How To Use TikTok To Promote Your Veterinary Practice
Table of contents
Introduction to TikTok
What makes TikTok a trend you should get behind?
How does TikTok work?
Setting Up a TikTok Business Account
How To Use TikTok for Veterinary Marketing
Advertising on TikTok
Get More Online Bookings With TikTok
Summary
Introduction to TikTok
Since its inception in 2016, the infectiously watchable social media platform has taken the internet by storm. Users upload short videos, called TikToks, ranging from a few short seconds to three minutes in duration. In just a few short years, TikTok has become a staple of Gen Z and millennial internet culture, and the app has surpassed 3.5 billion downloads. But what does TikTok have to do with your veterinary practice? Can it help with veterinary marketing? Read on to find out.
What makes TikTok a trend you should get behind?
In your veterinary practice, you know it’s important for pet owners to feel confident about bringing in their pets for checkups and medical attention. It’s possible you already have a loyal clientele. But what if you could expand your reach to more pet owners every day? While a lot of user content on TikTok includes lip-syncing and dancing, companies that target younger audiences are using TikTok to connect and relate with potential customers.
Many young millennials and Gen Zers are future pet parents, and since 66% of TikTok’s users are under the age of 30, developing a bond with them will pave the way for a future connection when they have a pet of their own. Your existing clients may also be some of the millennial pet parents who are already on the app.
Either way, you can create captivating content that positions your brand as a superlative and compassionate veterinary practice. The younger generation can have a compelling influence on their parents too, so don’t be afraid to reach out to them when the opportunity arises. TikTok can also be used to reach out to prospective students who wish to follow their dreams of becoming a vet or technician, and graduate students already in DVM programs can become prospective hires once they graduate.
Thanks to the TikTok algorithm, users frequently spend quite a long time scrolling through curated content. With an unrivalled opportunity to film, edit, and post engaging videos, your vet clinic can leverage the platform to post original content and share it via other channels like Facebook or Instagram, where you may already have dedicated followers.
How do you start?
We’re glad you asked! Let’s walk you through some basics of using TikTok and maximising the visibility of your vet practice.
How does TikTok work?
Unlike other social media platforms, TikTok does a great job of displaying content to users that is tailored to their unique interests. The TikTok algorithm curates a user’s feed based on their interaction with past content, considering the hashtags the user follows, accounts they’ve interacted with, videos they’ve liked, and comments they’ve made.
Setting Up a TikTok Business Account
- Download and open the TikTok app.
- Use your email, Google, Twitter, or Facebook account to create a TikTok account.
- Tap “Profile” in the lower-right corner, then tap “Edit Profile.” Here, you can add a profile picture, bio, and links to other social media accounts.
- Back on your profile, switch to a business account by tapping the three lines in the upper-right corner. From there, tap “Settings and privacy” and then “Manage account.”
- Tap “Switch to Business Account.”
- Now, pick the category that best describes your brand and tap “Next.”
- Add a website and email address to your profile.
You’re all set! Congratulations on creating your new TikTok Business Account!
How To Use TikTok for Veterinary Marketing
Content Ideas
- Show the behind the scenes of your vet practice.
Posting about the behind the scenes of your staff looking after pets — and busting out a dance move or two — can showcase the tone and mood of your practice to potential clients and create an inviting atmosphere for prospective veterinary hires.
- A day in the life of a veterinarian.
Not many people know the stress and effort that comes with being a veterinarian, so why not share this with your clients? It’s a way to capture the essence of what it takes to be a veterinarian and, at the same time, uplift your vet practice to potential audiences.
- Educational and informational content.
Posting educational content and creating awareness of pet care/health that pet owners can understand and relate to has the potential to go viral among pet owners, increasing the visibility of your vet practice and eventually attracting future clients.
Not sure about it? Check out a TikTok that one of our clients at Vetstoria had created!
Advertising on TikTok
TikTok Ads Manager
Within the interface of the TikTok ads manager, you are able to manage how you optimise your TikTok ads by setting up goals, budgets, audiences, targeting, and call to actions to direct traffic to your website and create brand awareness. Once an ad is launched, you can access detailed analytics and metrics to track your ad’s performance.
Influencer Marketing Using TikTok
If your vet practice currently works with influencers who already promote the practice, this would be a great way to leverage their social media presence and create high-quality, authentic content that appeals to pet owners. You can also get influencers to share your branded content on their TikTok profiles to reach an even broader audience. This can be a great way to get more results out of your veterinary marketing spend.
Get More Online Bookings With TikTok
As a vet practice that uses Vetstoria for your online bookings (or wants to), you can paste your unique booking link into the TikTok bio alongside a call to action (CTA) when running TikTok ads for a specific campaign. By using TikTok, you are creating a new channel through which to reach potential pet owners and instantly direct them to book appointments on your website.
Summary
TikTok is a growing trend worldwide. By using TikTok to promote your vet practice, you connect with a whole new audience of pet parents or future pet parents who are all potential clients. If used creatively and wholesomely, TikTok can be the next best thing in establishing a vet practice’s brand identity, using for effective veterinary marketing and showcasing a different, fun side of your practice’s extremely busy work schedule.
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