Presented at the Texas Military Forces Public Affairs Conference in Austin, TX at Camp Mabry

1. Social Media – Why and why not?
LTC Jonathan Pettit
Public Affairs Officer
Joint Force Headquarters

2. Disclaimer
 Please read all instructions and warnings before use. Must be 18
years of age or older to proceed further. Enter at your own risk. Do
not enter. Stop here on red. Hostess will seat you. Trucks over 4
tons excluded. Void where prohibited by law. Some assembly
required. List each check separately by bank number. Batteries not
included. Contents may settle during shipment. Any resemblance
to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Use only as
directed. For indoor or outdoor use only. Wearing of this garment
does not enable you to fly. We make no other
warranties, expressed or implied. Do not use while operating a
motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Postage will be paid by
addressee. Postal service will not deliver mail without postage. No
postage necessary if mailed in the United States. Subject to CAB
approval. This is not an offer to sell securities. May be too intense
for some viewers. See other side for additional listings. This
product is meant for educational purposes only. For recreational
use only. For office use only. For entertainment purposes only.
Only 1 winner per household. Do not disturb. All models are over
18 years of age. Apply only to infected areas. If condition

3. The
average
Facebook
users Source:
spends 20 Infographi
minutes on c Labs
the site per
visit. Fifty-
three
percent of
users are
female, 43
percent
male. There
are 2.7
billion “likes”
every day.

4. Why social media?
 Immediate vehicle for “viral” information
 Instant communication
 Immediate response
 Direct engagement with followers
 Very inexpensive advertising
 Customer service and interaction
 Drive them to the website
 It’s expected!

5. TXMF – How do we
communicate?
 The Dispatch – monthly
 Websites
 Various social media
 Do we Facebook or tweet about posted stories?
 Cross fertilization with other units
 Coordinated effort
 We want to drive people to our stories
 How should we communicate?

6. Basic Guidance
 Good news story for your unit – unit commander
 Public information release authority is still at State
PAO
 Agency story – leave to the agency
 “Stay focused on your lane”
 Retweets or reposts are acceptable (and good)
 If there’s a question about a release, ask for
approval

7. Social Media Explained

8. The Big Ones
 Facebook
 Twitter
 Linked In
 You Tube
 Flickr
 Who has each of these?
 Personal or unit?

9. The Plan
 Have a social media plan
 Many social media sites often fade away with
disuse
 Think about
 Audience
 Messaging
 Frequency
 Organizations
 Needs

10. Audience
 Potential recruits
 Current soldiers & airmen
 Retirees
 Families of soldiers & airmen
 Media
 Legislative / governor’s office / local leaders
 Emergency response personnel (first responders)

11. Messaging
 Crisis / emergency SITREPs – communications
 Recruiting
 PR / PA for events, such as American Heroes
Celebration, Octoberfest, Veteran’s Day Run, Blue
Santa, etc.
 “The Dispatch” notification and where it’s posted
 Traditional media story notification – any article
published by local, regional, or national media should
be posted
 ESGR – stories about companies that support the
National Guard
 FRG – information notifications, seems like there are
a couple of these a week (family programs, sports
tickets, deals, etc.)
 Command Information – current messaging, public
statements

12. Frequency
 Responsive – though much of the response will
be by the audience via comments, other NG
states say that support requirements has been
minimal
 Drive to the website or other applicable site –we
want messaging to make fans go and check out
the website (or YouTube, etc.)
 Minimum of once / day – 2-3 is probably
better, but other organizations count
 Message relating to a NG family once / week

13. Organizations - References
 PAO
 Recruiting
 ESGR
 FRG
 JOC (OPSEC monitoring)
 Texas Military Forces Museum
 NGB
 Other state agencies
 Who else needs to know?

14. Details
 Need a contact list for escalation
 Need a list maintained who has admin access to
account (limit to 2-4)
 Q&A / FAQs
 If you know the answer, answer the question; if
you are not sure, then contact someone from the
POC list
 Get the truth out – faster

15. Needs
 Opt- in (the audience chooses you) – they will
drop you if you are not meaningful
 Interesting
 Relevant
 Topical
 Responsive
 To the point
 Fun / Entertaining

16. Writing
 Keep it short and to the point
 It’s not a press release
 Keep it fun, but professional
 Connect with your audience
 Avoid social media (texting) slang
 Don’t be too promotional
 Edit and proofread
From Social Media Roundup, www.us.army.mil, 7 Tips for Better Social Media Writing

18. Crisis Communication
 Twitter / Facebook
 Expect websites to go down due to overload
 “Get the truth out there first”
 Be quick, be helpful, be open
 Rules of thumb
 Acknowledge the problem
 Talk about what you are doing
 Tell the public what they should be doing
 Tell them what you are doing next
 “Bad news doesn’t get better over time”

19. Best Practices – Message Mix
 Family story
 Soldier’s story
 Anniversary stories (this time in history)
 Command messages
 Military deals / specials
 What’s another message type?

20. Rules of Engagement
 Be transparent
 Be judicious
 Write what you know
 Perception is reality
 It’s a conversation
 Are you adding value
 Your responsibility
 Create some excitement
 Be a leader
 Be professional regardless of the medium
 Did you screw up? Apologize
 If it gives you pause, pause

21. Risks Associated with Social
Media
 Permanence
 Social media comments and conversations are
“official”
 Perception is reality
 Some mistakes give credibility
 You are never “off duty”
 Select your administrators carefully

22. Public Posting Rules
 Poster expectations / rules to the public
 Terms of use
DRAFT

23. Resources
 Manpower – 1 FTE?
 Best with 2-4 administrators
 Cost
 Equipment
 Policies & procedures
 “Care and feeding” of social media

25. Conclusion
 Start brain before mouth (tweet)
 Is it something you would tell your mother or
sister
 Read what you wrote before you post
 Timeliness is key
 Listen to the audience
 Balance “fun” with “mediocre”

26. Where can you find us?
 www.txmf.us/
 twitter.com/#!/TXMilitaryForce
 www.facebook.com/TexasMilitaryForces
 www.flickr.com/photos/texasmilitaryforces/
 www.youtube.com/TexasMilitaryForces