This week, we will be looking into a demographic that is going to be more and more critical for military communicators to reach: young Americans.
With the recent recruiting
crisis happening in this country caused by a lack of people signing up to join
the armed forces, young Americans will likely become a very important target audience
for military communicators to reach with content geared toward recruitment.
Because of this, it is important for us to understand
what kids are up to these days in terms of their involvement in media. In order
for military communicators to really reach kids these days, we will likely have
to do so through the internet.
Social media is the key to that process. Furthermore,
it is trending social media that is captivating kids these days.
According to a
survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2022, 67% of teens between
the ages of 13 and 17 said they used TikTok. For us military members, TikTok
has been banned because of the China element – the nation that created the
app. However, the premise of reaching young Americans remains the same, just with
different social media platforms.
According
to Pew Research Center, Generation Z are those born between 1997 and 2012.
This is the age bracket military communicators should be looking to reach in
order to share your branch of service to potentially increase recruitment.
While we want to spread our message to younger Americans,
it is also important to note that social media can be a troubling place for
this age group. The effects
of social media on children can be grave, ranging from depression to
anxiety and even suicidal thoughts.
With that being said, we do not want to be the messages
on social media that make children feel this way. We want to share what makes
the military special and unique. Many times, military communicators in the
realm of recruiting will resort to recruitment that boosts the travel benefits
or educational benefits. Those are two facets of the military that any young
American could latch onto. We certainly do not want to create content that
makes kids feel obsolete or insecure about joining the military. The military is
a family of service members, and that should be a major theme you touch on when
creating content that reaches young people for recruitment purposes.
Social media is a tool that can help us as military communicators.
It is the tool that can connect us to this younger generation of Americans.
But, as mentioned, some social media sites like TikTok are not authorized by
military members for official business. This means recruiters are not authorized
to use the app in order to reach potential recruits. For instance, the U.S.
Army was in hot water a few years ago over their recruiters
using the app to reach young Americans in order for them to enlist in their
branch.
If we cannot use TikTok, we still have plenty of options
as military recruiters to reach young Americans on social media. Sites like
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter are all viable options to post
recruitment content to.
But, before you do that, your chain of command will likely
have you forge a social media strategy or plan to make an effective campaign.
When you enter your social media strategy, a great
place to start is by identifying your purpose. For your unique military branch
and your specific unit within that branch, think about your goal, objective,
and audience as it relates to social media.
You should then create a social media content plan. You
need to identify what you are going to post. Remember that an incomplete plan
will only lead to a lack of focus in your social media content. If you are
trying to reach young people, you need to ensure you have this element of focus,
because young people are swarmed with so much content these days. That means
your content will need to stick out in order for them to engage with it!
Next, determine where you are going to post your content.
Sometimes Facebook is better than YouTube. Or sometimes posting to Instagram is
better than posting to Facebook or Twitter. It all depends on the type of
content you are creating and its purpose. It also depends on finding a platform
that will ultimately allow you to effectively communicate your message.
If you find yourself struggling to figure out where to
start with your social media content plan, here are six questions to ask
yourself:
1. What
type of content do you need to create?
2. How
can you best tell your unit’s story?
3. What
digital media best supports your content?
4. When
is the best time to post your content?
5. How
much do you want to invest in video content?
6. What
metrics should you be focusing on?
It is also important to note that you will have to
follow strict guidance on social media when maintaining your unit’s accounts.
The Department of Defense and the Coast Guard (under the Department of Homeland
Security) all have policies on social media. The DoD
Instruction 5400.17 is the Official Use of Social Media for Public Affairs
Purposes. There is also DoD
Instruction 5040.02, which deals with the ethics of visual information. Lastly,
DoD Instruction 8550.01, which deals with internet services and internet
capabilities.
Lastly, we will discuss the three types of capacities
for posting on social media as a military communicator.
The first category is known as “official” postings.
These types of postings are content posted by military personnel pertaining to
their official duty.
Next, we have what is known as “unofficial” postings.
This is content about the military posted by military personnel when not
speaking in the official capacity. These posts are not officiated by their branch
of service or reviewed by any military members. Thus, if you are a military
member and post about the military on your personal accounts, you are
exhibiting an unofficial post.
Thirdly, we have what is known was personal content
postings, which are similar to unofficial but still different. A personal post refers
to content posted where you are not speaking as a military member and the
military is not the subject.
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