READING, Pa. –
When someone joins the military, they hope to learn things that they wouldn’t be taught in the civilian world, enhance their leadership skills and maybe receive college benefits.
Very few people join the military with the thought of it making them an overnight celebrity.
For Staff Sgt. Brandon Jacoby, with Charlie Company, 328th Brigade Support Battalion, 56th Stryker Brigade, he’s not only realized the many benefits that a career in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard afforded him, but he’s making a huge impact on recruiting and the local community, too.
“Going into schools for a recruiting event, kids recognize me,” said Jacoby. “It helps when I have to combat all the negative perceptions I deal with as a recruiter.”
Jacoby has been in recruiting for only one year, but the sizable impact he’s made with his efforts aren’t going unnoticed, and have been pretty effective too.
“I started social media three years ago in the middle of COVID,” said Jacoby. “I started TikTok because my kids told me I should get the app because it was funny, and it sounded dumb but I figured ‘why not?’”
Fast forward to a year later and 720,600 TikTok followers more and Jacoby is an internet sensation–and all in the name of shining a light on the National Guard culture and benefits. But at that time, Jacoby created videos in his personal life, talking about the Army culture and other relatable moments. Even though he wasn’t in Recruiting yet, he didn’t realize the influence he had and that he was just as much a recruiter as anyone else wearing the uniform.
Just a couple years later, he entered into the recruiting world full-time and learned very quickly the differences between his generation and the upcoming one.
“It’s just a different environment. Kids don’t really relate to the things we used to back in the day," said Jacoby. “When I was younger, I was more motivated to go outside and I grew up in a military family, so it was an easy decision to join. But with many hurdles now, including parent’s hesitation to allow their children to join, recruiting is full of new challenges that require creative problem solving. I’ve tried to engage them in different ways. They turn to social media more and are scrolling a lot. I have three teenage kids, ages 16, 18 and 20, and they’re right around the age of the kids I’m recruiting, so I can see what’s in and trending and what’s not by talking to them.”
But as any great recruiter understands, knowing your audience is one thing, but being able to connect with them and build trust is a whole other. When asked about how he comes up with content ideas, Jacoby replied that they are experiences he's had in the military or stories he's heard from other people. Showing the lighthearted, funny side of the military really connects with the community and both kids and their parents.
“90% of the content I do is based on true events, which makes relatable, funny content,” said Jacoby. “This stuff happens in the Army, and you have to laugh at it and move forward and learn from it. All my skits are satire and they make fun of situations that make it feel less scary or serious to the outside world.”
But it’s not all fun and games for Jacoby, as he admits that recruiting can be very stressful. But his theory is that if the older generation in the Army realizes that social media is, if used correctly, the best tool for recruiting, it could help.
And it’s not just social media that helps, it’s Jacoby’s entire attitude towards the profession that really sets him apart from the rest.
“At the end of the day, recruiters have one goal–to recruit,” he said. “But this job is way more than that, in my opinion. I’ve put 10 people in the guard and have stayed with them every step of the way and built relationships with them so they know they’re not alone.”
That’s the type of person any organization would love to have–someone who can see past the goal, care for others, and think outside of the box to deliver.
In order for soldiers to think creatively in their profession, whether it's recruiting or something else, Jacoby encourages leaders to sit down with soldiers and understand their thinking process first.
“Make sure that you as a leader can sit down with soldiers and get to know them, see what they’re good at, and have them use what they’re good at to better the organization,” said Jacoby. “For recruiters, it might be asking yourself the right questions, like ‘why am I not getting the numbers?’ You’ll have people who tell you how to do your job, like Master Trainers, and some of that will work, but some of it won’t. At the end of the day you have to be yourself and come out of your shell and be comfortable trying new and creative things.”
That’s a piece of advice applicable to all professions in the Army.
And for the rest of us who don’t proudly wear the Recruiting patch, we still have just as much an impact on the Army’s recruiting mission as Jacoby.
“Everyone is a recruiter! Anyone who puts on the uniform is a recruiter, but especially on social media,” said Jacoby. “Don’t ever try to be something you’re not. You can be serious, motivating, a subject matter expert, or funny–but just be you.”