Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Doe, architect of 6th Brigade's Digital Recruiter Program
Fishing Where the Fish are: The Social Media Ocean
By Fonda Bock, USAREC, Public Affairs Office
Nov. 13, 2014
Love it or hate it, social media is the how U.S. Army Recruiting Command’s target market – Millennials - communicate. Success in reaching out to them means communicating their way.
For the last four months, Fresno Battalion digital recruiter Staff Sgt. Kevin Newell has been doing just that. By using a number of social media tools, Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and ZipRecruiter.com, recruiters have found qualified prospects.
“Today we’re using Twitter to generate awareness at a local high school,” said Newell. “We sent a news update to the school that a local recruiter would be out there to raffle off a skateboard and the school can announce it to the students.”
At Craigslist and ZipRecruiter.com, Newell posts different Army career opportunities. He has found that social media doesn’t just generate leads, but it also promotes community awareness.
“When you run into students in schools, they know more about us,” he said. “You don’t get that initial shock and they say, ‘Oh that’s the Army.’ They say, ‘Hey we’ve seen your stuff you’ve been posting on Facebook and it’s really interesting.’
Newell is one 42 digital recruiter NCOs at the company level in 6th Brigade. The program was implemented in July after training on how to recruit using social media.
“People spend about three hours a day on their phones and this is a way to reach them,” Newell said. “If they get approached indirectly through social media they will be more likely to talk, because they’ve had a chance to do some research online and it makes them more comfortable. When see them in person, they don’t always want to talk.”
The architect of the brigade’s Digital Recruiter Program is Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Doe.
“The digital recruiters’ job is to develop and maintain an integrated social media marketing plan for their company that increases lead generation, garners higher rates of senior contracts, higher Future Soldier retention rates, and better collaboration between recruiters and Army Reserve units,” said Doe. “Depending on their target market, they ensure a social media presence for each recruiting center.”
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the most popular sites, but they can vary from region to region, depending on what platforms have proven to be effective in a particular area. Social media can be used to network with the community, advertise job vacancies, motivate and spotlight Future Soldiers, generate leads and referrals, and cultivate a following in the community. The social media buzz can result in a higher propensity for enlistment.
“Social media has become the modern "word of mouth" and preferred method of communication for most of today's youth,” said Doe. “Reaction and conversion rate is much higher in blogs and social media when compared to mainstream sources. By providing proper training to recruiters and putting a strategy in place, we can use digital and social media to their full potential.”
Seattle Battalion Public Affairs specialist, Tom Conning said, “since we started tracking digital recruiting efforts throughout Seattle Battalion in July, our recruiters have reported a total of 2,003 contacts, 144 appointments and four contracts from Facebook prospecting, Craigslist ads and Career Builder postings. Digital recruiters have also conducted several mass texting campaigns and have reported one contract through those efforts."
A second round of training for 6th Brigade’s digital recruiters is scheduled for Dec. 2. Currently, only 6th Brigade has designated digital recruiters. Doe said plans are in the works to make digital recruiting an MOS available only to 79Rs.
By Fonda Bock, USAREC, Public Affairs Office
Nov. 13, 2014
Love it or hate it, social media is the how U.S. Army Recruiting Command’s target market – Millennials - communicate. Success in reaching out to them means communicating their way.
For the last four months, Fresno Battalion digital recruiter Staff Sgt. Kevin Newell has been doing just that. By using a number of social media tools, Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and ZipRecruiter.com, recruiters have found qualified prospects.
“Today we’re using Twitter to generate awareness at a local high school,” said Newell. “We sent a news update to the school that a local recruiter would be out there to raffle off a skateboard and the school can announce it to the students.”
At Craigslist and ZipRecruiter.com, Newell posts different Army career opportunities. He has found that social media doesn’t just generate leads, but it also promotes community awareness.
“When you run into students in schools, they know more about us,” he said. “You don’t get that initial shock and they say, ‘Oh that’s the Army.’ They say, ‘Hey we’ve seen your stuff you’ve been posting on Facebook and it’s really interesting.’
Newell is one 42 digital recruiter NCOs at the company level in 6th Brigade. The program was implemented in July after training on how to recruit using social media.
“People spend about three hours a day on their phones and this is a way to reach them,” Newell said. “If they get approached indirectly through social media they will be more likely to talk, because they’ve had a chance to do some research online and it makes them more comfortable. When see them in person, they don’t always want to talk.”
The architect of the brigade’s Digital Recruiter Program is Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Doe.
“The digital recruiters’ job is to develop and maintain an integrated social media marketing plan for their company that increases lead generation, garners higher rates of senior contracts, higher Future Soldier retention rates, and better collaboration between recruiters and Army Reserve units,” said Doe. “Depending on their target market, they ensure a social media presence for each recruiting center.”
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the most popular sites, but they can vary from region to region, depending on what platforms have proven to be effective in a particular area. Social media can be used to network with the community, advertise job vacancies, motivate and spotlight Future Soldiers, generate leads and referrals, and cultivate a following in the community. The social media buzz can result in a higher propensity for enlistment.
“Social media has become the modern "word of mouth" and preferred method of communication for most of today's youth,” said Doe. “Reaction and conversion rate is much higher in blogs and social media when compared to mainstream sources. By providing proper training to recruiters and putting a strategy in place, we can use digital and social media to their full potential.”
Seattle Battalion Public Affairs specialist, Tom Conning said, “since we started tracking digital recruiting efforts throughout Seattle Battalion in July, our recruiters have reported a total of 2,003 contacts, 144 appointments and four contracts from Facebook prospecting, Craigslist ads and Career Builder postings. Digital recruiters have also conducted several mass texting campaigns and have reported one contract through those efforts."
A second round of training for 6th Brigade’s digital recruiters is scheduled for Dec. 2. Currently, only 6th Brigade has designated digital recruiters. Doe said plans are in the works to make digital recruiting an MOS available only to 79Rs.
Sixth Brigade recruiters selected to be digital recruiters, trained this summer on how to use social media to find qualified prospects.