President, Social Marketing Services, Inc.
Affiliate Instructor, University of Washington
Strategic Advisor, C+C
Social Marketing Strategy: All 4 Ps
Where Sighted: Journal Publication
Social Issue: Suicides Among Veterans
I recently learned, while writing my next book on Reducing Suicides: A Social Marketing Approach, that suicide rates among adult Veterans was .04%, double that of non-Veteran adults at .02%.[i]
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs notes that “Post-deployment social support in the form of accessibility of family and friends and greater sense of purpose and control protects against suicidal ideation among veterans.” [ii] The following section provides examples of strategies to support suicidal Veterans to engage with social networks, highlighting appealing social network opportunities, incentives, accessibility, and opportunities to increase awareness and interest in “checking them out.”
Product Strategies: One of the major Motivators for joining social network is learning about Veteran programs “for people like me.” An example of one developed and supported by the VA is the Veterans Socials, which has a website for Veterans that can be used to form and host a social networking group. The website includes tools to assist in setting one up, as well as to explore group meeting times and locations in the community.[iii] Another example was promoted in a VA News article in 2025 that noted several suicide prevention interventions to help Veterans connect including Anonymous online peer groups that are professionally moderated, and reduce common barriers like stigma, privacy concerns and location.[iv]
[i] U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Suicide Prevention, “2025 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report Part 2: Report Findings”, pp.4-13 accessed at https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/data-sheets/2025/2025_Annual_Report_Part_2_508.pdf
[ii] U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Social Support and Belongingness as Protective Factors” (June 2026), accessed at https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/docs/FSTP-Social-Support-and-Belongingness.pdf
[iii] U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Veterans Socials” (July 2025), accessed at https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/socials/
[iv] Lienau, A., VA/News, “Bringing technology and community together to keep Veterans safe” (September 21, 2025), accessed at https://news.va.gov/142802/bringing-technology-community-veterans-safe/
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