, the rules and regulations of both governments and the social platforms themselves are constantly changing. See topic 3 below for advice on how to remain on the right side of the rules.


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•

PLAN FOR POSSIBLE CRISES: As mentioned, while social media can be a powerful place for positive brand engagement, issues can also escalate quickly. Preparation is definitely the key to managing this risk. See topic 4 below for detailed protocol and policies regarding crises preparation and management in the social space.

•

PREPARE TO BE “ALWAYS ON”/ ENSURE CONSTANT MONITORING: The social space does not start and stop in the same way our traditional campaigns operate – and involvement in the social space is not just about what we have to say, but also listening and responding to what others are saying about our brands. As a result, one must not only plan for resources to manage social in the campaign period, but also for the long term. This involves ensuring constant monitoring of the social space for conversations involving our brands. See topic 5 below for details on social media monitoring.

•

MEASURE AND LEARN: Based on the objectives defined for the social initiative, establish a research plan that tracks and analyzes your results. See topic 6 below for specific guidelines on what to track against which objective for activities on the three largest global social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

(Note: Links to the Global Media team’s Social Media White Papers are available in the appendix; they provide additional detail on defining brand marketing and engagement strategy in social media.)


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Agreeing roles & responsibilities and ways of working across cross-functional internal teams and with external agencies Social media activities involve people from multiple functional teams and across global, regional, and local remits at Unilever. They also often involve the collaboration of multiple external agencies. This cross-functional and multiagency approach requires clear delineation of responsibilities and ways of working. As general guidance, the Global BD team (working with their agencies and internal business partners) is responsible for setting overall brand and communications strategy, creating equity-driven digital assets, as well as suggested assets to support specific IBC campaigns (tied to the campaign idea), and creating/maintaining digital platforms. Local BB teams (working with their agencies and internal business partners) are responsible for producing digital assets tied to customer programs, local campaign activations, and local adaptations of global digital assets. The charts below seek to delineate typically who is responsible for what between BD and BB as well as between Unilever and our agencies. Of course, these charts should be used as a starting point for a conversation about who will do what for your specific brand. The “agency” mentioned in the chart below who will partner with our Global BD or Local BB teams to execute social media, could come in many forms – a creative agency, a PR agency, a digital agency, etc. At this point, it is best determined on a brand-by-brand/country-by-country basis in which teams assess the specific individuals who would work on our business based on their experience and capabilities. MANAGING SOCIAL MEDIA AT UNILEVER: GLOBAL TRAINING / EDUCATION

STRATEGY / PLANNING

PLATFORM IMPLIMENTATION!!

ONGOING MANAGEMENT

UNILEVER-WIDE:

UNILEVER-WIDE:

BRAND-BY-BRAND:

BRAND-BY-BRAND:

1.

Digital Acceleration Programme (M@U)

1.

1. Global Platform Development & Implementation (Agency-led for Global BD)

1. Platform Maintenance (Agency-led for Global BD)

2.

Best Practice Sharing (M@U)

3.

Social Media Standard & Guidelines (Global Media led)

4.

Social Media Whitepaper For Global Brands (Global Media)

5.

Media Insights Workshop (CMI)

Identify & agree UL – wide technology providers & supplier terms for social media (e.g., Buddy Media, Sysomos, etc.) (DMS with Media and CMI and other Stakeholders)

BRAND-BY-BRAND: 1.

Brand Voice & Look/Feel Definition (Global BD with agency)

2.

Content Strategy &Plan (Global BD with agency)

3.

Channel Strategy (e.g., which “space”) (Global BD with agency)

4.

Policies, Guidelines & Guardrails (Global BD with Agency, in consultation with UL-wide policies)

2. Cascade Documents (Global BD with agency)

2. Content Creation (Always on, Category Level & IBC Projects) (Global BD with agency)

3. Content Publishing (Always on 3. Desktop Listening Dashboard into Global Platforms) (Agency-led (Sysomos) (BD CMI, potentially for Global BD) with agency) 4. Monitoring for: - Customer service questions - Issues (only consumers from countries not actively listening & on global platforms where active) (Agencyled for Global BD) 5. Monitoring for insights (Global BD CMI) 6. Responding (Only to consumers from countries not actively listening & on global platforms where active) (Agency-led for Global BD) 7. Handling Crises (Global BD with Legal and Corporate Communications and agency)

Led by Agency

8. Measuring, Analyzing & Optimizing (identify benchmarks; track across markets) (Global BD with agency)

Collaboration between brand & Agency

9. Channel/Agency Integration (Global BD)

Led by Unilever


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MANAGING SOCIAL MEDIA AT UNILEVER: LOCAL TRAINING / EDUCATION

STRATEGY / PLANNING

PLATFORM IMPLIMENTATION!!

ONGOING MANAGEMENT

UNILEVER-WIDE:

BRAND-BY-BRAND

BRAND-BY-BRAND:

BRAND-BY-BRAND:

1.

Digital Acceleration Programme (M@U)

1. Local Content Strategy & Plan (BB with agency)

1.

2.

Best Practice Sharing (M@U)

Local Platform Development & 1. Implementation (as necessary based on local channel strategy) (Agency-led for BB)

2.

3.

Social Media Standard & Guidelines (Global Media 3. Localization of Policies, led) Guidelines & Guardrails (BB with agency) Social Media Playbook

Desktop Listening Dashboard (BB CMI)

4.

2. Local Channel Strategy (supplemental to global platforms, as necessary; amplification into local channels) (BB with agency)

2. 3.

(Application of playbook by Social Media owner by MCO) 5.

Media Insights Workshop (CMI)

Led by Agency Collaboration between brand & Agency Led by Unilever

Content Creation (additional Always on content plus Local activation content) (BB with agency) Content Publishing (Agency-led for BB) Community Management: Monitoring & Responding -Monitoring & responding to consumer service questions; issues identification (Consumer Services (Careline) with agency) -Monitoring & responding to positive engagement opportunities (Agency-led for BB) -Monitoring for Insights (BB CMI) -Handling Issues (BB with Brand PR, Consumer Services, Legal, And agency; Following escalation procedures to Global brand & External Affaires)

4.

Measuring, Analyzing, & Optimizing (Agency-led for BB and CMI)

5.

Channel/ Agency Integration (BB)

6.

Media Panning/Buying (Agencyled for BB)

As you will see from the complexity of these charts, while social media is often perceived to be “free” in terms of the paid media required to maintain a presence, the resources required, be they in-house or via an agency, mean that brands moving into this space must be prepared to commit resources to support the work. In addition, the social space does not start and stop in the same way our traditional campaigns operate, so one must not only plan for resources to manage social in the campaign period, but also for the long term.


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Understanding laws & policies pertaining to social media Although social media is a relatively new channel for Unilever, it does not live outside the bounds of our existing practices and policies; in fact, many of our existing employee and IT policies remain relevant to activities in this channel. In addition, governments around the world are rapidly instituting laws, regulations and codes of practice that may impact our activities in the social media space. For example, under the ICC international self-regulatory marketing code, communications on the internet are now subject to the same regulations as print and TV advertising. Finally, the social media channel owners themselves have specific Terms of Use that must be honoured. By engaging Legal, you can ensure that all of these laws and policies are considered as plans for social media are developed and implemented.

EMPLOYEE POLICY FOR PERSONAL SOCIAL MEDIA USE When using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube in a personal capacity employees should remember their responsibility to Unilever as an employee continues. If someone’s association with Unilever is identified and/or he discusses any work issues on the Internet, he is expected to behave in ways that are consistent with Unilever’s values, Code of Business Principles and Code Policies. Employees should be mindful that they are responsible for what they put on the Internet and that what they write will be public for a long time. They should also be aware of applicable laws regarding the content they publish and terms and conditions of media platforms enabling them to obtain rights in such content. It is not possible in an area of such fast-moving technology to cover all circumstances; however below are some general principles that should be followed:

Employees should: •

Remember their duty of confidentiality to Unilever and not put any information on networking sites such as details of projects they have been/are working on, financial information, advertising plans, details of external partners or disputes with third parties, internal communications or anything that may be considered confidential business information.

•

Act with respect for their colleagues and those they come into contact with as part of their job.

•

Be transparent when commenting about Unilever brands and, where relevant, make clear that you are not speaking on behalf of Unilever and that the views expressed are your own.

•

Post comments that are honest and accurate.

•

Participate in such networks in a personal capacity only in their own time or in a way that does not interfere with their work duties and responsibilities.

•

Remember that even if they write anonymously or under a pseudonym their identity can be revealed. Write as if they are doing so under their own name and as if everyone they know can read or hear every word.

•

Refer questions relating to Unilever's activities, structure, financial situation, performance, products, product availability to the Media Relations function or the Careline, as appropriate.

Employees should not: •

Write or distribute anything which could be considered offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting.

•

Misuse private or personal information, share internal conversations or spread rumours.

•

Engage in activities which might bring Unilever into disrepute.

•

Attack competitors or their products, NGOs or other stakeholders.


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LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS As with any other brand communication, social media communications must be carried out and managed responsibly. Since the laws that govern marketing and social media are complex and continue to evolve rapidly in response to fast-paced changes in technology, you should engage your Legal business partner to help you identify and exploit the key risks and opportunities relating to your social media communications. Legal must approve all promotional activities on a social media platform in advance, including all applications that will be incorporated on any social media platform or that will incorporate or use content from a social media platform. Each application must also have appropriate Terms of Use and must link to Unilever’s privacy policy. In addition, prior to launching a presence in social media, the brand must notify Legal and DMS if it intends to collect personally identifiable information (“PII.”) If this information will be collected for the brand’s own future promotional use, the brand typically must include Unilever’s privacy statement (explaining how we intend to use consumer information), provide an opt-in mechanism, and include a link to the web address for Unilever’s privacy policy. Finally, any material posted by the brand on a social media platform should be properly cleared with Legal to ensure that claims (if any) are properly substantiated and that copy does not violate any third party rights, including copyright, trademark, or right of publicity. The brand team must obtain all required clearances for any third party content that it is using, including images, video and music.

THIRD PARTY TERMS OF USE Beyond Unilever’s own policies and governments’ laws, Unil ever (and our consumers) must also act within the Terms of Use for any social media channel and/or third party service provider (e.g., Animoto). For example, contests run on Twitter may not encourage consumers to send tweets in exchange for additional entries. Remember to confirm with your agency that the campaign complies with the terms of the platform where the campaign will live. If you have engaged other service providers then your Legal colleagues can advise you whether or not additional Terms of Use apply.


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4

Planning for potential issues/crises Occasionally, issues raised in online conversations present a risk to our brands and/or Unilever as a company. This is part of everyday existence for brands in social media – whether proactively engaged or not. Poorly managed issues often contribute to creating crises. As a result, teams need a system that directs rapid response to conversations and content, determining whether their input is required and when responses are appropriate based on the perceived level of threat. By definition, social media is borderless. This “connectedness” must be met by a commensurate level of internal coordination across corporate, category and brand policies and practices at the global, regional, and local levels.

GOVERNANCE At the global level, issues management is governed by three multi-functional Issues and Policy Groups (“IPGs”.) There is one each for Home & Personal Care, Foods, and Corporate topics. These IPGs are responsible for reviewing and adopting relevant positions on given issues that impact Unilever’s business or corporate reputation (e.g., animal testing, packaging, nutrition labelling, chemical ingredients, etc.)

Their objective is to ensure that

Unilever has clear, consistent and credible global positions, particularly for those issues where we can expect a high level of scrutiny or campaigning activity. Our aim is to be ahead of the curve and well-prepared. This governance will enable accelerated decision making and quick response to new issues; its success depends on issues being elevated rapidly (see “Processes” section below for guidelines on how/when to escalate issues.) The global Governance framework is underpinned by regionally co-ordinated networks responsible for identifying and managing issues at regional and national levels. The overall Governance framework and its procedures are owned by the VP of External Affairs (part of the Corporate Communications function.)

GLOBAL POSITIONS The External Affairs team help the IPGs identify, prioritise, and prepare position statements for global issues. For each individual issue, a network of experts has been established – known as Global Issues Leaders (“GILs”) – who take the lead in developing Unilever’s position and/or strategic response. An online database, the Unilever Issues Briefing Centre (“UIBC”), will provide background briefing materials, the global Unilever positions relating to all global issues, and the names of the relevant GILs/contact points in the business. The UIBC will be launched and available via this link by the end of June 2011 http://teamsites.unilever.com/global/central_issue/default.aspx . Any new issues that emerge that are not covered in the UIBC should be escalated directly to the VP of External Affairs; If the issue was raised in the social media space and presents a serious risk to the business, through a rapid response process a position and response will be developed and approved by the appropriate UEx owner within 24 hours.

PROCESSES The Governance and Global Positions come to life through deliberate social media issues management processes. Unilever has an official Crisis Prevention and Response Policy, which includes specific procedures for Issues Management. (Note: a link to the Unilever Crisis Prevention and Response Policy is available in the Appendix.)


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These processes make clear the escalation process for any issue that is a cause for concern and, in particular, any that may become a potential crisis. An “issue” is defined as being a “crisis” when: •

The team who is managing the negative impacts of an issue no longer believes that they are in control of the issue and/or its outcome

•

An issue escalates so quickly from local to regional to global that we are not in a position to assume control

•

Unilever’s business decisions are being made by a third party

The goal of these issues management processes is to ensure issues are managed such that they do not become crises. There are five essential stages to good issues management: Identification, Definition & Strategy Formation, Issues Prioritization, Dissemination, and Exit. The U.S. Marketing Communications team has developed a best practice protocol for managing issues which puts these policies into practice. We recommend all brands in all geographies follow this practice to ensure their readiness to respond to potential social media issues. In the case of the US, issues management is done via a “Strategic Response Unit”, a core group of people in the brand, agency, Brand PR, Corporate Communications, Legal and Consumer Services (Careline) teams that anticipate and respond to online conversations. They are the team that determines if, who, how, and when to respond to and/or escalate online consumer comments. There are three key steps the team takes to ensure they are prepared for issues management: A. IDENTIFY POTENTIAL RISKS AND SCENARIOS – Identifying potential risks and scenarios in advance enables teams to prepare ready responses to posts or commentary in social channels. We recommend brands think through possible scenarios in which our brands could be either the brunt of commentary or attack, including activism or boycotts that could put the brand at risk. This exercise should also reference the work done and the positions formed by the IPGs and GILs discussed above and available in the UIBC. Possibilities could include a new campaign or spokesperson, a change to a product formulation, discontinuation of a feature, or changes in the landscape, such as a new dietary guideline. We recommend brands think through possible responses to those scenarios before they occur. Possible responses are organized by sentiment (e.g., negative/critical, potentially negative, neutral, noteworthy, no action) as well as topic (e.g., food safety, nutritional value, efficacy, taste, spam.) B. DEVELOP A FULL AND COMPLETE Q&A – For fast and effective consumer engagement in social media, a comprehensive Q&A is a core component of response action planning. As a starting point, brands should already have developed Q&As for PR campaigns. In addition, the teams should once again reference the UIBC, the global positions formed by the IPGs and GILs discussed above. Supplement this Q&A based on what topics one hears consumers already discussing in the social space relevant to our brands/categories. The Q&A is typically developed in conjunction with an agency and should be cleared by Legal so that whoever is tasked with responding to conversations in social media has pre-greenlit language to use when interacting with consumers. C. DEVELOP A BRAND RESPONSE ACTION PLAN – The US team uses a system of flagging levels (blue, green, yellow, and red) to provide guidance for how to handle a given scenario. Assessment of each situation involves cross-referencing the nature of content against its potential influence. The chart below indicates how this assessment of content, influence and volume yields a flagging level as well as the response and actions associated with that flag colour.


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FLAG COLOUR BASED ON ASSESSMENT OF:

BLUE

CONTENT

Limited threat to brand/company

High threat to brand/company

Statements that are factually

(example: comment that incorrectly

(example: palm oil controversy; or false

incorrect, accurate, or need further

identifies consumer generated

story regarding potential health risk of

investigation

content as new brand creative)

ingredients)

Individual (# of friends,

Low profile; Low credibility; Previous

High profile; High credibility; Previous

engagement history, involved

positive interactions with brands

negative interactions with brands

1-15 comments

15+ comments

GREEN

YELLOW

INFLUENCE •

in other communities) •

Organization (# of members, engagement history, level of public awareness)

•

Media (audience size, degree of authority)

VOLUME # of comments in response to content

RESPONSE

None

None

Dependent on

Yes

content, influence & volume

ACTION:

Frontline team

Frontline team

Frontline team

Frontline team acts

tags & tracks

closely monitors an

establishes that

immediately on an

notable post;

emerging issue or

an issue is a risk

issue that has

No other

topic that

or threat;

become critical or

action

experiences an

Response is

threatens to impact

increase in visibility

contingent upon

the brand’s

(i.e., numerous

the content &

business and/or

comments among

context; Alerting

reputation;

Fans)

global and

Escalation to Global

regional

External Affairs

counterparts

necessary BEFORE

appropriate

any response in order to decide what to say, when and how


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D. ESCALATION – The team to whom issues will be escalated for a particular brand/team/geography should be identified in advance of any issues arising. As displayed in the graphic above, for Red issues, the Strategic Response Unit should always escalate to their counterparts at the global and regional level (both in the brand and in External Affairs.) Together they will determine if to respond … and if so, what, when and how.


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Monitoring social media spaces constantly Once the strategy is developed, roles are defined, laws are understood, and crises are prepared for, it comes down to monitoring social spaces constantly for conversations and content involving our brands. This monitoring can happen with several goals in mind: •

Listening for positive opportunities to engage consumers/influencers

•

Listening for consumer service opportunities

•

Listening to identify potential issues

•

Listening to generate consumer insights

Unilever has identified a best-in-class vendor, Sysomos, to provide their listening service, an online dashboard called Heartbeat, to our brands and businesses around the world (other than China where their service is restricted.) Heartbeat is able to monitor and synthesize conversations involving our brands in millions of social media outposts . This listening service will enable teams across functions to achieve any of the objectives outlined above as the dashboard enables us to monitor as well as respond directly; we can provide multiple stakeholders with different snapshots of the same information, based on their objective for monitoring; and we can use the platform to immediately implement the brand response action plan defined in topic 4 above for identifying and responding to potential social media crises. CMI, in partnership with Digital Marketing Services, will be rolling out this tool to all brands and markets over the course of 2011. Given Unilever’s different structures in different markets, accountability for central listening to identify potential issues may sit in different places; each market should determine the most appropriate place for it to sit. In the US, the first market to launch Heartbeat, PR or social media agencies will be the focal point for brandby-brand social listening. Meanwhile, the Sysomos tool will direct topics presenting potential liabilities straight to Consumer Services (Careline.) This Sysomos stream will be integrated into the call center system. They will use the brand response action plan described in topic 4 to handle and/or escalate the potential crisis.


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Guidelines for measuring the impact of social media

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The measures below are guidelines rather than absolutes because the social space is evolving rapidly and industry standards have yet to be established. In addition, each social channel is distinct, making uniform formulas difficult. We suggest using these guidelines as a directional tool on what to measure given different objectives, enabling an educated conversation with agency partners (in partnerships with Media, CMI, and Marketing Communications (Brand PR)), regarding the right benchmarks, KPIs and results for particular initiatives. The table below includes guidelines for measuring the three most widely used social media channels globally: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Benchmarks will vary across brands depending on business category and strength of creative assets; it can be helpful to consider both competitors’ results in the space as well as the brand’s historical results in social.


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AWARENESS

ENGAGEMENT

ADVOCACY

DEFINITION

Exposure to specific audience (“see per Channel Selection Tool)

Level of involvement and active interest in content (“feel”, “think”, or “do” per Channel Selection tool)

Messages, opinions and recommendations from a third party (“do” and “share” per Channel Selection Tool)

DELIVERS

Unaided or aided awareness of brand or campaign

Brand or campaign message association or actions

Brand favourability, loyalty, awareness via referrals

FACEBOOK

•

PAID

•

• •

•

OWNED

•

•

• •

•

EARNED

•

Reach (paid media impressions – unique & total) Frequency % target audience reached Number of fans (absolute, new, unique) Reach (unique and total impressions Frequency % fans reached Bounce rates Impressions (estimate of organic spread of paid & owned interactions)

•

• • •

Interactions (action rate/click through rate)

Interactions (comments & likes) Interaction rate Specific actions on tabs (coupon downloads, sample requests, ecom initiations, video views)

•

•

•

• •

• • • • •

Repeat visits Comments, posts, mentions Likes Monthly active users/ lifetime likes Recommend buy or try

• •

• •

Organic spread impressions from paid media interaction (absolute & % of total impressions)

Organic spread impressions estimate Referral actions (pass alongs, invitations) Time spent # repeat fans

# of active fans/month Custom fan insight study (poll via Facebook gauging affinity over time) Message pull through # repeat fans

TWITTER

•

PAID

•

• •

•

•

OWNED

•

EARNED

•

•

Unique reach (paid media impressions) Frequency % target audience reached

Number of followers Estimated Impressions to posts Organic spread estimate ((retweets + mentions)*avg followers/person)

•

•

•

Interactions/action rate (retweet, mentions)

Interactions (retweets, mentions, replies) Recommend buy or try

•

•

•

Interactions/action rate (retweet, mentions)

Retweets & mentions (absolute & impressions spread estimate) Message pull through

YOUTUBE

•

PAID

•

• •

•

•

OWNED EARNED

• •

• •

Reach (paid media impressions – unique & total) Frequency % target audience reached Channel subscribers Channel & video views Video embeds Video views

• •

•

•

• •

Interactions (actions) Click through rate

Interactions (# of comments; link clicks) Interactions (comments, votes, ratings) Reposts Video watched/video completion rate

•

•

Content shares (into FB, via email,etc.) Message pull through


17

Summary Social media offers exciting new opportunities for our brands to engage directly with consumers … it also creates many possibilities for things to go awry. While it is impossible to truly control what happens in the space, following the guidelines included in this policy paper should ensure Unilever is well prepared to handle whatever comes our way and make the most of this exciting, dynamic space.


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Appendix Should you require additional information or advice regarding social media strategy, oversight, or execution, below please find links to additional Unilever resources and the names of specific contacts by function: DEFINING SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY FOR BRANDS •

Social Media Consumer Behavior (May 2011) http://inside.unilever.com/marketing/cmi/Guidelines%20and%20Best%20Practice/3.%20Communication%20Rese arch/1.%20Digital%20Media/Social%20Media%20Consumer%20Behavior%20May%202011.ppt

•

TNS – Digital Life Global Report (Dec 2010) http://inside.unilever.com/marketing/cmi/Guidelines%20and%20Best%20Practice/3.%20Communication%20Rese arch/1.%20Digital%20Media/TNS%20-%20Digitial%20Life%20Global%20Report%20Final%20FULL_1Dec.pptx

•

Media Insights Roadmap (May 2011) http://inside.unilever.com/marketing/cmi/Guidelines%20and%20Best%20Practice/3.%20Communication%20Rese arch/1.%20Digital%20Media/Media%20Insights%20Roadmap%20Toolkit_SM%20Paper_May6%202011.ppt

•

Channel Selection Tool •

Zip file: http://inside.unilever.com/marketing/media/Pages/keydocuments.aspx)

•

e-module: http://inside.unilever.com/marketing/DigitalTools/eModule/ChannelSelectionTool/launch.html

•

M@U Article on Social Media with Links to Cases (Q4 2010) http://inside.unilever.com/marketing/Pages/Whatissocialmedia.aspx

•

Social Media White paper (Q4 2010) http://inside.unilever.com/marketing/Documents/Social%20Media%20Documents/Digital%20screen%20play%20 day%20-%20Social.pdf

•

Social Media White paper (Q4 2009) http://inside.unilever.com/marketing/media/Key%20Documents/White%20Papers/Social%20Media%20White %20Paper.pdf

•

Paid, Owned, Earned Campaign Metrics (Feb 2011) http://inside.unilever.com/marketing/cmi/Guidelines%20and%20Best%20Practice/3.%20Communication%20Rese arch/1.%20Digital%20Media/Digital%20metrics%20-%20PaidOwnedEarned_campaign%20v2_Feb%202011.pdf

•

Paid, Owned, Earned (Feb 2011) http://inside.unilever.com/marketing/cmi/Guidelines%20and%20Best%20Practice/3.%20Communication%20Rese arch/1.%20Digital%20Media/Digital%20metrics%20%20PaidOwnedEarned_rolled%20up%20v2_Feb%202011.p df

RELATED UNILEVER POLICIES •

Crisis Prevention and Response Policy http://inside.unilever.com/region/AAC/SriLanka/Documents/Unilever%20Crisis%20Prevention%20and%20Response%20P olicy%20Final%202010%20_2_.pdf

•

Unilever Issues Briefing Centre http://teamsites.unilever.com/global/central_issue/default.aspx (will be populated in June 2011)

•

Use of IT Systems by Employees http://gwsp044a.eu.unilever.com/prd/documents/docs/F454277536/Use%20of%20IT%20systems%20&%20applications% 20by%20employees.pdf


19

GLOBAL CONTACTS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION •

Global Media: [email protected]

•

Global External Affairs: [email protected]

•

Global Legal: [email protected]

•

Global CMI: [email protected]

•

Digital Marketing Services (IT): [email protected]


20

Social Media Standard Guidelines FINAL

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