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I’m always on the look out for great examples of Social Media in action.  This week I came across the US Air Force’s social media presence.

Spurred on by the fact that Al Qaeda have a huge web presence the US Air Force is definitely making an effort to move with the times.  In November 2007 the Secretary of Defence stated  “It is just plain embarrassing that Al Qaeda is better at communicating it’s message on the internet than America”.  One foreign diplomat also asked a couple of years ago: “How has one man in a cave managed to out communicate the worlds greatest communication society?”

You can feel their pain and I think many people and organizations large and small are on the back foot when it comes to knowing just how to get started with their online communications strategy!

Having now set up a dedicated Emerging Technology the US Air Force are embracing the digital world.

Far from being a closed agency they’re proactively using Twitter & Web 2.0 applications &  are encouraging staff to participate online as a way to actively engage the general public.

Here are some of the things that they’re doing well:

Twitter
Using the Twitter ID @AFPAA they’ve built up over 3,000 followers. They have a branded Twitter page that cross promotes their other online activity with links through to their website, blog and YouTube presence. They post regularly and cater to a large audience with their variety of Tweets.

US Air Force Twitter Example

YouTube
They’ve set up their own YouTube channel and branded it ‘Air Force Blue Tube’.  They keep content fresh by regularly uploading new videos and also use the channel to cross promote their Facebook profile, Second Life presence & blog.  I don’t see any mention of Twitter on here yet, I’m sure that’s on their to do list.

Example of YouTube Channel for US Air Force

Widgets & Podcasts
The Air Force have set up a news widget that encourages people to share their content and drive visitors back to their websites.  Smart.

They also have several regular Podcasts that include news and information about the Air Force, its people, programs and missions.

Counter-blogging
A great strategy - the Air Force encourage staff to get out there and comment on blogs that speak negatively about them or the government.

Being a government agency they obviously have heightened concerns about safety and security online.  As such they’ve built up clear guidelines for staff to follow and have a detailed blog assessment chart that empowers staff  to make their own decisions on how to react to posts in the blogosphere.

This is a fantastic tool.  If you deal with similar decisions in your workplace I recommend taking a look at this with a view of adapting it to suit your situation.

Blog Response Assessment Chart

If you’re not already engaging with your customers and the public online, this should give you some encouragement.  I understand that many organizations continue to struggle with the decision to join in social media conversations but the reality is that people are already talking about you online whether you like it or not and the opportunity to be involved  in conversations about your brand  is too valuable to pass up.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 26th, 2009 at 8:25 pm and is filed under Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.