ARLINGTON, Va., - Considering today's explosive popularity of social media and online research it may come as no surprise that military recruiting Web sites are rushing to keep up with new technologies and trends.
The Air National Guard is riding that wave with more personal interactivity in its public recruiting and retention Web site, using video and photo stories to tell Air Guard member stories directly to online visitors.
The revised www.goang.com recruiting Web site went live in February. Its revised design draws upon navigation links with the newest Web design technologies to sort the Air Guard experience through a calendar format.
"The original site was a site we had been using for several years; it wasn't fresh, it wasn't new," said Master Sgt. PJ Gallagher, who oversees the Air Guard's internet advertising.
He said the design team spent last year talking to recruiters and retainers in the field to improve the Web site's user interface and usability.
"There weren't any 'interactivities' for the users," he said.
Gallagher said the new calendar format now breaks down the experience of Guard service as new recruits, prior service members, officers and health professionals experience it.
The Web site also uses the latest video technology and photo shows to tell those experiences as they may relate to public viewers, should they choose to become Guardmembers. Visitors can chat live with an advisor.
The administrative functions on the Web site have also been improved for the recruiters. It lists specific career field openings at the Air Guard's flying wings and geographically separated units across the nation. It allows easier online ordering of recruiting and retention give-a-ways and other resources and collects and formats online information requests.
The Website also lists units, federal and state benefits, missions, and career openings by state. As well as information to help parents and educators understand the Guard.
Gallagher said the administrative functions of the Web site were unveiled at the Air Guard Recruiting and Retention Workshop in Dallas last month. The workshop offered training on how to make use of the new Web site to help in daily recruiting and retention projects.
"The conference was a great venue to get feedback from the field in an up-and-close, personal way," Gallagher said. "We are going to continue to upgrade the site."