When we talk to our customers about marketing to military personnel, one of the things 
that we point out to them is how effectively the military community uses, well, communities. There are online communities for every topic out there, but I’ve yet to come across any that are as active, as helpful, as supportive, or as robust as military communities online. Whether you are a marketer looking to reach the military market, a new military spouse, or a new veteran needing to assimilate back into non-camo life, here is our list of the most awesome military communities online. You can vote for your favorite on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SheerIDdotcom.
These are listed in alphabetical order:
ArmyWife101
The focus: Surviving the life of a military spouse.
Where the biggest crowd gathers: On the website armywife101.com. They also have an active Twitter https://twitter.com/armywives101 presence.
What makes it great: Krystel! Krystel makes this site great. She is a celebrity in this community and you’ll soon see why. She brings attitude, humor, and endless sensitivity to the specific issues that come with being a military spouse.
Military Avenue
The focus: Overall, everything you want to know as part of military life. They cover everything from recipes, to tips on moving, to military discount, to military news headlines.
Where the biggest crowd gathers: On the website http://militaryavenue.com/. On Twitter which covers headlines and an awesome array of discounts https://twitter.com/MilitaryAvenue. They are the only one on the list that keeps an active Pinterest page, which is gorgeous, updated often, and fun to follow: http://pinterest.com/militaryavenue/.
What makes it great: They are kind of like a mullet—business in the front, party in the back. The front page of their site is definitely standing at attention, but once you check out their Pinterest and Twitter feeds and all their super helpful tools like their moving tools http://militaryavenue.com/MovingTools.aspx , you’ll see that they can be a BFF.
Military Cost Cutters
http://militarycostcutters.com/
The focus: Military discounts truly for the military community in an exclusive membership website.
Where the biggest crowd gathers: Facebook where they post daily military discount https://www.facebook.com/Militarycostcutters?hc_location=stream.
What makes it great: Membership is free, but they gate all the information so you can be confident that the community is only made-up of military personnel.
Military Discount Central
http://www.militarydiscountscentral.com/
The focus: Keeping an updated list of military discounts.
Where the biggest crowd gathers: Follow them on Twitter for a steady feed of military discount https://twitter.com/MilDiscountsHQ.
What makes it great: They are a low key, well-designed site that just focuses on military discount. They don’t offer other news or try to sell you anything extra. It’s all military discounts all the time.
Sarge’s List
The focus: Free classifieds for the military community. Think Craigslist, but focusing on military base locations and the specific needs that come with the military community.
Where the biggest crowd gathers: Facebook. The great thing about Sarge’s List on Facebook is that they have pages set up for each base and they have a main Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/SargesList
What makes it great: The answer is in the question here. What’s NOT great about a specialized online classified? Military families move, move internationally, and travel a lot more often than other families, plus there are all sorts of extra complexities. These classifieds can make it all just a little smoother.
Stolen Valor
The focus: From their site: Our Mission is to out people who falsely claim Military service and/or claim unauthorized medals or tabs.
Where the biggest crowd gathers: Facebook. This is one of the most active Facebook community you’ll find https://www.facebook.com/StolenValor. Loyal, helpful, and passionate, they are a great group to be a part of.
What makes it great: The passion. The guy that runs the site is committed to honoring military service and that dedication is contagious throughout the community.
The Military Link
The focus: Military discounts. Not redundant though, stay with me on this, these guys are different.
Where the biggest crowd gathers: Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Military-Link/312419392023?fref=ts They regularly list new and consistent military discounts. Their website lists the discounts, but it isn’t as fun as their Facebook page.
What makes it great: The guy who runs this community, Kevin, is a veteran first, but a marketer/biz dev guru/salesman extraordinaire as a close second. Kevin is out there, knocking on doors, convincing large retailers to offer a military discount. The Military Link isn’t just reporting military discounts, they are creating them. Want to hear about new military discounts first? Follow The Military Link on Facebook.
Veterans United
The focus: Veterans United says they are the VA Loan Experts. But they are much bigger than that. They market their service by creating maybe THE largest network of military personnel. It’s really quite impressive.
Where the biggest crowd gathers: Their Facebook page is awesome. It’s interesting, engaging, and very active https://www.facebook.com/veteransunitednetwork.
What makes it great: Their network website http://www.veteransunited.com/network/ is as professional as any major news magazine. They have new content daily and is really professionally done. If military issues are important to you, this could be a page that you bookmark and enjoy with your morning coffee.
So now you have our top nine military communities. Which one is your favorite? Go vote for your favorite military community here: https://www.facebook.com/SheerIDdotcom. We’ll announce the winner on July 8th.
