As a special one-off and part of our ongoing #Trends series, #SMChat in on October 10th at 1pm ET / 6pm UK will look at the topic of Social Media in the Defence and Military sector. The chat will be hosted by i3 Gen Ltd, led by @PaulEllisUK, one of the original #SMChat founders and @Ric_Cole.
It’s a little over two months until SMi’s Social Media in the Defence and Military conference on 28th – 29th November in London. There is an impressive line up of speakers covering a wide agenda from looking at Social Media use for Recruitment, Retention and Engagement with Home Audiences as well as how Strategic Communications supports Exercises and Operations that looks at the rise of disinformation, Hybrid Warfare and Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE).
i3 Gen recently published a review of RAND Corporation’s 2016 US InfoOps research report ‘Dominating Duffer’s Domain’ in which we considered the first 13 lessons through the perspective of Digital and Social Media. Building on that article and in preparation for the conference, we thought it would be interesting to discuss some core questions around Social Media use in and by defence sector organisations, both military and civilian.
We are seeing an increasing maturity and acceptance of the role of Social Media in Defence. The British Army recently published updated Guidance on Social Media use for all ranks. This guide was well written and widely welcomed throughout the British Army and wider. Whilst this is encouraging, it also brings to the forefront additional considerations around training, support, and of course security.
During the Twitter chat we would like to gather viewpoints and discuss the following questions:
Q1. How do you think social media should be used in the Military and Defence Sector today?
Q2. The use of ‘Story-telling’ structures and techniques are key to audience engagement. What are the best ways to tell stories with Social Media, considering the limited space for content?
Q3. Social Media is a fast moving, dynamic and often reactive environment. How can we balance the need to be timely with the permissions and approval authority requirements of our organisations, Military or Corporate?
Q4. Social Media has been used to develop false narratives and influence through the use of Imposter Accounts, Misinformation / Disinformation and deliberate trolling. How can we detect and handle fake Social Media?
— If time allows we will cover these ‘bonus’ questions.
Q5. What are some recent examples of good use of #MilSocialMedia?
Q6. What key questions would you like to see covered at the #MilSocialMedia conference?
To participate in the live Twitter Chat, just search for #SMChat or #MilSocialMedia on 10th October and we will kick-off at 1pm (13:00) ET / 6pm (18:00) UK Time.
To join in during the chat, please use A1. , A2. , A3. Etc at the start of your tweet and use the hashtags #SMChat #MilSocialMedia – we will then be able to create a transcript and share after the event.
If you have more questions you want answering or insights that will take more than 280 characters, or perhaps fear you won’t be able to make the chat but want your voice heard? Then please leave a comment below!
#SMCHAT 
Chris Jones
October 9, 2018
Paul, this is an outstanding frame. As I shared in my tweet on this topic, there are many elements in play for Defense and the Military that are important in the business world as well. Story. Engagement. Appropriate Use (approvals). And the major topic de jour, Truth.
As your military cadre explores implications for the armed forces in the UK and around the world, I hope we can touch on cross-over business impacts too.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s chat, 1pmEDT-US, 5pmUTC/GMT, 6pmUK, 7pmCET.
Chris aka @sourcepov
LikeLiked by 1 person
Paul Ellis (@PaulEllisUK)
October 9, 2018
Chris, thanks for your comments. Without a doubt there is more that is shared then is different when we consider Social Media and more broadly Digital Marketing in Defence and Corporate worlds.
The military readily acknowledges the expertise and seeks to learn from the corporate world, and I find that many commercial organisations appreciate the disciplined, planned approach that underpins the military worldview.
The chat tomorrow will, I hope, provide a good opportunity for sharing these experiences and views from both domains.
To your point on Truth — this is key for all communities; our values are demonstrated by our behaviours, and we should always seek to behave online as we would in physical, face to face situations.
We are looking forward to moderating tomorrow afternoon and are keen to hear from many contributors.
Cheers
Paul @paulellisuk
LikeLiked by 1 person
John W Lewis
October 10, 2018
The transcript of the conversation during this chat is available here: https://socialmediachat.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/transcript-of-smchat-or-milsocialmedia-2018-10-10.pdf
LikeLike