1. USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN Deploys
Video Blogs
Social Media Snapshot

2. Overview USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) invested significant effort into telling their story via social media Sept. 7 as they left homeport for a scheduled deployment. The online coverage spread throughout Navy channels and external social media sites.

3. NavyLive BlogCommander, Carrier Strike Group 9 signs on to become a regular vlogger throughout their deployment
RDML Guadagnini, Commander, Carrier Strike Group 9, chose to participate on the Navys blog NavyLive www.navy.mil/blog on a periodic basis by video
He has created a direct channel through which to discuss CSG 9 throughout the deployment
This message is pushed through the blog as well as multiple Facebook pages and Twitter.
Sometimes people get wrapped around the axle and think the Navy business is very complicated and difficult. I hope to explain that its pretty easy to excel in this exciting, fun, and fulfilling life style. RDML Guadagnini, Commander, Carrier Strike Group 9 on what he hopes to achieve from his monthly video blog on NavyLive

4. USS Abraham Lincoln Facebook PageThe media team aboard LINCOLN recorded and immediately posted short video pieces throughout the day showcasing their deployment in short, near-real-time video pieces.
Posted 12 short unedited quick interview videos ranging from 12 seconds to 1 minute and 12 seconds.
This type of communication took minimal planning, required only basic MC knowledge and was credible and effective.

5. How did USS Abraham Lincoln do it? Facebook near-real-time video logistics
People:
3 teams of 2 people each
2 people staged in the media office solely to upload to Facebook
Equipment (each team had):
Point and shoot camera
Extra SD cards (so they could run the card down to media dept for uploading, while reloading the camera with another card)
CDs to burn the videos for transfer to LAN computers
Mission: Create 2 or 3 videos every half hour
Time Frame: ~3 hours, from 0730-1100 when bandwidth was at its best
Video requirements (to enable upload with bandwidth constraints):
Low Res
30-120 seconds in length
LINCOLN werent exactly live due to access issues, but LINCOLN posted videos as quickly as possible (If you have access to Skype or Google Talk, you could test out a live broadcast)
On the same day, LINCOLN also had 2 people with HD video recording for the Boat Show and 3 people taking stills, so LINCOLN maxed out the media department for a few hours to accomplish everything.

6. Why video? Isnt that more work?
No! Video is actually faster according to the Lincoln PAO
Theres no way I could have gotten12 news stories writtenin 3 hours, but I can do 12 videos in 3 hours. In fact, we recorded about 20 videos total, but only used 12.
ADDED VALUE: Most of the Lincoln Facebook fans are not from the local area. Fans are mostly family members, many of whom have never been on a shipthey want to see it, not read about it.
MEASURABLE RESULTS: Our mileage was obviously measurable, enabling us to view in real time all the feedback from our viewers. Each post generated hundreds of "likes" and comments, many within the first 5-10 minutes of posting. - MCC Huval

7. ResultsReaching Stakeholders
Facebook
40-60,000 impressions
11-16,000 views per video
700+ new Facebook fans in 5 days
Positive , encouraging and engaging comments from fans including many family members
Vlog
~150 views on NavyLive
438 views on YouTube

8. ResultsReaching Stakeholders by leveraging the Navy network
By coordinating and alerting other Public Affairs Officers they were able to maximize exposure over Facebook through tagging other related pages and getting messages promoted by other page administrators.
By being able to link each post to other Navy FB pages simultaneously was another huge benefit and further saturated our audience.
- MCC Huval, LINCOLNs Media Department

9. ResultsMedia Coverage
Over 100 news stories and social media posts about the USS Lincoln deployment

10. ResultsExternal Social Media Coverage

• Unaffiliated Navy blogger posts a blog Sep. 8 discussing Rear Adm. Guadagninis vlog
• 11. The blog implies that the author will continue to watch the upcoming vlogs posted by Commander, Carrier Strike Group 9
• 12. As a result of this blog and the associated tweets that the author releases promoting his blog, Rear Adm. Guadagninis post is distributed to an even wider audience
• 13. There were 6 comments within the first 24 hours of the bloggers posting.

By the way, well done to Pacific Fleet folks who have figured out how to saturate the planet with news the USS Abraham Lincoln is deploying. I can't tell what the message strategy is, but the tactics have been effective in saturating the internet with the activity of the deployment itself.
Gahrahn, author of Information Dissemination blog
http://www.informationdissemination.net/2010/09/i-spy-something-new.html#disqus_thread

14. Follow UpDay 2 of Deployment
The LINCOLN told fans they would open the page to allow fans to post photos of the Sailors they were missing (page was previously set to enable posts by administrators only)
The request was well received and many family members posted photos of LINCOLN Sailors to the site

15. Summary
IMPORTANT: DO NOT NEGLECT TRADITIONAL TACTICS (i.e. Navy News story, photos, and b-roll video submitted to Navy Visual). These products are crucial for use by main stream media and for historic value.
Best Practices:
Very timely updates, competing with local external coverage
Short video pieces, more successful and easy to share over social media
Leadership engagement and communication directly with key stakeholders
Producing and distributing content over multiple platforms maximizes the reach of key messaging
Giving bloggers/reporters multimedia content that can be easily shared
Un-edited and authentic simple video with emotional value
Recommendations:

• Leverage traditional tactics first such as Navy News stories and still images in addition to new media
• 16. Promote the idea prior to the day of delivery through various channels to alert families, public, media of the PA shop effort.
• 17. Stay in contact with blog readers and community members so when the next big announcement is made, the community is already active and engaged
• 18. Consider vlogs on a bi-monthly or weekly basis to keep fans engaged and reminded of your channel.