US NAVY SOCIAL MEDIA: Created in Silcon Valley, But Forged at Sea!

US NAVY SOCIAL MEDIA

Created in Silcon Valley, But Forged at Sea!

Forged By the Sea, The USS Portland shortly after commissioning.  Photo US Navy THE USS PORTLAND LPD 27 shortly after commissioning

This week at work we took NBC Nightly News across America to highlight national stories at a local level. In San Diego we did stories about the immigration and the border with Mexico, but the focus was on the United States Military, specifically the Navy.  We did our October 12^th broadcast from aboard a San Antonio-class amphibious transport ship named the USS Portland (LPD 27).  

Yours' Truly Happy as a Clam on board the USS Portland.

Whenever my job puts me in contact with the military I am reminded of how great they are. I’m not talking about military power; I’m talking about the individuals who serve in our armed forces. These young women and men are great people. They are polite, helpful, genuine, and dedicated people. They helped us in any way we asked. It was so much fun hanging out with them. 

Near To His Heart. US Sailor Carries Old Glory to the Flagpole

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Hoisting of the Colors. US Navy Sailors stand at attention while flag the flag is raised. Photos Bill Angelucci NBC News

That dedication has found a new avenue in the Navy’s Social Media Department.

The Social Media team was ever present. Every day I checked the US Navy Twitter, Instagram, and Blog to see if we were featured. Guess what? We were not. We were just a blip on their radar so to speak. Social media for the Navy is all about the Navy. It has a mission as important as the navy itself. We were just a blip on their radar so to speak. 

 I asked Commander Patrick Evans the Public relationship officer to explain the Navy’s Social media mission and he put me in touch with Jason Kelly, Digital Media Director for the U.S. Navy. He leads the Navy's social media program. I asked Jason four questions and he was kind enough to respond with very detailed answers.

Joe Caffrey: IN WHAT WAYS IS SOCIAL MEDIA IMPORTANT TO THE U.S. NAVY?

Jason Kelly: "The Navy has an obligation to provide timely and accurate information to the public, keep our Sailors and Department of the Navy civilians as well as their families informed, and build relationships with our communities.

Crowd Sourcing Images with hashtag on the US Navy Facebook Page.

Social media presents unequaled opportunities to share our Navy’s story in an authentic, transparent and rapid manner while building richer, more substantive relationships with people we may not have reached through traditional communication channels.

Additionally, social media has led to new, creative ways and places to quickly and directly tell our Navy’s story, using fleet-submitted content – stories, photos, videos (both b-roll and productions), info-graphics (still and video), blogs, etc."

JC: WHAT MESSAGE IS THE U.S. NAVY TRYING TO GET ACROSS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA?

JK: "There is not a single message that the Navy is trying to communicate using social media. To the maximum extent, we align all of our content with the Navy Communication Strategy, which reflects the National Defense Strategy (NDS) and the mission, vision, and priorities of the Secretary of the Navy and Chief of Naval Operations that all support the NDS and the President’s National Security Strategy."

JC: WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM WORKS BEST FOR TELLING THE STORY OF THE U.S. NAVY?

JK: "It depends. There are many different social media platforms, each with distinct use cases.

So, we focus our efforts on platforms that align with the Navy Communication Strategy and where the intended audience is located and engaging. We go to them; we don’t expect them to find us.

The Navy’s flagship social and digital media platforms are currently at Facebook.com/USNavy, Twitter.com/USNavy, Instagram.com/USNavy, YouTube.com/USNavy, Flickr.com/USNavy and the Navy Live blog (http://navylive.dodlive.mil). Of course, there is also Navy.mil."

Navy Live is is updated almost hourly.

JK: "It’s important to note that we’re constantly evaluating our platforms to ensure we’re effectively implementing the latest platform-specific best practices. When appropriate, we make the decision whether to sunset an account. It’s not a spur-of-the moment decision. It’s deliberate and based on long-term findings. For example, we have an account at Pinterest.com/USNavy that we no longer update. We made the decision to do so based on a number of factors such as limited native analytics, at the time, from Pinterest in order to justify a return on investment and whether we could devote more manning and resources to other platforms that better supported our communication goal. Additionally, we sunsetted a https://plus.google.com/+USNavy account for similar reasons.

Our Instagram account is a perfect example of allocating manning and resources to reach a younger audience. Right now, it’s out fastest growing platform.”

US Navy Instagram is filled with captivating imagery from around the globe.

JK: “We employ our Twitter account as the Navy’s news wire – what’s happening in the Navy right now. We also forecast expected trending conversations and appropriate conversations that suddenly trend. This allows us to socially interject Navy priorities and messaging into existing conversations, reaching audiences that we may not normally have reached. It’s also an opportunity to engage with influencers who can amplify our efforts.”

Twitter is the unofficial newswire of the navy because of its immediacy of  message.

Cross Branding the Navy Blog on Facebook creates synergy of message.

JK: “I’m a former television news producer. In many ways, I model the Navy’s Facebook Page after a television morning show, which allows us to socially highlight a variety of engaging topics and types of content. Our first post is often the news of the day that supports current communication priorities. Later, we may transition to more feature-like content. As the day develops, we look for opportunities to amplify content from Navy-wide social media accounts and also leverage earned media. "

Breakfast TV sensibility is used to run the Navy's Facebook pages

ehhhh

JC: WHAT PERCENTAGE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS IS DEDICATED TO SOCIAL MEDIA?

JK: "It is important to remember that the effective use of social media is only part of a command’s public affairs program. Just like a media availability or press release, social media is baked into our tactics so it’s not an afterthought where it is just “let’s do some social media about this.” We must be able to ask ourselves “what do we want to accomplish" and answer "did we accomplish it."

The Navy is constantly fine tuning their message and the media it travels on. I find it interesting that they borrow from other production techniques such as print and television as well as constantly test wheter their message is on point. . They blend media, message, metrics and style get the to tell the Story of the US Navy. 

Here are some production stills if you are interested:

Lester Holt On Deck Of The USS Portland.

A Crane Loads One Of Our Eight Pallets of Broadcasting Equipment On To The Ship's Deck

Loading Camera Gear Into A Navy Ribbed Hull Inflatable Boat ( RHIB)

US Sailors Get Ready For Their Close Up.

Antennas in the Foreground Receive The Video From The RHIB Camera

Looks Messy But It Is Highly Organized.

In Air Travel a Caste System Exists, Thank God.

I am not the most frequent traveler, but I travel more than you. Unless of course you are the most frequent traveler. Then I am a mere occasional day tripper. Lets see how the stats measure up.

       Its October 13th 2018, I've been on sixty two flights this year. I flew five times in the last week alone. How do you stack up?

      By this point I am so senior in status that I am the guy you see sipping on a mimosa in of the first few rows while you trundle past me to steerage class.

The view From seat 1 Alpha

Normally I am an egalitarian fellow, but not when it comes to travel. I travel a lot, too much in fact.

   Occasional travelers don't travel enough. They still have expectations of fairness and value for money. They haven't yet suppressed the logic that tells you everything about air travel is ridiculous. There is no democracy in air travel. Its a dictatorship and being looked upon favorably by the dictator is the only way to be if you want any sort of comfort.
 

Thank You for Being Diamond Mr. Caffrey.

A caste system exists to keep me from you. If I am left in your ranks I may begin to resent the dictatorship like you do. Resent it in the way we all should. I'm not falling for that. I have to fly for a living and I can't do it hobnobbing with the proletariat crammed into a small seat. I am a diamond member of the ruling class. Instead of being told to check my carry one at the door, I am treated like a baby; literally. I am infantilized in a flying high chair and brought snacks and drinks. 

I would much prefer the old days of regulatory rule where airlines competed for everyone patronage by offering value for the money. Now airlines compete with each other to see how much they can charge for a carry on bag. If United ups the fee for carry one to $30, Delta has to as well or share holders won't get the growth they so richly deserve. Sadly those days are never coming back, so for as long as I am able to I will strive to be in the top of the caste system or risk loosing my marbles at 35,000 feet.