Creative Ways We are Using Facebook

Creative Ways the Services are Using Facebook

Marines 24th Expeditionary Unit posts pictures from their humanitarian missions

Col. Jeffrey Taliaferro, 28th

Bomb Wing Commander for the USAF

uses his site to answer questions about living on base

The US Army’s Official 1st

Infantry Division page is using its Facebook to advertise events

US Naval Medical Center Portsmouth announced a contest through their

Facebook page

Creative Ways the Services are Using Facebook

Marine Forces Reserveuses its wall to advertise reserve bonuses

USAF 621st

Contingency Response Wing posts photos from their events and links

to Flickr

Creative Ways the Services are Using Facebook

Army 2nd Battalion 130th Field Artillery

uses notes to address issues

The USS Constitution official site uses discussions to interact with

its fans

Creative Ways the Services are Using Facebook

Managing Your Page

Where to Get Content

• Create your own content by posting:▫Advertise service-related events such as

graduations, contests, community events▫Link to photos from these events▫Discussion questions

• Link to content created by others▫Defense.gov ▫Service Pages (army.mil, navy.mil, etc.)▫Reputable local content▫Reputable news sources

Advertising Your Fan Page

• Ask other services to fan your page

• Link to other service pages, your website, and Defense.gov.

• Link to your other social media websites (Twitter, Flickr, Slideshare, Ustream, Blog, etc)

• Advertise the fact that you have a Facebook page in your print publications, on your website (see next slide), and as an additional resource cited in press releases and other public outreach announcements.

• Create an ad – see demo here.

Featuring Your Facebook Page on Official Sites

• As more units, commands, and organizations take advantage of social media, DoD components are spotlighting this content on their official sites. Here are some examples.

• You can ask your main site’s content manager to add links to your social media sites.

Some Tips for Success

•Group your content together around themes.▫ For example, if you are posting a link to an article about U.S. forces

in Africa, make sure your poll reflects the same theme.

•Make sure you center discussions around content and use short questions to get responses.▫ See the Social Media Hub or the Service pages for examples.

▫ Don’t post a lot of content on your wall at one time. Resist the urge to overwhelm your audience.

• Consider creating an unpublished “sandbox” page that you can test before posting to your actual page.

Tips Continued

• Build your content first. Make sure you have a week or so of solid, real content. Substantive posts, photos, links.

• Share the responsibility. Make sure that you aren’t the only one managing this site. Give at least three other (trusted!) people admin privileges.

• Send out to staff. Draft a notice to all staff, inviting them to join. Encourage them to send out a scrubbed version to their contacts.

• Have paper materials. You can put paper fliers in libraries, and hand them out at public events, inviting people to join your sites.

• Cross-pollinate. Post links on your main service website, Twitter, and Facebook to promote each site.

• Collaborate with us. Send us content to our site or tag us, and we’ll return the favor by tagging your site.

• Keep it current. Really. A dead site is a dead site.

The End

•If you have questions or comments, please leave us a comment or contact the Department of Defense Public Affairs New Media and Outreach team at socialmedia@osd.mil.