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NCVS Strategic Plan:

Social Media Campaign

Carissa Flinders, Jessica Salaz, Jessica Beck, Ellie Briggs

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Appendix

Slideshow Preview

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Background

Page 10

Situation Analysis

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Core Problem

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Goals and Objectives

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Key Publics

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Strategies and Tactics

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Calendar

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Budget

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1.

Background
Primary Research

For our primary research, we conducted a survey. We surveyed a sample of 60 veterans and
60 non-veterans, who are involved with The National Center for Veterans Studies, the ROTC, or
are family and friends. We asked questions regarding social media use, the NCVS, and veteran
issues.
In our research, we found that only 60 percent of veterans have heard of The National Center
for Veterans Studies. The majority of veterans, 68 percent, think it would be very useful to learn
techniques to help deal with PTSD, but only 20 percent of them know what resources are
available to them. Over 58 percent of veterans sought help for military related issues, and the
majority,41 percent, only found that help somewhat effective.
For social media, 88 percent of veterans use Facebook the most and the idea of connecting
with other veterans through social media appealed to 80 percent of the veterans, which is a
large majority. While using social media, 52 percent of veterans say that a picture grabs their
attention the most, followed by a video at 41 percent. Another large majority, 84 percent, would
be likely to seek help from a center they saw on social media.
In researching non-veterans it was found that a large majority, 92 percent, know a veteran, but
67 percent have not heard of the National Center for Veterans Studies. We also found that a
large majority of non-veterans said that they were interested in veteran issues because they had
a personal connection to a veteran or to a story about a veteran. Of the non-veterans, 85
percent of them know of someone who has committed suicide.
For social media use with non-veterans, we found that 67 percent said that social media is the
form of media that they would pay the most attention to. Almost all non-veterans (96 percent)
are involved in social media. Just like veterans, non-veterans, at 46 percent, said that a picture
would grab their attention the most on social media, followed by video (41 percent). Another
thing that we found paralleled with the veteran study is that the majority, 70 percent, use
Facebook more than any other social media platform.
Secondary Research
In our research, we have found that the NCVS has no real direct competitors. However, we
found 3 competitors who we feel are in the same arena and are competing for the same
resources, such as donations and facility space. These competitors are:
The Veterans Crisis Hotline
The Veterans Crisis Hotline is committed to reducing Veteran
suicide and offers a network of support for all Veterans and their families and
friends.

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The Veterans Crisis Hotline connects Veterans in crisis and their

families and friends with qualified VA responders through a confidential, toll-free
hotline, online chat, and text-messaging service.
Center for Innovation and Research on Military Veterans (CIR)
Through education and training, innovation, research and
partnerships, CIR bridges the gap between military and civilian communities.
The goal of CIR is to enhance the visibility and impact of research,
education and outreach to inform decision-makers on policy issues affecting
veterans and their families.
Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF)
The mission of the IVMF is to fully leverage the intellectual, human
and social capital of higher education, in service to Americas veterans and their
families.
The institute develops education and employment-focused
programs in collaboration with industry, government, NGOs and the veteran
community, to address the primary economic and public policy concerns of the
nations servicemen and women, and their families.

After researching and finding competitors who are in the same arena as the NCVS, we found a
program who we do not see as a competitor but as a future partner. That future partner is:

National Guards Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP)

The YRRP focuses on all 4 stages of deployment: Pre
Deployment, Deployment, Demobilization, and Post Deployment.
They work with Federal partners and local service providers to
make sure Veterans and their families are aware of the help that is out there. The
help they provide includes:
Financial Counseling
Substance Abuse Awareness and Counterdrug
Programs
Safety Awareness
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Awareness
Emotional, Psychological and Behavioral Services
Employment Issues

While looking at The Veteran Crisis Hotline, Center for Innovation and Research on Military
Veterans (CIR), and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) we found they all
have a strong social media presence. Their websites were well organized, easy to navigate, and
clearly showcased their mission and objectives. All of their websites provided links to a variety of
social media networks, where they post on a daily basis.

The Veteran Crisis Hotline:

Recently developed a social media campaign during suicide
prevention month. They focused on a hashtag, #ThePowerOf1Conversation.
They posted this hashtag on videos, tweets, Facebook, and other social media
outlets. They wanted to raise awareness and help people realize one
conversation can save a life.

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They had links on their website to each of their social media
pages where they post frequently.
Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube
They have a number of videos dedicated to suicide prevention
and showing veterans/families how to get help
http://veteranscrisisline.net/Resources/Videos.aspx
http://maketheconnection.net/

Center for Innovation and Research on Military Veterans (CIR)

CIR has a great website that makes sure to highlight all of their
media coverage, current projects, and events.
News: http://cir.usc.edu/newsroom/in-the-media
Post multiple times a month, featured in journals,
news, and other media outlets which brings them recognition.
Events: Host events to help veterans and families.
Ex: There and Back: From Captivity to Leadership
The Diverse experiences of Military Spouses
Many Voices, One Vision
Social Media
FaceBook and Twitter have direct links on their
website. You can view what they are posting and talking about daily.
Video
They have multiple videos to help share their
mission and attract awareness.

Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF)

News: http://vets.syr.edu/news/
They Post at least twice a month.
Social Media:
Vetnet: They helped create it to help Veterans
transition from military service to civilian life.
Single Place to Start
Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn,
Flickr
Widely connected which brings them a lot of traffic
and recognition.

Another aspect we researched was funding, which is a difficulty that is chronically faced by
many non-profit organizations or startup companies. The National Center for Veterans Studies
is currently facing this problem. Although generous donations of large sums of money are
favorable, we are limited at this time by what we can provide.
According to an article found on the USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and
Families website, it is possible and profitable to start out small when searching for donations.
The article states that it is advisable to explore forms of support from private donations,
businesses, and philanthropic donors. These private sources of funding offer support for

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innovation, extension, and communicating research. This will in turn catch the eyes of larger
donors willing to support the extended research and findings. The article warns against relying
on public donations stating that they are very restricted in terms of use and the gift of
philanthropic dollars is they can be applied more broadly. Instead of focusing on large
donations and getting discouraged if they are not attainable, newer organizations should focus
on smaller donations that can be used to continually build the product so it will be at its optimal
level when noticed by a large donor.
The article also suggests that there is an increased interest by private organizations in
supporting research on military-related issues. To set an organization apart from others
competing for the same limited funding, the product/program should be focused on the
community and how it will help and support it. Organizations are hesitant to throw money at
something if it does not show improvement to bigger issues and problems faced by the
community.
The research we have done shows a positive take on the limited amount of funding available to
us and Dr. Bryans program at the time. Philanthropic support is strong, especially towards
military-related issues. We also have a product that will greatly benefit the community and
society as a whole, which will inturn draw many donors that would enjoy supporting a good
cause and good research.
2.

Situation Analysis

Over the past month, the current situation the NCVS is in has been analyzed. It was noticed that
although NCVS receives some funding and donations, it is not enough to run the center
efficiently. NCVS is in need of donations and funding from both small donors and large donors.
Since NCVS is not receiving enough donations, they are lacking resources in general. In order
to run the center smoothly, they also need a larger office space so they can meet with with more
clients and house more employees. NCVS is currently short on employees, therefore lacking
the amount of help that they need to run the center smoothly. The lack of employees has
caused marketing, social media, and other projects to fall by the wayside. NCVS is also
constantly producing valuable research that can help veterans and other organizations.
However, their research is not always being heard and seen by those who need it. Research
found there are many organizations and centers that are more widely recognized, and therefore
receive more funding. These other organizations are more recognized because of their social
media presence. We currently live in a virtual world. It is crucial to develop a strong social media
platform in order to gain recognition, and market a business. One way to gain recognition is to
develop a campaign to help jump start their social media and attract awareness about who they
are and what they stand for. In turn they will receive attention that will bring them more funding
and greater resources.
3. Core Problem
The core problem with the NCVS product is there is not have enough recognition and attention.
The National Center for Veterans Studies is not as widely known and recognized as it could and
should be. This is due to lack of sufficient funding, lack of staff/employees/interns, and lack of

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time and effort spent on promoting. We see a large problem in NCVS absence in the social
media world. Underutilizing the most popular and effective media source plays a large part in
the lack of recognition. Many of NCVS competitors utilize and have a large following on social
media. We feel that utilizing and becoming more prominent on social media will increase
donations, raise awareness on veteran issues, and is a great way to promote NCVS.
4.

Goals and Objectives

Jumpstart the NCVS social media by creating a campaign to raise awareness and recognition of
NCVS, increase followers/traffic to the multiple social media platforms, develop a hashtag to
unify NCVS goal, and establish interns to manage all social media sites.
5.

Key publics

Through social media we plan to target veterans and non-veterans age 18 and above. As nonveterans and veterans hear about the National Center for Veteran Studies, the center will
continue to grow and receive more recognition. It is crucial for them to gain more followers and
supporters through social media in order to get funding, continue their research, and most
importantly, help veterans.
6. Strategies and Tactics
Pre-Campaign Work
Hire intern to assist in social media campaign by 2/2/15
Prep for social media campaign
Start contacting veterans
Prepare #LifeWorthLiving stories
Verify Facebook page
Contact Businesses for donations
Prepare presentation
Make the call!
$1.00 for every story shared using #LifeWorthLiving
on veterans personal Facebook page
Find additional topics to post about
Statistics/facts about veterans and suicide
Current research by NCVS
Share news stories about veterans
Share pictures/videos about veterans
Posts teasing/promoting #LifeWorthLiving
Any other relevant topics
Launch Campaign 3/2/2015
Introduce hashtag with video
Post first #LifeWorthLiving picture
Invite public to post their stories on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
Post: Do you have a #LifeWorthLiving story? Share it with us!
3/2/15 - 3/16/15: Jump start campaign!

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These two weeks are crucial to your campaigns success. You
need to get the word out and make sure your target public knows about
#LifeWorthLiving
Post #LifeWorthLiving stories twice a day to gain followers and
gain support. Also, post additional videos, pictures, personal research for the
other 6 posts everyday.
Facebook: 5 (2 #LifeWorthLiving stories) (3
additional posts)
Twitter: 5 (2 #LifeWorthLiving stories) ( 3 additional
posts, make sure they are different from Facebook)
Instagram: 2 (#LifeWorthLiving stories)
#LifeWorthLiving stories every Wednesday
Post everyday in the morning, noon, and evening
Facebook: 3 (1 #LifeWorthLiving story) (2 additional posts)
Twitter: 3 (1 #LifeWorthLiving story) (2 additional posts, make sure
they are different from Facebook)
Instagram: 1 (1 #LifeWorthLiving story)
Maintain campaign within the office
Mandatory team meeting every Friday (15 minutes)
Post everyday: Every post should be different from one another.
Facebook: 3
Twitter: 3
Instagram: 1
Have interns send reports at end of day
Events
Yellow Ribbon Event: Its a great way to get your name out there and gain
recognition. Every returning veteran is required to attend event.
Present: Craig should present at the first few events to establish
relationship
Interns: Set up NCVS booth.
Invite veterans to share their #LifeWorthLiving
stories.
Introduce NCVS and what you do!
Scheduled events so far:
3/20/2015
6/05/2015

Veteran Contact Sheet

6/20/2015

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Sales Pitch for donations

1. Prepare

Do your research!
Know who you are talking to and explain how donating will benefit

them.
The first part of the presentation should be focused on the
donor/company you are meeting with.
Make your presentation as personal as possible.
2. Practice
Practice your presentation
Know exactly what you are asking
Clearly explain and describe the campaign
State how you will track the number of hashtags used
Describe expectations between both parties
Understand financial questions
3. Passion
Presenting to a company is a perfect opportunity to express your
passion
Allow them to see what you do and what NCVS stands for.
A Life Worth LIving

Intern Listing: Post to Career Services

This intern position requires 10-15 hours weekly, more possible.
We are looking for an intern to assist with our day-to-day social media content creation,
jumpstart our social media campaign, and contact veterans etc. to gather and write their
#LifeWorthLiving stories. You will be part of our team as our Social Media Coordinator. You will

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learn the ins and outs of our business and how to make social media a productive part of any
businesses marketing efforts.
This internship is a non paid position...
Interns are expected to have experience with social media on (at least) a personal level (use on
a business level preferred). You must be able to think and write strategically in order to hit a
defined social strategy. Interns must be able to write short bursts of valuable content that will inturn be posted on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram page. Content must be thought
provoking, engaging and creative. Success will be measured and documented based on the
impact of social media engagement as well as other factors. Interns will report directly to Dr.
Craig Bryan

Desired Skills and Experience:

A strong interest in marketing and social media
Writing, communication, and spelling abilities
Skilled in online research and analytical skills
Meticulous attention to detail
A creative thinker who likes to come up with new and different ideas
Diligent work ethic and desire to learn
Experience on popular websites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Ability to multi-task and keep deadlines

7. Calendar

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8.

Budget