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Adm. Mullen Releases Social-Media Strategy

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Mike_MullenChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen has released his social-media strategy, which details goals of increasing interaction with Twitter and Facebook followers and identifying new social-media platforms to use.

Mullen started using Twitter in April 2009 and has since opened accounts at Facebook, YouTube, iTunes and Flickr, and launched the Chairman’s Corner Blog. Recognizing there is room for improvement in his social-media efforts, Mullen and his Office of Public Affairs have created a 2010 plan to make the most out of the new media.

The Chairman’s 2010 Social Media Strategy outlines four goals to achieve in the next six to 12 months, which include engaging with followers, assimilating social-media content creation into existing Joint Staff processes and products, leading the discussion and focusing questions through social media, and expanding the online audience.

To better engage with followers on Facebook and the Chairman’s Corner blog, the director of social media and the outreach staff will create professional Facebook profiles (Rick at the Joint Staff) that identifies them as Mullen’s representatives. A FAQs page will be built on JCS.mil to cut down on the number of queries that come in. To further interact with the public, the plan suggests using Facebook Chats where a public affairs officer or subject matter expert will answer questions for an hour on the site.

The plan further states that Mullen’s goal should be to send two Tweets a month about books he is reading, leisure activity on the weekend, or some other topic not related to work. By developing a video capability, it will be possible to show short behind-the-scenes clips that allow allowing the public to virtually embed with the chairman. These clips could also be used to conduct outreach events with schools and organizations that send questions over social media  at the conclusion of the event or trip.

The strategy also sets goals for expanding and improving site traffic for the Joint Staff Website, increasing Mullen’s Twitter followers and Facebook fans, and upping iTunes downloads, Flickr picture views and Chairman’s Corner views. According to the plan, achieving these goals will require continued promotion of the sites and posting of viral or newsworthy content. It will also require Mullen to mention his online presence during All Hands Calls and incorporate them into appropriate speeches.

The social media director will also work to identify new or emerging platforms to create a presence for the chairman and the Joint Staff by providing social media business cards at all events as a source of more information. Aides, speech writers, and personal assistants will send emails explaining CJCS online presence during coordination for events and request distribution to the audience. The strategy also mentions advertising JCS.mil on Info Link Kiosks and flat-screen picture displays in the Pentagon as means of reaching more people.

All the goals will be included on the monthly Social Media Statistics in order to monitor progress over the next half-year. The Chairman’s Public Affairs Office will conduct a review of the four goals and adjust the corresponding objectives in September 2010.

3 Comments

  1. Social media business cards are brilliant! They are cheaper and of course much better for the environment. That’s probably why a government official’s social media director is to make good use of them. Two tweets a month sounds like the extreme bare minimum for updating your social media. How long does it take to write 140 characters? I don’t think Adm. Muller desires to be on board with this social media strategy, which is why the number of tweets per month is so low. Adm. Muller would probably not ever use social media unless it was such a big part of daily lives now. However, the Chairman’s 2010 Social Media Strategy is a good example for other businesses to follow in meeting some of the requirements for social media upkeep.

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