Developing and implementing a social media communication training guide for the U. S. Army Kansas City recruiting battalion

The scope of this project is to research and present communication theory and best practices in social media communication for Army recruiters. This project was guided philosophically out of benevolence, caring for Army recruiters by providing them with the necessary tools to be effective at their job. The theoretical foundations include media ecology, social information processing, symbolic interactionism, social capital, and social identity. To collect, analyze, and measure data the methodologies included two focus groups and an organization wide survey. The main sections of this paper examine social media communication for advertising, building social capital, creating bonding ties with local communities, and sharing the Army's identity with the public. Important relevant findings suggest advertising on Social media support the Army's national advertising campaigns. This project resulted in the development of a social media guide that was presented to Army recruiters and leadership in two separate social media training seminars.