BY: CHEYANNE FLERX & JANEL HUTTON
Fall is right around the corner! Are you ready? Don’t worry if you aren’t because we have your back! Check out our ideas on what you can post and promote this month.
Topic Ideas for the Vet Clinic Blog:
Keeping your blog up to date with helpful and educational content is still a useful tool to utilize. Here are some blog topics and titles to get you going:
- Fall Pet Household Toxins
- New Pet? Starting Your New Pet Off Right at [INSERT YOUR CLINIC]
- Meet Our Staff! Introducing Our New [INSERT POSITION AND TEAM MEMBER NAME]
- Pandemic Pet Care Tips
- How Often Should My Pet See The Vet?
Video Ideas:
Video is still one of the most consumed pieces of content across multiple social media platforms. Use that knowledge to your advantage! Try these ideas:
- Video Idea #1: “Beauty Shots” – If you have groomers in your clinic, show off some before and afters of the pets at a great time to drum up some interest for your grooming services! I really like using apps like Ripl for these types of posts. Use a CTA (Call To Action) to book appointments for grooming and tease the audience by mentioning how appointments fill up fast around the holidays.
- Video Idea #2: “Celebrate Your Team” – September is a great month to start highlighting your current team members. If you have a large team, you could highlight each department or whenever a team member has work anniversaries. With curbside service being the norm right now, many clients don’t get to see your team members face to face. So let’s re-introduce them through social media! Videos are a great and quick way for followers to see what is happening behind in the practice and caring for their pets.
Facebook Post Ideas:
- Post Idea #1: “First Day of Fall” – September 22nd is the first day of fall, which provides an excellent opportunity to mention fall safety tips for pets. Write a list of 5-6 tips and make a simple infographic on Canva and share it on your page. PRO TIP: If you already have a blog post covering pet fall toxins, you can take the main bullet points from there and turn that into an infographic.
- Post Idea #2: “World Rabies Day” – World Rabies Day is a great day to remind pet owners of the importance of vaccinating pets against rabies. Take September 28th as a chance to share your blog on vaccines or share a fact about rabies and encourage people to book an appointment to get their pets vaccinated.
- Post Idea #3: “Feline Friends” – Keep those patient posts coming! Sharing pictures of your patients on social is even more important than ever, with curbside service still a daily part of most clinics’ routines. If you capture a cute moment of a feline patient snuggling or playing with your team, share that photo on Facebook. Then in the caption, ask your followers to show pictures of their precious kitties to boost engagement!
Facebook Banner Ideas:
Here are some examples of banners you can use to spruce up your Facebook page.
- Banner Idea #1: “Team Highlight” – Need to update your Facebook banner? Try making a photo collage of your team from over the last few months and turn those moments into a banner. Visitors to your page will love to see your team’s faces.
- Banner Idea #2: “Precious Patients” – Need an easy and cute banner to whip up in a matter of minutes? Gather your most current patient photos and turn them into a banner. This is great to incorporate your clients and make them feel special.
- Banner Idea #3: “Fall In Love With Your Patients” – Welcome in fall with a seasonal banner like this one Janel created for her hospital!
Instagram Post Ideas:
- Post Idea #1: “Support your local community” – Repost from local sources such as newspapers, news stations, or even small businesses that highlight pets! Show off your appreciation for the community, and they might return the favor by “reposting” your posts.
- Post Idea #2: “Cross-promoting your other social pages” – Need to get some more followers on your IG account? Advertise on your other platforms and host a IG giveaway.
- Post Idea #3: “Avoid the toxins!” – At the practice, take a picture of a toxic fall item and share why it is harmful to pets in the post’s caption.
Instagram or Facebook Stories Ideas:
- Story Idea #1: “Brief Ted Talk” – Take the same toxic item you posted about on your Instagram feed and make a quick Story or Reel to talk about why in the video. It doesn’t have to be minutes, just short and sweet.
- Story Idea #2: “Team Snuggles” – Everyone loves a little snuggling from their pets, right? Record a brief moment of a team member snuggling with a kitten or puppy and bring some joy to the feed!
Cheyanne’s Bonus Biscuit of the Month
Labor Day (US) is September 7th. Will your practice be closed? If yes, notify your clients with simple reminders on social media, email, push notifications, and Google My Business.
In your announcement, include information for the local emergency clinic with your appointment and refill request pages. This is also an excellent opportunity to remind owners to stock up on their pet’s diet or prescription medications before the long holiday weekend.
By including the link to your appointment and refill request pages, your website can do the work for you by gathering appointments and RX refills while you enjoy the holiday.
If you have a Google business listing, update the hours on your listing. Potential clients who are searching for a veterinarian on Google will see that you are closed and will know to either wait for you to reply or contact you when you open. This can easily be achieved by logging into your Google My Business account and clicking on the “Info” tab.
See how in this video:
- If you have a WhiskerCloud website, the team there can easily do this for you! Never heard of WhiskerCloud? Check them out here and tell them we sent you!
Janel’s Bonus Biscuit of the Month
If your clinic is like most clinics worldwide, you’re still offering curbside services for your clients. Taking pictures of how your clinic is offering top-notch care for people’s pets is really important right now on social media.
Take the next step and create some photos focused on the pets that visit your clinic! Create a photo area to set up themes and backgrounds. It doesn’t need to be a big area, as we all know that space can be limited in a clinic.
Here is what you need:
- A little creativity
- A stable wall or large cardboard
- Fabric for background
- Props that match the theme
- Something for the pet to sit on or in
- A sign that helps with the theme
Change your theme monthly, seasonal, or how often you’d like!
Your followers will LOVE the creativity and might even ask to have their pet’s picture taken when they visit during an exam or grooming appointment!
Who wants a free marketing planner? Our friends at ScratchPay are gifting free planners to our peeps! Find out how you can get your free marketing planner here!
Looking for more marketing resources, tips, and tricks?! Our friends at WhiskerCloud have compiled a ton of helpful resources for you here. Not to mention, we have a TON of resources for you over on the Snout School blog and store. Go check them out!
About The Authors
Cheyanne Flerx
Cheyanne Flerx is the owner and founder of Hey Cheyanne, LLC and a former Veterinary Assistant now turned Veterinary Social Media Marketing Coach. Cheyanne is on a mission to use her experience and knowledge to uplift and empower fellow Veterinary Social Media Marketers and train them to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently. Follow her for more social media post ideas, marketing trainings, and guidance on her website.
