PAOs should do command information – be it through traditional features and social media, or more unique initiatives.
A drumbeat is important here – you’ve got to keep it coming.
Dave B. and I used to push fresh content with the “Story of the Two Weeks” model:
Week 1: Find a mission-aligned story worth telling. Package and publish it.
Week 2: Market the story, host media engagements on the topic and watch it spread.
Each week, we were simultaneously in Week 1 for a new idea, and engaging press on a Week 2 story.
This was enough of a framework to help us balance creativity with shipping. The deadlines were self-imposed, but very real.
Our tracker helped us organize ideas and plan next steps. We avoided Week 1 stories if we couldn’t market them in Week 2. We skipped Week 1 ideas we wouldn’t be able to ship by Friday night.
Some stories were flops, with no media interest. That was no problem, because we learned and moved on to next week’s Story of the Two Weeks.
Some stories that seemed lame in Week 1 proved to be sticky in Week 2. We probably wouldn’t have even talked to journalists about the topic if we weren’t committed to the routine.
The Story of the Two Weeks. If your command information program is stuck in a rut, give it a try and let us know how it goes.
(Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Lopez, DVIDS)
