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The Navy Used Social Media to Raise Awareness, Educate, and Commemorate Pearl

Harbor’s 70th Anniversary December 2011

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Navy amplified the 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor by creating sharable content across all available platforms

Channel Content Impact

Posted 14 Facebook posts within 6 days leading up to and during commemoration events (included photos, videos, and links to Livestream).

10, 049 likes609 comments2,779 shares

Published 48 tweets within 3 days leading up to and during commemoration events promoting event hashtags: #pearlharbor & #pearl70.

699 clicks1,553 retweets

Created 19 first-person video vignettes, including interviews with Pearl Harbor survivors. Published to USNavy YouTube and promoted widely.

7,139 views21 comments

Captured 31 images. Posted photos to Navy Flickr with PearlHarbor tag and used photos for blog posts and tweets.

1930 views5 favorites

Used Livestream to broadcast events in coordination with PentagonChannel.mil so remote participants could watch and follow along.

1,244 re-posts of Livestream link

Created Foursquare check-in locations for Pearl Harbor memorials with information on how to track the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

188 check-ins

Navy.mil story: Retired Sailor to Honor Survivors on 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor…all these channels PLUS

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Event communications plan (AKA campaign plan) guided content creation leading up to, during and after event

What Does it Include?• Communications objective(s) for event• Measures of success (how will we know if

we were successful?)• Major themes and key messages• Keywords and hashtags (to be

included/attached to all content)• Schedule of events• List of content needed to be captured at

each event• Names of personnel required to capture

specific content

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A key tactic: arriving EARLY to the party! Rather than waiting until the day of the event, Navy was a

conversation leader a week in advance

The anniversary was on Dec 7, 2011. Began posting videos as of Dec 2

Pearl Harbor Facebook post on Dec 4 = 786 likes, 241 shares, 55 comments

Navy.mil posted first story on Dec 1

Tweets began Dec 4:

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NavyLive blog served as a storytelling vehicle to share the memories of fans and vets (rather than just reporting the news of the commemoration)

6 NavyLive blog posts• 13,000 views (daily all-time high

for NavyLive)

• 850+ views per post

• 1,416 views for top post

• 804 shares of one blog post on Facebook alone!

• 253 mentions of the “Lest We Forget” blog post

• 35 comments• Positive tone in comments

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Navy used a combination of hashtags, livetweeting, and LiveStream video coverage to provide exclusive front-row

access to Pearl Harbor events on the ground

Hashtags show high engagement:

15,835 mentions of #pearlharbor3,500+ mentions of #pearl70

Hashtags enabled users to engage in an ongoing dialogue that spanned multiple days while also making it easier to track and archive the conversation

Navy created #pearl70 and #pearlharbor hashtags in advance of the event

Pulled live streaming video from PentagonChannel.mil into the Navy’s Livestream

channelPromoted LiveStream coverage

on Twitter and Facebook

Over 1,000 people shared links to the Livestream Pearl Harbor video coverage

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Navy’s early efforts set a precedent, prompting others to join the conversation

Re-tweeted: By:

...and 137 others

…and 647 others

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Navy’s social media efforts recognized as an industry best practice

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What lessons can we learn from such a positive response? Show up early AND provide unique content• Start the conversation, don’t just join in after it has begun – Proactively anticipate

opportunities for engagement and create a plan.

• Share “stories” rather than “news” – especially for big events, there will be many sources sharing the news. Try sharing stories, especially through multimedia and interviews.

• Meet your online audiences where they are – find out what channels your target audiences prefer and post content there. To magnify reach, use a combination of multiple platforms.

• Offer unique content – Navy was one of the few sources on the ground live tweeting and using live video.

• Take advantage of access to historical photos, video, or testimonials – your network probably has an untapped wealth of historical assets. Ask them to share and re-use them to create premier content that no one else has (bonus: it gets them engaged!)

And remember: the engagement should not end when the event ends. Capitalize on the hard work and momentum by offering content to keep new fans or followers engaged.

Once the anniversary had passed, the Navy turned to coverage of the Army/Navy game.