1. Cmdr. William Marks
Public Affairs Officer
@DefenseIntel
SEP 6, 2017
Digital Summit
Washington, DC

2. 2
What we learned
 Know who you are: your value, strengths,
weaknesses
 Begin with the end in mind: what’s your ideal
public image?
 Develop communication strategy, not a social
media strategy – content first; delivery second
 Talk like a human being
 Have fun … but not too much
Do these
match?

3. 3
What is the Defense Intelligence Agency?
 The intelligence agency for DoD (We spy on the bad guys)

4. 4
Does your image match reality?
The DIA, a messy agency of nearly 20,000,
mostly civilians, was famously the
underachiever in the intelligence community.
- David Ignatius, Feb 2017
Defense Intelligence Agency, a notoriously
dysfunctional agency that employs some
great talent but frustrates its clients
- The Atlantic, Jan 2017

5. 5
Know your value, strengths and weaknesses
 We’re spies!
 Cool technology
 In a crisis (thanks
North Korea) people
become very interested
in what we have to say
 We’re spies, so …
 Most info is classified
 Photo & video issues
 Spy culture
Strengths Weaknesses
Value = Experts in foreign military intelligence
“Since Putin came to power,
Russia has repeatedly denied
gas supplies to Ukraine and
Central Europe, occupied and
attempted to annex Crimea,
destabilized eastern
Ukraine, and deployed its
military to Syria to prop up
the Assad regime.”

6. 6
Play to your Strengths

7. 7
Play to your Strengths?

8. 8
Play to your strengths
Vs.
2016 2017

9. 9
Understand the difference between content and delivery
There are only three
types of content:
 Words
 Images
 Videos
Delivery methods are only
limited by imagination:
 Facebook, Twitter, Snap
 Other social media
 Your own website
 Apps
 Graphics/posters
 Press engagement
 Advocates
 Reposts by fellow agencies
 Newsletters
 Open houses/tours
 Panels/talks
 Congressional outreach

10. 10
Content vs. Delivery
Content:
 Words
 Images
 Videos
facebook
talks
apps
other social mediatwitter
advocates
email
newsletters
Tours
congressional
website
press
graphics

11. 11
“Adm. Jim Stavridis once said that all
military officers should learn a second
language. I think he’s right. I think that
language should be English.”
• Mary Walsh, CBS News
Killing English

12. 12
Quiz:
Can you think of simpler words for the following?
 “at the present time”
 “close proximity”
 “suboptimal”
 “strategic imperative”
 “arrived at a decision”
 “cease”
“due to the fact that”

13. 13
Translation Exercise
 DIA Strategy:
“Modernized mission processes and methods that
respond effectively to a dynamic operational environment”
“Innovate”

14. 14
Translation Exercise
 DIA Strategy:
“Leadership intent that clearly and consistently
directs mission-focused activities and investments
against priority requirements”
“Put first things first”

15. 16
Russia Military Power Report
Campaign
(28 June – 31 July 2017)
 Press Interviews
 Web page
 Youtube video
 Graphics
 Historical teaser
 Twitter/Facebook
 Congressional
engagement
 Email to workforce

16. 17
#nationalselfieday

17. 18
What we learned
 Know who you are: your value, strengths,
weaknesses
 Begin with the end in mind: what’s your ideal
image?
 Develop communication strategy, not a social media
strategy – content first; delivery second
 Talk like a human being
 Have fun … but not too much
Do these
match?

18. Cmdr. William Marks, Public Affairs Officer
@DefenseIntel
william.marks3@dodiis.mil
Questions?