| The CDC is committed to informing audiences about preventing all types of violence, and established VetoViolence.cdc.gov to increase awareness and adoption of evidence-based approaches to prevent violence. The VetoViolence Facebook page uses several engagement strategies to enhance and spread knowledge of the prevalence of violence and action-oriented messages based on the best available research. Violence prevention public health professionals and advocates can receive and access valuable resources on preventing multiple violence types—child abuse and neglect, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, youth violence, and suicide—and discuss related topics with experts and each other. Daily updates deliver reputable and usable prevention information, as well as dynamic engagement experiences through social media events and projects. One such dynamic engagement strategy has been to encourage user-generated content because it is known to engage audiences, inspire action to promote prevention, and increase reach, understanding, and influence of prevention messages. The 1 Photo, 6 Words. #VetoViolence for Suicide Prevention project raised the issue of suicide prevention at national, state, and local levels for leaders, policy-makers, and decision-makers. |
The VetoViolence Facebook page uses several engagement strategies to enhance and spread knowledge of violence prevention statistics and action-oriented messages. These include projects calling for user-generated content for social media sharing. Such projects help break down the stigma associated with violence, allowing online discussion about the issue. The social nature of these platforms facilitates viral dissemination, amplifying the discussion's reach.
In observance of National Suicide Prevention Month in August 2015, the VetoViolence Facebook page sponsored a social media project calling for user-generated content, 1 Photo, 6 Words. #VetoViolence (1P6W). The effort encouraged users to post an original photo or image with a six-word caption that promotes an action that supports people and helps prevent suicide, educates others about how to save lives, or honors National Suicide Prevention Month. The initiative ran from August 1 to 31, 2015, and submissions were accepted via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. In September, the VetoViolence Facebook page posted the top 10 user submissions from the 1P6W project on the VetoViolence page, the @CDCInjury Twitter account, and the @CDCgov Instagram account.
Promotion efforts targeted relevant audiences with a call to action to visit the VetoViolence Facebook page for project details and how to submit entries. CDC assembled an expert panel to score entries. Selected submissions were featured on CDC website, across partner social media channels, and in a CDC YouTube video.
The dissemination efforts for the top entries were amplified through
VetoViolence received 104 entries via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with commitments to prevent suicide. The resulting CDC YouTube video of selected submissions is still featured by partners through their social media channels. CDC's posts of the top 10 entries reached over 24,000 fans on Facebook and earned almost 600 engagements (likes and shares). These ten posts contributed to 22% of total VetoViolence page reach and 44% of total page likes in the month of September 2015. In addition to these quantitative metrics, this project raised the issue of suicide prevention at national, state, and local levels for leaders, policy-makers, and decision-makers.
