British Army to add social networking to site

British Army to add social networking to site

This week’s UK Marketing magazine covers the forthcoming relaunch of the British Army website, which will for the first time include social networking features (also available online, subscription only).
The site will feature social networking features such as blogs, message boards, pictures and video.

The new-look Army portal will house a microsite dedicated to each of its units…the idea is to give members of the public and potential recruits a glimpse into what life is like in the Army.

The interesting aspect of this is that the Army will for the first time be using content generated organically by employees as a marketing tool. Soldiers will be using the social networking features to create their own blogs or spaces, which strikes me as a great internal communications tool.
This content will then serve a second purpose to show people in the outside world what it’s really like in to be in the Army.
To let go of the marketing reins in this way is a brave move, but definitely to be applauded.
Using your employees to be your recruitment drive helps provide a genuine and more credible message about what it’s really like to work in an organisation.
I look forward to seeing the site when it launches. The site is being developed by Grand Union, through COI. I interviewed Jamie Galloway from COI earlier this year.

About SIMON

I work as a fractional Chief Operating Officer (COO), consultant and advisor. I created the B3 framework® for company building and I also write a newsletter called Build for leaders who care about creating resilient and sustainable businesses.