Noteboom The Law Firm

Social Media Proves An Effective Recruiting Tool

February 11, 2011 - A large percentage of many veterans' group membership ranks are made up of veterans from World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. Given the age of these veterans and the physical problems from which they many suffer, it is easy to see why their membership ranks are thinning. In order to replace the members they are losing, groups such as Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion are using social media to attract members from younger generations.

Veterans from younger generations are much more technologically adept than their predecessors. So in order to build their ranks back up, the veterans' organizations are going to where the potential new members are: online.  The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has a Facebook page with 169,000 supporters.

Veterans organizations play vital roles in helping veterans in multiple ways, one of the most important being reintegration. The help and support these organizations give is essential to many veterans and their families, so sliding member numbers is cause for alarm. If these organizations want to survive, they must find a way to relate to the younger generation of veterans they are trying to help.

The Facebook communities these organizations establish are virtual VFW halls and American Legion posts; places where veterans can come together for mutual support. They are also places where the organizations can put out membership information and ensure accurate information about their organization is presented. Many veterans find it easier to communicate with other veterans online as opposed to face-to-face.

In addition to Facebook, many organizations are also using Twitter. Although creating an online presence is a start, the veterans they are connecting with over the internet is a very small fraction of the total amount of veterans they can help. The help is out there, it is just a matter of bringing the veterans and the veterans' organizations together.