SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

BLOGGER RELATIONSApril 16, 2010

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Are these DVs?Is this a journalist?

Blogger Embark 2009Blogger Embark 2009

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Engaging with media, bloggers and the local community can be greatly enhanced with the use of social media

• It is increasingly difficult to distinguish between media, citizen journalists and bloggers

• As public affairs officers we need to recognize each of those groups’ important role in the public affairs ecosystem

Social media can help you:• Inform, engage and energize these groups• Organize people in those groups to make in-person connections at DVs,

media embarks, blogger embarks, family cruises, homecomings, Navy weeks and other community events

• Maintain relationships after in-person events

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Two Types of Bloggers in this World

Milbloggers• Treat milbloggers as

media• Knowledge level and

types of posts more akin to a Navy Times reporter

Bloggers not Familiar with the military

• Treat as DVs• Many have little

connection to the military

Connectivity for bloggers is critical. Unlike media with filing deadlines, bloggers live in the medium and they, and we, benefit from maximum connectivity.

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Since You Know How to Embark Military Reporters …

Let’s Focus on the Bloggers not Familiar with the Navy.

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

It is like a DV embark …

Only the experience is live-streamed

to the entire world. No, we’re not kidding.

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

1. Identify & invite bloggers2. Prepare them for ship life3. Make embark fun & informative4. Follow-up and thank for

participation via your social media presences!

1. Identify & invite DVs2. Prepare them for ship life3. Make embark fun & informative4. Follow-up and thank for

participation via your social media presences!

Set Up Blogger Embarks Just Like DVsDVs

Bloggers

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Tips for Blogger Embarks– Look for bloggers and those active on social media within your community

and beyond. • Does the blogger reach a unique audience you have yet to tap? • Determine a hook and make the pitch. • What will the blogger get out of the embark?

– Provide information about the ship (including links) in advance, designate hashtag (e.g. #NimitzEmbark) for group, set up a Twitter list to promote , communicate potential Internet access issues while underway– Encourage photo, video, audio capture at appropriate times; notify attendees if there are times where recording is not allowed– Follow up with post-embark e-mail, encourage them to share their media products and blog posts with you so you can share them with your fans/followers. Continue the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other platforms– Ask for feedback about improving experience and best part

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Best Practices for Blogger Embarks• Invite bloggers that know each other or would like to meet to foster conversation• Encourage bloggers to invite others• Offer opportunities for great visuals• Read their blogs ahead of time, know what they care about• Set expectations, much like you do for media and DVs: wear comfortable shoes, bring sunscreen etc. • Have info for them on Navy presence in social media • Make sure your Web sites, Facebook pages etc. are up-to-date• Everything recorded can and will be shared online instantly• The unfiltered perspective bloggers offer lends to a more authentic and credible

presentation of your command

MAKE IT FUN!

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Case Study 1Navy Region Hawaii PAO suggested a group of bloggers

hold a “tweet up” during a Family Cruise aboard USS Chung-Hoon

Results– 7 bloggers attended (combined Twitter following over 4,000)– 49 tweets about event with hashtag #808MilTweeps– 4 blog posts with a total of 75 comments– Content was excited and informed– Amazing photos captured, 150+ views between 2 albums– Built relationship with local community by seeing a need that they could fill while being relevant to the ship’s mission– Raised awareness about the USS Chung-Hoon, Navy Region Hawaii and the

Navy’s mission overall

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Case study 2: Blogger embark in May 2009 on USS Nimitz hosted high-profile bloggers garnering extensive coverage

• USS Nimitz hosted high-profile bloggers in May 2009• Reached ~300K Twitter users through the bloggers Twitter accounts

alone (total number of combined followers of bloggers in attendance)• Robert Scoble's 142 photos and 5 HD videos on Flickr have received

more than 4,000 views:http://www.flickr.com/photos/scobleizer/sets/72157619022982454/

• Guy Kawasaki's lengthy post on the embark. Guy has one of the most widely read blogs on the Internet, with tens of thousands of daily readers:http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2009/06/24-hours-at-sea-on-the-uss-nimitz.html

• Jennifer Van Grove, a young writer for the most prominent social media blog on the Internet (Mashable.com), posted an emotional video recap immediately after the trip:http://jennlive.jennifervangrove.com/post/115538496/bloggers-embark

• The social media editor of LA Times has discussed the embark on Twitter, posted photos on Flickr and linked to the other bloggers' content via Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/adnystrom

• Neptunus Lex, a former naval aviator and blogger, wrote 4 lengthy and knowledgeable posts on the embark so far, and the other bloggers have linked to his posts:http://www.neptunuslex.com/2009/06/01/the-embark/

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Need help organizing a blogger embark? Having difficulty determining who you should invite? Call us!

LT Lesley LykinsDeputy, Emerging Media Integration CHINFOlesley.lykins@navy.mil(O)703-695-6915

CDR Scott McIlnay, APRDirector, Emerging Media Integration CHINFOscott.mcilnay@navy.mil(O)703-692-4718