Analyzing USASOC’s Social Media Presence: Wins, Misses, and the Way Forward
As an employee of the Department of Defense (DOD), I’m excited to finally share my review of the organization’s social media presence, as I have been thinking about it for multiple years! One of the major roadblocks to the DOD posting on social media are the security restrictions and limitations for what USASOC (or any DOD entity) is allowed to share openly. This issue has been widely criticized throughout our formation, mainly due to the uninformed idea that leadership refuses to adapt to the new generation that lives online and their unwillingness to declassify basic information quickly for public facing content. There are serious security issues and bigger reasons why the military can’t post whatever they want (which I’m also not at liberty to share here or anywhere). However, I recently spent some time with our OIC (Officer in Charge) of the PAO (Public Affairs Office) to understand their process and learned specific topics/categories that are available for public release which was extremely helpful.
As much as I love my job and protecting our country, below is my analysis of the social media presence for USASOC (United States of America Special Operations Command).
As stated previously, cleared information is the biggest battle when dealing with social media and the military. Because of this, some platforms are just not a good fit for the DOD, for security reasons. That said, Facebook, Instagram and X are the main focuses for USASOC social media because of the ‘why’ behind our content. These consist mainly of recruiting, public demonstration, information dissemination, tributes and acknowledgements. However, Instagram and X rank 1 and 2 while the Facebook page trails in performance or importance. Content is rarely crossed shared across all three platforms. For this reason, analysis and suggestions will focus on Instagram and X.
Facebook, Instagram and X are the main focuses for USASOC social media.
“The importance of social media to the field of public relations cannot be underscored, and is essential for the operations of many organizations.” (Valentini and Kruckeberg, 2012, p. 11)”
USASOC’s Instagram page: @armyspecialopscommand
The PAO from U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) has built a strong digital presence on its Instagram account, @usasocpao. Currently sitting at over 91,000 followers and utilizing Sprinklr to maintain a consistent posting rhythm, the Instagram page serves as a visual window into the world of Army Special Operations. From honoring fallen heroes to showcasing specialty training, USASOC’s content focuses on informing, inspiring, and attempting to connect with a much wider audience and demographic including service members, potential recruits, veterans, and defense enthusiasts (industry).
Top-Performing Content: Emotion and Action
1. Tributes to Fallen Soldiers
Posts that honor fallen service members consistently generate high engagement. These posts feature specific imagery and heartfelt captions with details about the soldier, striking an emotional chord with any follower. The authenticity and transparency in these posts foster a sense of unity and shared respect. It also matches the importance USASOC puts on its fallen which is clear by the entrance of our building being an enormous digital shrine to all the fallen soldiers under USASOC’s umbrella over the years.
2. Behind-the-Scenes Training
Dynamic visuals of HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jumps, CQB (Close Quarters Combat) drills, and survival exercises captivate the audiences. These posts highlight the skill and discipline of Special Operations soldiers, offering aspirational content that resonates especially with younger viewers and military hopefuls to gain attention and commitment from potential recruits. There’s a reason why almost all recruiting videos showcase high speed training or mission-based content, and we keep that same mentality when it comes to our social content.
3. Historical Spotlights
USASOC’s historical posts such as mission anniversaries or legendary operator profiles perform well due to their storytelling and educational value. They connect past and present, reinforcing the legacy of Army Special Operations.
Underperforming Content: Missed Opportunities
1. Generic Announcements
Posts that only announce dates or administrative updates tend to fall flat. Without compelling visuals or emotional context, these posts lack the engagement hooks needed to capture attention.
2. Overly Polished Promotional Content
Highly staged group shots or graphic-heavy recruitment messages often feel impersonal. Followers expect realism and authenticity, and overly corporate visuals can feel disconnected from the field experience. I think this could be true of any brand or personal influencer content when promotional content sticks out and doesn’t match their usual strategy.
3. Minimal Captioning
Even strong visuals lose impact when paired with vague or minimal captions. Captions are essential for storytelling, context, and emotionally connecting with the audience. Without them, you run the risk of the post being overlooked or misunderstood, which could be a PR nightmare.
Recommendations & Final Thoughts
To increase engagement and overall brand identity, USASOC could:
Amplify authentic voices through soldier narratives, interviews, and live Q&As. Making sure the correct character voices are appropriate for the target audience to identify with.
Leverage user-generated content to build community and showcase diverse perspectives. This has been a concept constantly brought up in meetings. The decision to properly vet and amplify specific soldiers’ content will be a decision made by a forward-thinking leadership board.
Improve caption strategy by adding context, emotion, and calls to action. Making sure the PAO shop has at least one person with communication background is key with this effort.
Utilize Instagram features like Reels, Carousels, and Stories to diversify content formats (citation). Staying consistent and not having to ask three levels of approvals, before posting, will allow the PAO to build and approval template that automatically gets sent daily.
Engage in dialogue by responding to comments and fostering two-way communication (citation). This will be difficult, as it is not the norm and everyone is busy but, parsing out different leaders to take an hour each week to respond as themselves or even engage with live videos during PT hours or to do interviews could rapidly increase recruiting and awareness numbers.
USASOC’s Instagram is a powerful tool for shaping public perception and honoring its mission and fallen soldiers. By refining its content strategy and embracing more consistently authentic, interactive storytelling, our command could deepen the connection with followers, attract potential recruits and continue to lead from the front when it comes to digital military communications.
USASOC’s X page: @USASOCNews
The U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), through their PAO, maintains a very professional and mission-driven presence on X through its account @USASOCNews, sitting at 61,000 followers. As a key communication channel for sharing updates, honoring service members, and promoting the values of Army Special Operations, the account plays a huge role in publicly sharing the Commanding General’s desired narrative while fostering engagement from both internal and external audiences.
Analyzing our page’s performance through public metrics and engagement trends reveals a clear pattern: posts that are visually compelling, emotionally resonant, and contextually relevant tend to outperform those that are overly formal or lack storytelling depth.
Top-Performing Content: Emotion, Imagery, and Legacy
1. Tributes and Memorials
Posts that honor our fallen soldiers or commemorate significant anniversaries (9/11/2001) consistently receive high engagement. These tweets often include powerful imagery (DOD photo’s from DVIDS), heartfelt captions, and community-driven hashtags. The emotional gravity of this type of posts resonates deeply with the target audience and spreads through multiple levels of followers, who are safe to assume some veterans, active-duty personnel, or family members.
2. Training and Mission Highlights
Tweets showcasing real-world training exercises, such as airborne operations or tactical drills, tend to attract attention. When paired with high-quality photos or short videos, these posts offer a glimpse into the intensity and professionalism of Special Operations forces.
3. Historical Spotlights
USASOC occasionally shares historical content, such as the anniversaries of key missions or profiles of legendary operators. These posts perform well because they connect the past with the present, reinforcing the legacy and evolution of Army Special Operations. USASOC’s best-performing tweets often include these elements, confirming the value of multimedia and meaningful content.
Underperforming Content: Missed Opportunities
1. Generic Announcements
Tweets that simply announce dates or administrative updates without context or visuals tend to receive minimal engagement. These posts lack the emotional or informational depth needed to capture attention.
2. Overly Formal Messaging
Tweets that rely heavily on jargon or formal language without personalization often underperform. While professionalism is essential, overly rigid messaging can feel disconnected from the audience.
3. Lack of Consistency
Through the thread on USASOC’s X page, you can generally see a lack of organizational consistency when it comes to the content and narrative. Consistently posting other pages content while not having a specific theme of their own, is only hurting the X account.
Recommendations & Final Thoughts:
To increase engagement and connect deeper with the audience, USASOC could:
Prioritize visual storytelling through tweets with compelling visuals like photos, videos, infographics that consistently outperform text-only posts. USASOC’s PAO should integrate more high-quality imagery from training exercises, missions, and historical archives to capture attention and convey powerful narratives. Visuals humanize the mission and make content more shareable.
Humanize the brand through first-person narratives by featuring stories directly from soldiers, whether through quotes, short videos, or spotlight threads. This should build emotional connection and trust with TA. These authentic voices vibrate more deeply than formal announcements while helping followers understand the people behind the mission.
Engage in two-way communication rather than broadcasting content, USASOC should actively respond to comments, retweet relevant posts, and participate in trending military or defense discussions. This builds rapport with followers and positions the account as a responsive, engaged presence in the defense community.
To enhance its X strategy, USASOC should continue leveraging emotionally resonant content and high-quality visuals. Incorporating more first-person narratives, interactive polls, and real-time engagement (such as live Q&A sessions or event coverage) could further boost interaction. Additionally, optimizing posting times and using hashtags strategically can help expand reach and visibility.
In the digital age, even elite military organizations must balance professionalism with authenticity. USASOC’s Twitter presence is strong, and with a few tactical adjustments, I feel it can become even more impactful (Charest, Bouffard, & Zajmovic, 2016).
What would you like to see on a Special Operations social media site? I’d love to know if these social media posts drive any offline engagement such as recruiting efforts, which could easily be the most important end result (Allagui & Breslow, 2016).
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- The Green Duffel Blog Boy
References:
Valentini and Kruckeberg, 2012, C. Valentini, D. Kruckeberg. New media versus social media: a conceptualization of their meanings, uses, and implications for public relations. S. Duhe (Ed.), New media and public relations, Peter Lang, New York (2012), pp. 3-12
Charest, F., Bouffard, J., & Zajmovic, E. (2016). Public relations and social media: Deliberate or creative strategic planning. Public Relations Review, 42(4), 530-538.
Allagui, I., & Breslow, H. (2016). Social media for public relations: Lessons from four effective cases. Public Relations Review, 42(1), 20–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.12.001