Veterinary Facebook Marketing: Five Things To Know

It’s hard to believe, but Facebook has been around for ten years. In that relatively short time span, it has transformed itself from a time waster for college students to one of the most popular destinations on the web. Along the way, Facebook has become a powerful marketing tool for businesses large and small. But, as with all tools, it’s only powerful if you know how to use it.

There isn’t any one magic bullet for using your veterinary practice’s Facebook account effectively, and the list below is by no means exhaustive – rather, it’s meant to be a solid starting point for what will  become your continued success in translating your veterinary practice’s Facebook presence into more business.

Make sure all your information is complete and up-to-date.

Westfield Veterinary Group and Wellness Center uses a photo of their practice for their cover photo and their logo for their profile photo.

It may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised by how many businesses skip this important step. You should fill out every field Facebook makes available to you – hours, address, phone number, website, etc – and keep it current. You don’t want to create any roadblocks for potential customers, and leaving out information does just that. It’s also important to use both a cover photo and a profile photo. Consider using an attractive photo of your veterinary practice’s building as the cover photo, and your logo as the profile photo.

Get relevant likes.

The great content you’re going to post will be useless without likes on your page. Likes enable you to reach pet owners where they spend most of their Facebook time – their own newsfeeds. Encourage pet owners to like your page while in your waiting room with signage. Consider enticing them with a discount or a contest. You can also target potential customers with veterinary Facebook ads.

Focus on engaging pet owners by starting a conversation.

Many businesses make the mistake of only using Facebook to posts announcements. While it’s very useful for that – especially in the event of a weather related closing, for example – you should be trying to elicit a response from pet owners more often than not. The benefit is two-fold: you’ll build a relationship with your customers, and Facebook determines how often your posts are shown to users by how often they interact with you. Stumped? Here are some ideas to get you started.

Don’t be afraid to boost your posts.

While engaging pet owners will help, the only way to guarantee that everyone who likes your page will see your posts is to boost them. You can be selective about this, however. Boosting a post advertising a promotion can be much more beneficial than boosting a cute photo of a puppy. It’s also smart to give posts a day or two before boosting them to see if they can meet your goal with organic (non-paid) views.

Stay on schedule with a social media content calendar.

Consistency is important on Facebook, and a social media calendar can help you stay on-time and on-message. You can find out more about social media content calendars and even download a template here.

Have some of your own ideas for effective veterinary Facebook marketing? Sound off in the comments!

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