Shrinking budgets and personnel shortages are a reality in Recruiting Command. Doing more with less is the new normal. 3rd Recruiting Brigade is moving forward with free.
Like it or not, social media is here to stay. While many of these social media sites are free, the cost to us is time. How do we manage social media and where is the balance point between making mission and engaging our market with this social media? This question will continue to be asked and discussed. One possibility, cross-command discussions and sharing of TTP's has always been more effective than trying to recreate the wheel. Stealing the idea from one of your Battle Buddies and tweaking it to fit your particular need, always seems to create the best synergy. Our target recruiting audience and their influencers are linked into social media of every form. We have to speak the language of our Future Soldiers and officers in order to effectively communicate our Army message.
Free and easy to use tech is available everywhere on the internet. 3rd Recruiting Brigade has found one such service, LIVESTREAM. LIVE STREAM allows a user to create a free, internet streaming audio/video event. Family and friends that what to see their Future Soldiers can create a free account and see, in real-time, their Future Soldiers in action. They also have the ability to text chat during the live event. This is another way to allow families to understand the training and preparation required to prepare these young men and women for basic training. This is ideal for families that are unable to attend but still want to see these events and their loved ones.
3re Brigade Recruiter, SSG Michael Biggs, Future Soldier manager at Preston Recruiting Station, is the first person in 3rd Recruiting Brigade to conduct a Future Soldier event live on the internet. "This live event is a first for me and will be easy to remember since this is also my first wedding anniversary."
Tech notes: This technology is not ideal for every venue. The Recruiter smartphones have limited bandwidth and battery life. Short (30 minutes or less) high visibility events such as swear in ceremonies or award presentations are best. With the free account, the video can be saved for 30 days or deleted immediately.
Final word: This capability allows anyone to see, real-time the way we act and interact with our public. Taking the time before an event to make sure that everyone knows that this is live, will go a long way in helping to avoid those uncomfortable moments that may be unfit for live broadcast.
Social Sharing