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THINK
CreaTe
ValIdaTe
delIVer
MIlITarY FaCeBOOK STUdY
March 2010
JANSON Communications
10530 Linden Lake Plaza
Suite 302
Manassas, VA 20109
P 703 393 2500
F 703 393 2505
Visit us on the web:jansoncom.com
This document is a study of Military Facebook pages conducted and paid for by JANSON
Communications. This study analyzed the trends, themes, and commonalities between
Facebook users and owners. The views and analyses expressed in this study are solely those of
JANSON Communications and do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Military.
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TaBle OF CONTeNTS
Welcome..........................................................................................................................................2
Aboutthestudy................................................................................................................................ 3
ExecutiveSummary...........................................................................................................................4
OverallFindings................................................................................................................................5
PersonalityPages..............................................................................................................................8
RecruitingPages.............................................................................................................................10
OrganizationPages.........................................................................................................................12
LocationPages................................................................................................................................ 14
Recommendations,Conclusions,andLinks..................................................................................... 15
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WelCOMe
Inthelastthreeyears,socialmediahasbecomeanincreasinglylargepartofthecommunicationstoolboxfor
theDepartmentofDefense(DoD)andmilitaryservices.Whilemanymilitaryorganizationshaveembracedthis
technology,moststillstruggletondanadequatestrategyandsetofbestpracticestooperateon.
DoDreleaseditsrstcomprehensivesocialmediapolicyonFebruary26,2010,directingthat,acrosstheservices,
thenon-classiednetworksdefaultsettingwouldallowaccesstosocialmediapages.Withthereleaseofthis
policy,itisanticipatedthatsocialmediawillgrowasaneffectiveandnecessarycommunicationstoolforthemilitary
totelltheirstoryandcommunicatetheirmission.
JANSONembarkedonthisstudytotakeasnapshotoftheU.S.militarysuseofthisuniquecommunications
channelandexaminethebestpracticesandpossibleshortcomingsofthoseefforts.Withover400millionmembers,
andgrowingexponentially,Facebookrepresentsamassivepotentialcommunityformilitaryorganizationstoinform
stakeholders.
Ifyouhaveconsideredstartingasocialmediaprogram,orhaveonethatneedsimprovement,wehopethat
thisinformationaidsinyourendeavor.Thisstudyappliesnotonlytothemilitary,buttoanyorganizationin
government,businessornon-prot,byofferingasetofuniqueinsights,strategiesandtechniques.
Ifyouwouldlikeanelectroniccopy,visitourWebsiteatjansoncom.com.Foranyquestionsormediainquiries,
Sincerely,
FredWellman
SeniorDirectorofCommunications,PublicRelationsandSocialMedia
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aBOUT THe STUdY
l ThestudyexaminedtheuseofFacebookpagesbytheU.S.militarytoidentifytrends,bestpracticesand
typicalusesofthiscommunicationstool.
l Itwasconductedoveratwo-weekperiodbetweenJanuary4thand18th,2010.
l Weapproachedthestudyasfans,establishingaFacebookprolepageforJANSONSocial-Mediatoview
thepagesfromauserperspective.
l PageswerecollectedbyrstgoingtotheDoDSocialMediaHubsiteandthearmedservicessocialmedia
homepagesandfollowingallofthepageslisted.
l SimplesearchtermswereusedintheFacebooksearchenginetoidentifyotherpagesusingcommonmilitary
termssuchasbrigade,battalion,Marine,Naval,fort,USS,commanderandothers.
l Welimitedourstudytoactualmilitaryorganizations,excludinggroupssuchasMorale,Welfareand
Recreationprograms,familysupportgroupsorsmallunits.
l 682pageswereidentiedandenteredintoourdatasetusingthismethodology.
Ofthedatasetfound,thesamplesetwascomprisedofthefollowing:
Agency Percent of Total Sample
DepartmentoftheArmy 70%
DepartmentoftheNavy 14%
DepartmentoftheAirForce 5%
UnitedStatesMarineCorps 2%
OtherAgencies 9%
Thepagesweredividedintovecategories:
l PersonalityPagesFanpagesdedicatedtoorcreatedbyaspecicperson.Personalitypagesaretypically
representativeofmilitarypersonnelinpositionsofauthorityand/orseniorleadershiproles.
l RecruitingPagesFanpagesownedbyindividualrecruitingstationsororganizationsthatarespecically
designedtoenhancerecruitingmissions,usuallyinaspeciclocaleorforaspecicspecialty.
l OrganizationPagesFanpagesdedicatedtopromotingmilitarycommands,departments,divisionsorunits.
l LocationPagesFanpagesdedicatedtoaparticularbaseormilitaryinstallationanditsservicesandsupport
tothemilitarycommunity.
l GroupPagesGrouppagesaremeanttofostergroupdiscussionaboutaparticulartopicorsubjectmatter
(notincludedinthisstudy).
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exeCUTIVe SUMMarY
Introduction
ThepurposeofthisstudywastoevaluatethecontentofmilitaryFacebookpagesfromtheuserspointofview.When
aFacebookmemberbecomesafanofapage,theyarecreatingaveryuniquelinktothatpersonality,locationor
organization.Bystudyingtheusefulness,uniquenessandeaseofuseofthepagescontent,wewereabletoevaluate
thereturnonthatuserscommitment.ThestudyusedDoDsandmilitaryservicesownsocialmediahubpagesanda
simplesearchtond682fanpagesforexamination.
Highlighted Findings
Thestudyfoundthefollowing:
l 87%ofpageshadatleastoneformofcontactinformationwithalinktotheirofcialpagebeingthemost
primaryformon71%ofpages.l Only22%ofpagesstudiedhadcleartermsofuseposteddelineatingwhatisacceptablebehaviorand
commentsonthepage.
l Duringthestudyperiod84%ofmilitarypageshadnointeractionwiththeirfansatall.
l 4%ofthepagesexaminedhadnocontentorhadnotbeenupdatedforseveralmonthsresultingin
zombiepagesthoughmanymorewereexcludedfromthestudydataset.
l ManymilitaryFacebookpagesarenotclearlymarkedasofcialandcanbeconfusedwiththelarger
numberofunofcialandclonepagesthatlooklikegovernmentsponsoredpagesbutmaycontain
inaccurateandinappropriatecontent.
l Thereisaclearcorrelationbetweentheamountofinteractionapersonalitypageownerhaswithhisfansandthesubsequentnumberoffanswhosignupforthepage.
l Duringourstudyalmostnoneofthepersonalitypageownersinteractedwiththeirfanseitherbyanswering
commentsontheirpostingsorrespondingtoqueriespostedonthepageswall.
l Recruitingpagesattractfaninterestwith89%ofpageshavingfanpostswithquestionsandsupportive
comments.
l Recruitingpagesanswered1outofevery12.5questionsorcommentspostedtotheirpages.
l 87%ofrecruitingpageshadnoFrequentlyAskedQuestionspostedtoanswersimplequeriesforinterested
potentialrecruits.
l Onorganizationpagesinteractionwithfanswasalsolowwith72%ofcommentsandqueriesreceivingno
responsesfromthepageowner.
l TheU.S.MarineCorpshadthemosttotalfansfollowedbytheNationalGuardandU.S.Armypages.
l 74%oflocationpagesdidnotcontainanycriticallocationinformationsuchasgateclosingsorBase
RealignmentandClosureupdates.
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OVerall FINdINgS
Contact Information
Placingcontactinformationonapageprovidesacrucialavenue
forfanstocontactthepageadministratorwithinquiries.Ofall
thepagesstudied,87%containedatleastonetypeofcontact
informationintheformofacontactperson,address,email
address,phonenumberorWebsite(Figure1).Whenexamined
individually,themostpopularformofcontactinformationisa
linktotheofcialWebsitewith71%ofoverallpagesdoing
so.Ontheotherhand,only8%ofpagesprovidedanofcial
contactperson(Figure2).
Terms of Use
Forofcialsites,itisconsideredvitaltoincludeterms
ofuseonaFacebookpage,asitgivestheusersclear
rulesonwhatisandisnotappropriateoracceptable
useofthepage.Italsopreventsaccusationsof
censorshipifusercontentorpostsmustberemoved.
Only22%ofpagesstudiedhadcleartermsofuse.
Pageswithoutcleartermsofuseoftencontained
advertisementsorprofanecomments/postsontheir
wallsandintheirdiscussionboardsthatwerenot
removedinatimelymanner.
Fan Interaction
OneofthetrulyuniqueadvantagesofusingFacebookasanadditionalcommunicationtoolforthemilitaryisthetwo-
wayconversationandinteractionthatothertraditionalmeansofcommunicationdonotoffer.Studieshaveshown
thatthesocialaspectofsocialmediaiswhatdrivestheexplosivegrowthofthismedium.FormilitaryFacebook
pages,thismeansextracareisnecessarynottousethepageasjustanotherinternetpressroomforissuingreleases
andcommandinformationstories,butasaconversationwithcommunitiesandaplacetohostconversationsrelated
tothemission.Duringthe
studyperiod,84%ofpages
reviewedhadnointeraction
withtheirfans,and33%of
pageshadinteractionamong
theirfanseveniftheowner
neverparticipated(Figure3
andFigure4).
Figure 1. Percent of Pages with
Contact Information
Figure 2. Contact Information by Type
Figure 3. Overall Fan
Interaction
Figure 4. Owner Interaction
with Fans
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Overall Content
Likeanyinternetmedium,contentiskingonFacebook.The
channelhasquicklybecomethenumberonemediumforsharing
photos,videosandnewsamongfriendsandwithfans.Duringourstudy,asurprisinglylownumberofpicturesandotherforms
ofmediawerefoundonmanymilitarypages,and9%hadno
mediaatall(Figure5).
Zombies
Mostmilitarypageswerefairlyactive,althoughthechangeinthe
U.S.MarineCorpssocialmediapolicyinSeptember2009slowed
theactivitiesonmostoftheirofcialFacebookpages.Duringthe
study,anumberofZombiepageswerefoundthosethatwere
createdandthenliveinlimbo.Only4%ofthepagesexaminedinthedatasetwerezombies,thoughalargenumberwere
excludedfromthedatasetafterbeingfoundinourinitialsearch.
Justlikeintheprivatesector,pagesareoftencreatedbyearly
adoptersandthengointosuspendedanimationwhenthatperson
movesontoanotherassignment(Figure6).
Figure 5. Overall Content by Type
Figure 6. Pages with No Content
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Figure 8. Clone PageCreated by Military Basebook Application
Clones
Akeypieceofanyofcialpresenceontheinternetisclearlyidentifyingthatsiteasbeingtheofcialoutlet.Thestudy
foundthatanextremelysmallnumberofthepagesclearlyidentiedthemselvesasbeingofcial(Figure7).There
arehundredsofunofcialfanpagesformilitaryservices,units,personalitiesandinstallationsorclonesites.Itcanbedifculttosorttheofcialpagefromthefan-createdclone,asthetwoscreenshotsbelowforFortCampbell,Kentucky
demonstrate(Figure8).
Figure7istheofcialpage
titledFortCampbell,
KentuckyandFigure8was
createdwiththeMilitary
BasebookApplicationand
istitledFortCampbell.
Therearemanyfanpostson
theunofcialpagewhich
implythatconfusionexists.
Figure 7. Ofcial Page
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OwnerResponse
6%
0%
UnearnedFans
PerSONalITY PageS
Interaction with Fans
Thereareseveralwayspersonalitiescanleveragetheirpages.Page
ownerswithcelebrity-likestatuscantrulyhumanizetheircharacter
withpersonalitypages.KeytothisistheuniqueabilityofFacebook
fanpagestofostertwo-waycommunicationswithfansfor
answeringqueriesandrespondingtocommentsonposts.During
thestudyperiod,almostnoneofthepersonalitypagesexamined
interactedwiththeirfans(Figure9andFigure10).
n Of the personality pages reviewed,44% did not have any new fan posts andonly 3% responded to queries from fans.
Figure 9. Fan Posts vs. Owner Responses
Figure 10. Top Ten Personality Pages by Number of Fans*
Personality pages can serve a range of communicationsfunctions, including being a spokesperson for the mission,or as an extended open door for the leader to gainfeedback from their subordinates and communities.
Personalitypagesareusedasbothinternalandexternalcommunicationschannels.Primarily,thepersonalityactsasa
spokespersontoextendthecommunicationsoutreachfortheirgroup,organizationorlocation.
n On personality pages, the number of fans earned showeda correlation to the owners response tendency.
*Some personality pages have hidden their fan count including General Ray Odierno, and were not counted on this chart.
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n Listing the ofcial web site is the most popular form of contactinformation on a personality page.
Figure 11. Contact Information on Personality Pages
Figure 12. Owner and Fan Posts by Type
Contact information
Likemanyofthepagetypesstudied,
realcontactinformationwasrareorcompletelymissingonmostpersonality
pages(Figure11).Contactinformation
isespeciallyimportantifthepage
administratorisnotregularlymonitoring
fanpostsoransweringinquiries.
Owner posts only
Fan posts only
Owner postsand fan posts
Owner postsand fan posts
Post types
Itwasapparentthatfansusedpersonality
pagestoaskspecicquestionsthatthey
neededansweredortoexpressgeneral
support.Duringthestudy,thenumberof
personalityresponsestofaninquirieswere
verysmall.Mostpersonalitypagestalked
totheirfansbutdidnotengagethem
(Figure12).
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reCrUITINg PageSRecruiting pages can be used to increase awareness forindividual stations and organizations while providing aunique communications medium where many potentialrecruits are already active on the web.
Recruitingpagesprimarilyservetoenhancetheawarenessandrecruitingmissionofthestationandmilitary
organization.Asarecruitingtool,Facebookprovidesavaluableavenueforrecruiterstoconnectandinteractwith
potentialrecruits.Bydesign,thesepagescanbeusedtoattractamoretargetedaudienceatanytimeandlocation.The
U.S.ArmyRecruitingCommandhasrecentlylaunchedacomprehensiveinitiativetogetrecruitingorganizationsallthe
waydowntostationleveltouseFacebook,andthenumbersinourstudyshowtheresultsofthateffort.Manypages
werebrandnewandsomewhatunder-developedorsetupinadvertentlyasprolepagesinsteadoffanpages.When
contacted,USARECexpressedknowledgeofthisandstatedtheyareworkingtotransitionthemallovertofanpages.
n On average, recruiters responded to 7% of questions or commentsposted. Only 5% of the pages announced upcoming events.
n Of all the recruiting pagefan posts, 67% were unique.
Figure 13. Fan Interaction on Recruiting Pages
OwnerResponse
0%
0%
8%
7%
Interaction
Facebookoffersauniqueenvironmentfor
localpotentialrecruitsorthoselooking
forspecicspecialities,suchasmedical
careers,toaskquestionsofrecruiters.
Faninteractioniskey,andbyanswering
onequestiononthewalloftheirpage,
theymayprovidejusttheinformation
anotherfanwaslookingfor.Itisclearlya
placewherepotentialrecruitsarewillingtoengage,as89%ofthepageshadfan
postsontheirwalls.Interactionfromthe
pageadministratorswasfairlylowonmost
oftherecruitingpageswithresponsesto
querymeasuringjust1in12.5questionsor
commentsposted(Figure13).
Figure 14. Top Ten Recruiting Pages by Number of Fans
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FAQs
Justasontheofcialrecruitingpages,asetofFrequentlyAsked
Questions(FAQs)canhelpanswermanypotentialrecruits
questionsandlocalstationsandcommandscantailorthose
messagesfortheirspecicareas.87%ofrecruitingpagesdonot
postFAQs(Figure16).
Events
Recruitingeventsorcommunityactivitiesbyrecruiters
provideimportantopportunitiesforpotentialrecruits
andrecruiterstomeetface-to-face.Byensuringthat
appropriateupcomingeventsarepostedandupdated,
recruitingstationscanincreasetheeventspresence
amongsocialnetworksandsearchengines.95%of
recruitingpagesdonotannounceupcomingevents
(Figure17).
Figure 16. Frequently Asked Questionson Recruiting Pages
Figure 17. Announcement of Upcoming Eventson Recruiting Pages
Contact information
Evenmorethantheothertypesofpages
inthestudy,contactinformationisa
criticalelementofsuccessfulrecruiting.Inthisstudy,mostrecruitingpageswere
doingbetterthanallothertypesofpages
inprovidingclearcontactinformation
(Figure15).
Recruitingpagescanrelyonthefull
spectrumofFacebooktoolstoengageawiderrange
ofpotentialrecruits.Discussionboards,upcoming
eventsandmediapostscanbeaseffectiveaswall
poststoinformusersaboutgeneralrecruitingnews
andevents.
Figure 15. Contact Information on Recruiting Pages
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OrgaNIzaTION
PageSOrganization pages are typically used to improve awarenessamong users with a vested interested in the organization.
Organizationpagesareprimarilyusedtoimproveawarenessamonguserswhohaveavestedinterestinthe
command,suchasmembers,theirfamiliesandveterans.Organizationpagesprovidearangeofinformationincluding
in-theaterupdates,picturesanddeploymentinformationtosupportcohesionintheunit,informfamilymembersand
buildoutsidesupport.
EffectiveFacebookpagescancreateauniquelyopenconversationandtwo-waycommunicationtoolformilitaryunits.
Toeffectivelyengageusersandencouragecommandadvocacy,organizationscanusetheirpagestoprovidecontent
thatisuseful,timelyandrelevant,suchasthoselistedinthetablebelow.
User/Advocate Typical Needs
OrganizationMembers Mission/PolicyChange
MotivationalStories/Pictures
CommandPointsofContact
FamilyMembers UpcomingEvents
MotivationalStories/Pictures
InquiryPointsofContact
Media&GeneralPublic ExceptionalServiceStories
BehindtheScenesInformation
Veterans HistoricalStories
CommandNews
Inthisstudy,weexamined279organizationalpagesforcontentsimilartotheabove.Fromthesampleset,wefound
that77%oftheorganizationalpageslackedinformationthataddressedmissionandpolicies(Figure18andFigure19).
Figure 18. Organization Pages DisplayingMission Information
Figure 19. Organization Pages DisplayingActivities
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Contact Information
Duringourstudy,wefoundthat
organizationpagesheavilyreliedon
referencingofcialWebsitesastheirprimarysourceofcontactinformation.
Nearlyhalfofthepagesreviewedprovided
aphonenumberasanentrypointto
thecommandandonly6%ofthepages
viewedlistedaspecicindividualasa
contact(Figure20). n Listing the ofcial Web site is the most popular form of contactinformation on an organization page.
Figure 20. Contact Information on Organization Pages
Figure 21. Owner Response onOrganization Pages
Interaction
n Users interacted on 54% of the sitesstudied. In over 7,900 user posts, ownersresponded 28% of the time during the study.
Number of fans
Whilenotnecessarilyameasureoftheeffectivenessofafan
page,totalfancountisamatterofbraggingrightsfor
organizations.Figure22depictsthetoptenorganizational
pagesfornumberoffans.Wefoundthatthelargestnumber
offansbelongedtotheUnitedStatesMarineCorpsOfcial
Pagewith241,515,secondwastheNationalGuardwith
224,623fansandthirdwastheU.S.Armyat152,958.
TheU.S.Navyassumedcontrolofwhathadbeenanunofcial
pageafterourstudyhadclosedandcurrentlyhas84,173
fansputtingtheminfourth.TheUSSNewYorkseemslikean
anomalywhenithasmorefansthantheU.S.AirForcebut
thiswasdrivenbyitsrecentlaunchafterhavingbeenbuilt
outofsteelfromtheWorldTradeCenterwreckageandthe
associatedpublicitywithitsdebut.
Figure 22. Top Ten Organization Pages by Number of Fans
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Owner posts only
Owner postsand fan posts
Fan posts only
Ownerposts only
lOCaTION PageSLocation pages generally focus on communicatinginstallation services, support and events at the base orinstallation.
Bydesign,alocationpageisanopportunitytofocusonthebaseorinstallationandthecommunityitserves.
Communicationeffortscanhighlighttheservices,supportandeventsavailabletotheuserattheinstallationor
location.Theyarealsoimminentlyusefulduringacrisissuchastherecentblizzardsontheeastcoast.Thelocation
pageactsasanextensionoftheofcialinstallationWebsiteandasarealtimehostforcommunityinformation.
Althoughthiscategoryisoneofthesmallestinthestudy,itisapowerfultoolformilitarycommunitiesandisshowing
steadygrowthasaprimarytooltoaugmenttraditionalcommandinformationstrategiesonmanymilitaryinstallations.
Wefoundthatprovidingacentralizedlocationforuserstondreal-timeupdates,
news,andinformation,encouragesuser
relianceonthepageforinformation.
Asaresult,fansusethepageastheir
primarysourceofinformationspecic
totheirlocation,suchasgateclosings,
majorexercises,weatherinformation,and
facilitiesontheinstallation.
Information Content
Whileourstudyfoundincreasinggrowth
intheuseofFacebookforlocations,theystilllackimportantinformationtobuildalargercommunityincluding
upcomingeventsandcriticalinformationabouttheinstallationsuchassupportfacilitiesavailable,constructionplans,
andhealthalerts(Figure24andFigure25).UsingFacebooktoaugmenttraditionalcommandinformationchannelsis
becomingastandardoperatingprocedureatmanylocations.
Figure 23. Location Page Owner and Fan Posts by Type
Figure 24. Location Pages Containing SocialEvent Information
Figure 25. Location Pages ContainingCritical Location Information
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reCOMMeNdaTIONS, CONClUSIONS, aNd lINKS
General Recommendations
FacebookpagesserveasextensionsofanorganizationsofcialpresenceontheWeb.Basedonourstudyoutcomes,
werecommendthefollowingitems:
l AmilitaryFacebookpageshouldbeclearlyidentiedonthelandingpageastheofcialpageofthe
organization.
l Termsofuseshouldbeclearlydelineatedontheinformationpagetoensureinappropriatecontentisnot
postedtothepageandisrightfullyremovedandviolatorsreportedtoFacebook.
l Basiccontactinformation,includingaphonenumberoremailaddress,shouldbeavailablesothatfanscan
contacttheadministratorforinquiries.
l InteractionwithfansisakeypartofthesocialmediaandFacebookexperience.Militaryfanpage
administratorsshouldmakeeveryefforttointeractwiththeirfans,answerquestionsinatimelymannerand
usethepagetohelpbuildadvocacyfortheirmissions.
l Manyorganizationsestablishtheirpageswithoutaclearcontentframeworkormanagementstrategyor
process.
l Pagesshouldbesetupsothatthefanpostsandownerpostsareonthesamewallinsteadofseparate
locationstobettermanagethepageandensureinappropriatepostsarequicklyidentiedanddeletedbythe
administrator.
l Namingconventionsshouldbestandardizedandeasytond.
l Militarypagesshouldbecreatedasfanpagesandnotprolepages.ItisaviolationoftheFacebookTermsof
Usetocreateaprolepageforanythingotherthananindividual.
Conclusions
TheuseofFacebookasakeycommunicationstoolisbeingembracedbythemilitaryatafasterratethaninmost
cornersoftheprivatesectorandwellaheadofothergovernmentagencies.Themilitaryisundertakingtheeffortwith
greatspeed,thereforestandardizedrulesareeithernon-existentoryettobepublished.Itisclear,however,thatbest
practicesarebeingsharedandimplemented.
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Key Links
JANSONCommunications................................................ www.jansoncom.com
DepartmentofDefenseSocialMediaHub........................ www.defense.gov/RegisteredSites/SocialMediaSites.aspx
DepartmentoftheArmySocialMediaPage..................... www.army.mil/media/socialmedia
DepartmentoftheAirForceSocialMediaHomepage......www.af.mil/socialmedia.asp
DepartmentoftheNavySocialMediaList........................ www.navy.mil/media/smd.asp
USMarineCorpsSocialMediaPage................................. www.marines.mil/usmc/Pages/socialmedia.aspx
NationalGuardSocialMediaPage...................................www.ng.mil/features/Social_media/default.aspx