When USS Abraham Lincoln left Everett, Wash. for deployment, the Media Department chose to take their message online through short video blogs appearing near real-time on their Facebook page.
This snapshot was prepared by the U.S. Navy's Emerging Media Integration Team to highlight the best practices and recommendations for future implementation of the innovative tactic used by CVN 72.
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Transcript
1. USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN Deploys
Video Blogs
Social Media Snapshot
2. Overview USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) invested significant
effort into telling their story via social media Sept. 7 as they
left homeport for a scheduled deployment. The online coverage
spread throughout Navy channels and external social media
sites.
3. NavyLive BlogCommander, Carrier Strike Group 9 signs on to
become a regular vlogger throughout their deployment
RDML Guadagnini, Commander, Carrier Strike Group 9, chose to
participate on the Navys blog NavyLive www.navy.mil/blog on a
periodic basis by video
He has created a direct channel through which to discuss CSG 9
throughout the deployment
This message is pushed through the blog as well as multiple
Facebook pages and Twitter.
Sometimes people get wrapped around the axle and think the Navy
business is very complicated and difficult. I hope to explain that
its pretty easy to excel in this exciting, fun, and fulfilling life
style. RDML Guadagnini, Commander, Carrier Strike Group 9 on what
he hopes to achieve from his monthly video blog on
NavyLive
4. USS Abraham Lincoln Facebook PageThe media team aboard
LINCOLN recorded and immediately posted short video pieces
throughout the day showcasing their deployment in short,
near-real-time video pieces.
Posted 12 short unedited quick interview videos ranging from 12
seconds to 1 minute and 12 seconds.
This type of communication took minimal planning, required only
basic MC knowledge and was credible and effective.
5. How did USS Abraham Lincoln do it? Facebook near-real-time
video logistics
People:
3 teams of 2 people each
2 people staged in the media office solely to upload to
Facebook
Equipment (each team had):
Point and shoot camera
Extra SD cards (so they could run the card down to media dept for
uploading, while reloading the camera with another card)
CDs to burn the videos for transfer to LAN computers
Mission: Create 2 or 3 videos every half hour
Time Frame: ~3 hours, from 0730-1100 when bandwidth was at its
best
Video requirements (to enable upload with bandwidth
constraints):
Low Res
30-120 seconds in length
LINCOLN werent exactly live due to access issues, but LINCOLN
posted videos as quickly as possible (If you have access to Skype
or Google Talk, you could test out a live broadcast)
On the same day, LINCOLN also had 2 people with HD video recording
for the Boat Show and 3 people taking stills, so LINCOLN maxed out
the media department for a few hours to accomplish
everything.
6. Why video? Isnt that more work?
No! Video is actually faster according to the Lincoln PAO
Theres no way I could have gotten12 news stories writtenin 3 hours,
but I can do 12 videos in 3 hours. In fact, we recorded about 20
videos total, but only used 12.
ADDED VALUE: Most of the Lincoln Facebook fans are not from the
local area. Fans are mostly family members, many of whom have never
been on a shipthey want to see it, not read about it.
MEASURABLE RESULTS: Our mileage was obviously measurable, enabling
us to view in real time all the feedback from our viewers. Each
post generated hundreds of "likes" and comments, many within the
first 5-10 minutes of posting. - MCC Huval
7. ResultsReaching Stakeholders
Facebook
40-60,000 impressions
11-16,000 views per video
700+ new Facebook fans in 5 days
Positive , encouraging and engaging comments from fans including
many family members
Vlog
~150 views on NavyLive
438 views on YouTube
8. ResultsReaching Stakeholders by leveraging the Navy
network
By coordinating and alerting other Public Affairs Officers they
were able to maximize exposure over Facebook through tagging other
related pages and getting messages promoted by other page
administrators.
By being able to link each post to other Navy FB pages
simultaneously was another huge benefit and further saturated our
audience.
- MCC Huval, LINCOLNs Media Department
9. ResultsMedia Coverage
Over 100 news stories and social media posts about the USS Lincoln
deployment
10. ResultsExternal Social Media Coverage
Unaffiliated Navy blogger posts a blog Sep. 8 discussing Rear
Adm. Guadagninis vlog
11. The blog implies that the author will continue to watch the
upcoming vlogs posted by Commander, Carrier Strike Group 9
12. As a result of this blog and the associated tweets that the
author releases promoting his blog, Rear Adm. Guadagninis post is
distributed to an even wider audience
13. There were 6 comments within the first 24 hours of the
bloggers posting.
By the way, well done to Pacific Fleet folks who have figured out
how to saturate the planet with news the USS Abraham Lincoln is
deploying. I can't tell what the message strategy is, but the
tactics have been effective in saturating the internet with the
activity of the deployment itself.
Gahrahn, author of Information Dissemination blog
http://www.informationdissemination.net/2010/09/i-spy-something-new.html#disqus_thread
14. Follow UpDay 2 of Deployment
The LINCOLN told fans they would open the page to allow fans to
post photos of the Sailors they were missing (page was previously
set to enable posts by administrators only)
The request was well received and many family members posted photos
of LINCOLN Sailors to the site
15. Summary
IMPORTANT: DO NOT NEGLECT TRADITIONAL TACTICS (i.e. Navy News
story, photos, and b-roll video submitted to Navy Visual). These
products are crucial for use by main stream media and for historic
value.
Best Practices:
Very timely updates, competing with local external coverage
Short video pieces, more successful and easy to share over social
media
Leadership engagement and communication directly with key
stakeholders
Producing and distributing content over multiple platforms
maximizes the reach of key messaging
Giving bloggers/reporters multimedia content that can be easily
shared
Un-edited and authentic simple video with emotional value
Recommendations:
Leverage traditional tactics first such as Navy News stories
and still images in addition to new media
16. Promote the idea prior to the day of delivery through
various channels to alert families, public, media of the PA shop
effort.
17. Stay in contact with blog readers and community members so
when the next big announcement is made, the community is already
active and engaged
18. Consider vlogs on a bi-monthly or weekly basis to keep fans
engaged and reminded of your channel.