Posted: 09/04/2017
The question is: how should NATO use social media for Influence Operations? Influence operations are focused on affecting the perceptions and behaviors of leaders, groups, or entire populations (AFDD 2-5). The military capabilities of influence operations are psychological operations (PSYOP), military deception (MILDEC), operations security (OPSEC), counterintelligence (CI) operations, counterpropaganda operations and public affairs (PA) operations. I pose that NATO needs an optimal mix of paid, owned and earned (social) media channels for influence operations to succeed. Why? Today, NATO is too much focusing on traditional marketing strategies (e.g., broadcasting). There is no attention for earned media, or word-to-mouth advertising, through social media."The audience we want to influence is more and more capable of finding their own information. And at the same time is experiencing information overload. Marketing, or influencing people, is no longer realized through push, but through pull media; through experiences of people."