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Social Media Roundup

Social Media in Operational Environments

Using social media to keep the public, the media and Army Families informed while in combat


Agenda

This week’s Social Media Roundup will examine how to appropriately use social media in operational environments.

• Introduction• Preparing a plan• Best practices• Maintaining OPSEC• Personal social media use• Summary


Communication is key The Internet moves information

quickly, whether for good or for bad. With its variety of platforms, social media makes the transfer of information even more pervasive.

While mission success and Soldier safety are most often the primary concerns in operational environments, communicating to the public is also key.

Social media is helping units and organizations in operational environments tell the Army’s story, dispel rumors, connect Soldiers with their Families and counter misinformation.


Countering misinformation The speed of the Internet makes timely

communication from the battlefield more important than ever before.

Combined Joint Task Force-82 in Afghanistan posted the video to the left on their YouTube channel. It shows an air weapons team engaging and killing insurgents who were attacking a small patrol base in Paktia Province.

While the Taliban claimed that Americans had randomly killed innocent civilians, this video allowed CJTF-82 to accurately portray the actual event to the media and the world.

This example illustrates the importance of social media in operational environments, but social media use should not always be reactive. It should be part of the initial communication plan.


Preparing a planIncluding social media in the unit’s communication strategy


Preparing a plan Social media use in an operational

environment should be part of the overall communication plan that is established prior to deploying.

Commanders and planners must consider the social media space when conducting battle planning and mission analysis.

Commanders must develop and maintain a strong knowledge of the social media space to stay ahead of the increasingly quick flow of information.

There should be plans in place to be both proactive and reactive when using social media assets.


Preparing a plan Before using social media in an operational environment, commanders and social

media managers must take several steps to prepare a social media plan.

Define communication goalsExamples: Key messages, organizational themes, Army themes

Identify key audiencesExamples: Media, Families, Congress, host country

Analyze social media assetsExamples: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, etc.

Determine capabilitiesExamples: Equipment, personnel, connectivity

Draft and Approve Social Media Communication PlanDraft, edit and execute


Best PracticesHow to use social media effectively in operational environments


Best practices

Operational units are finding opportunities for strategic online engagement on several social media platforms.

Some organizations find that Facebook is the most useful social media communication tool, while other organizations find Flickr and YouTube more effective.

Ultimately, determining which platforms the organization uses depends on what the unit aims to achieve with the social media presence.


Best practices

News happens fast in operational environments. If advertised and publicized correctly, people will turn to an organization’s social media sites for information, so make sure the information gets out to the public quickly.

Don’t rely on the media to tell the organization’s story. Media outlets will publish what they want, but with social media, the organization controls the message.

Use social media platforms to publish all the news the media chooses not to feature.

Distribute timely information


Best practices

In order to be perceived as a reliable source of information, organizations in operational environments need to build their community early, establish a following and then take them through the deployment.

By detailing the beginning of the deployment process all the way through to the end, an organization can make the community part of the journey and give followers a reason to come back and check in for updates.

A social media platform serves little purpose without a community, so continue to reach out this group and get them involved in the conversation early.

Build a community


Best practices

Less than 1 percent of the population serves in the U.S. military so there is a great deal of curiosity out there.

Social media users respond well to photos because combat images give them a taste of what their Soldiers are doing while deployed. It’s important to upload photos early and often when in an operational environment.

These photos offer transparency and show people what U.S forces are doing in the operational environment.

While combat photos are often well-received, make sure they clear an OPSEC review before posting.

Tell the story with photos

Social Media FactPhotos help tell the Army’s story even to those

who speak different languages.


Best practices

Several commanders have used social media to connect with the public through both their unit’s social media presences and through their own personal social media presence.

Gen. Odierno is one of the many Army leaders who uses Facebook to communicate with various audiences while in operational environments.

Social media provides leaders the opportunity to provide updates from theater, post helpful links and keep family members connected during deployments.

Create a command voice. Be present


Best practices

Organizations in operational environments should encourage followers to participate in the discussion, but it’s important to watch the conversations that appear on Facebook walls and in comment sections.

Conversations can provide valuable insight. They can help an organization determine what the public wants to know about the organization’s mission.

Be quick to delete items that violate the organization’s posting policies. Be especially vigilant when watching for user posts that violate OPSEC and put the unit in danger.

Monitor content posted by users


Maintaining OPSECMaking sure OPSEC always comes first when using social media


Maintaining OPSEC OPSEC is always a primary concern. OPSEC in operational environments is

vitally important, so OPSEC review procedures should be in place for each social media platform used during deployments.

While organizations are encouraged to post updates and keep interested audiences informed, it’s important to recognize that much of the enemy’s actionable intelligence is acquired through open sources like social media. Organizations in operational environments must keep OPSEC in mind with every post, photo and video loaded to social media platforms. http://slidesha.re/cjFKx1

http://slidesha.re/cjFKx1


Tagging photos with an exact location on the Internet allows random people to track an individual's location and correlate it with other information.

Soldiers deploy to areas all over the world. Some locations are public, others are classified. Soldiers and Army organizations should not tag their uploaded photos with a location. Publishing photos of classified locations can be detrimental to mission success, and such actions are in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Maintaining OPSEC


Maintaining OPSEC Here are a few protective measures

organizations should keep in mind in order to avoid OPSEC violations. Never tag photos with a geographical

location when loading to photo sharing sites like Flickr and Picasa.

Never mention troop movements. Keep posted information non-specific.

Make sure to post only releasable information.

Do not discuss weapon capabilities in posts. Perform an OPSEC review of all proposed

material before posting videos, photos and news coverage.

Don’t talk around an issue. If information is classified, do not post about any part of it.


Personal social media useEducating unit members on safe social media use during deployments


Personal social media use Social media use in operational environments is not just limited to organizations.

Soldiers use social media to connect with family and friends back home. All organizations should discuss appropriate social media use with Soldiers prior to

deploying to an operational environment. Education is the key to avoiding OPSEC violations. The Uniform Code of Military Justice applies to Soldier comments and posts to

social media sites just like it does everywhere else. Training resources can be accessed on the Army’s Slideshare site:

http://slidesha.re/edZnHo.

http://slidesha.re/edZnHo


Summary Social media is helping units and organizations in operational environments tell the

Army’s story, dispel rumors, connect Soldiers with their families and counter misinformation.

Commanders and planners must consider the social media space when conducting battle planning and mission analysis. They must develop and maintain a strong knowledge of the social media space to stay ahead of the increasingly quick flow of information.

Determining which social media platforms to use while in an operational environment depends on what the unit aims to achieve with it’s communication strategy. It’s important to understand what each platform offers by way of communication.

OPSEC in operational environments is vitally important, so OPSEC review procedures should be in place for each social media platform used during deployments.

All organizations should discuss appropriate social media use with Soldiers prior to deploying to an operational environment.


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Contact information

Have questions? Please feel free to reach out to us at the Online and Social Media Division

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF PUBLIC AFFAIRSPENTAGON

1/12/2010

Email:[email protected]

To review and download past editions of the Social Media Roundup, visit our Slideshare site at: http://www.slideshare.net/usarmysocialmedia. All Social Media Roundups are authorized to be distributed to a broader audience.

http://www.slideshare.net/usarmysocialmedia

Download - Social Media Roundup/Social Media in Operational Environments

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