Exclusive interviews released from #milsocialmedia speakers US Army and Canadian Department of National Defense

SMi Group caught up with two speakers for the 8th annual Social Media in the Defence & Military Sector, Ms Lucy Ellis, Communications Advisor at Canadian Department
of National Defense and Mr Anthony O'Bryant, Deputy Army Digital Media Division
at US Army, to get an insight on their expert point of view.

Here is a snippet from their interviews:

Anthony O'Bryant, Deputy Army Digital Media Division, US Army

Tell us about you - what is your role in the defence / military social media
environment and what perspective do you bring to the conference?
I currently manage the daily operations of the U.S. Army’s primary online platforms including the flagship website Army.mil, and the Army's official social media presences on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and others.
I am an experienced social media and web content manager, and have authored social media and website policies. I am one of the Army’s most experienced social media experts with more than a decade of building social media programs and advising leaders. I have managed and advised official accounts from garrisons, major commands to his current position at the Army headquarters.

Anthony will be speaking at the conference on day one on: Survival tips to Grow a Government Social Media Program

Lucy Ellis, Communication Advisor, Canadian Department of National Defense

As a key player in Social Media utilisation, what are the challenges you face personally and what do you see as challenges for the industry in general?

I think that the volume of information will always be the biggest challenge in the social media sphere. While there are sophisticated social media listening tools and platforms, we have not reached the stage of full artificial intelligence; there is still a lot that can slip through the cracks and go unnoticed. And, of course, online conversations can be heavily swayed and dominated by illegitimate sources. Social media users are growing weary of the near-constant state of distrust. With high-profile figures on both the political left and right warning
the public about disinformation, there’s a risk that all communications will be seen as disingenuous or tainted by the lack of general trust.

Lucy will be speaking on: Strategic Storytelling
• Incorporating social media into larger StratCom efforts
• The power of empathy during humanitarian and disaster relief operations
• Choosing effective language for different audiences

You can find the full interviews at on the event website, in the download centre: http://www.militarysocialmedia.com/PR4

If you are interested in attending the conference, you can register your place online here: http://www.militarysocialmedia.com/PR4

Should you wish to join us to showcase your products to key decision makers within the industry, contact Sadia Malick, Director on +44 (0)207 827 6748 or email: smalick@smi-online.co.uk to hear more about our packages which we can tailor to best suit your needs.

For media enquiries, contact Simi Sapal on +44 (0) 20 7827 60002 or ssapal@smi-online.co.uk

SMi’s 8th Annual Social Media in the Defence & Military Sector
Conference: 28th & 29th November 2018
Workshops: 27th November 2018
Holiday Inn Kensington Forum, London, UK
http://www.militarysocialmedia.com/PR4

About SMi Group: Established since 1993, the SMi Group is a global event-production company that specializes in Business-to-Business Conferences, Workshops, Masterclasses and online Communities. We create and deliver events in the Defence, Security, Energy, Utilities, Finance and Pharmaceutical industries. We pride ourselves on having access to the world’s most forward-thinking opinion leaders and visionaries, allowing us to bring our communities together to Learn, Engage, Share and Network. More information can be found at http://www.smi-online.co.uk

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