11 Steps to Create the Best Veterinary Facebook Marketing Strategy

While we all know that animals get a lot of love on social media, as a veterinary practice, you need to post much more than just animal images. Facebook is one of the most viewed social media platforms by pet owners so creating a veterinary Facebook marketing strategy is vital. It will help you get the best out of the platform. In this blog, we’ve given you 11 steps to create the best veterinary Facebook marketing strategy.

Free eBook: Digital Marketing for Veterinary Practices

1. Set your veterinary Facebook marketing goals

It’s crucial to determine the results that you want from your Facebook marketing strategy, for example increasing website traffic, getting leads from your Facebook business page, or building brand awareness. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy, but having specific goals that follow the SMART strategy can provide focus.

2. Identify your audience

You need to define your target audience demographic. Whatever your demographic is, it’s very likely they’re on Facebook, and if you want to reach the right people, you need to determine this. As for your veterinary practice, the target audience commonly is pet owners, you need to determine what type of pet owners do you want to target? For example, the largest proportion of Facebook users are males between the ages of 25 to 34.

3. Learn the trend of engagement for posting

Getting into the minds of your target audience is crucial. Understanding the types of posts pet owners like and other factors, such as response times and how they engage (as well as when they engage) are all crucial.

4. Gather a list of pet/pet owner groups

With so many different veterinary Facebook groups, it’s important to establish local pet and pet owner groups for you to engage with local pet owners. You can search for groups using the search bar and using search terms that relate to your business. For example, you can enter the terms “pets” or “pet care” and the name of your town/area to find many local groups.

5. Plan what you want to post

Once you have completed the above steps you can decide what you want to post on your feed and also share on groups you are part of. Your veterinary business brand will determine the tone of the content you want to post, but it is important to share reliable information as this will establish your credibility. You can share information through a number of veterinary associations that post regularly on Facebook, for example, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Pets Products Association. You could also share a behind-the-scenes look at your veterinary practice, discounts and offers, and polls as ways to boost engagement.

6. Establish a posting schedule

To establish consistent engagements, scheduling veterinary Facebook posts can help you to post regularly, increase your social media engagement, and save time creating individual posts. You can either do this by using third-party scheduling tools like Hootsuite, or you could use Facebook’s built-in posting scheduler.

7. Allocate someone incharge of facebook posting

It is vital to hand the reins over to someone who understands the business goals and has the knowledge to engage with the audience. If you feel there isn’t anybody in-house that can handle the duties, you may want to consider appointing a freelance social media professional.

8. Prepare for negative comments

Online criticism is, unfortunately, par for the course, but the best approach is to respond politely to any attacks and move the conversation offline. However, if you have a loyal Facebook following, they are more likely to come to your defense.

9. Use the best features and functions

Utilizing all of Facebook’s functions at its best will help you get the maximum out of it free of charge. Making sure the about section on your veterinary Facebook page is up to date and is similar to the details on your website will be highly beneficial when a new pet owner wants to reach out to you. Other functions like the profile picture, cover photo, booking button, detailed analytics, and reviews are key functions that will help you grow your business if properly used.

10. Use the Best Social Media Management Tools

Ensuring that you can manage your social media campaign is essential, and there are many popular social media management tools that your veterinary practice can use. Two of the most popular are Buffer and Hootsuite. You can also choose to hand over the responsibility to an agency that is an expert in the field like WhiskerCloud veterinary marketing

11. Facebook Reporting and Analytics

Gaining crucial insight into your audience is vital. There are many reporting and analytics tools out there on the market, but Facebook offers a free analytics tool called Audience Insights, which can give you a better understanding of who engages with your page so you can target your audience more effectively. There is also a detailed guide available to help you understand and the right type of approach for your veterinary business.

Conclusion

Ensuring your veterinary practice makes a big impact where it counts means utilizing Facebook and all of its functions. With two-thirds of Facebook users visiting a local business page at least once a week, this highlights that local businesses can create lasting connections within their communities and build that all-important engagement.