BY: CHEYANNE FLERX & JANEL HUTTON

Does social media have you down lately? Then, we challenge you to create some fun and positive content to help combat the dreary content that is circulating currently! October is full of great opportunities to showcase your practice in a positive light. Here are some of our favorite suggestions!

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 to get you going:

• Tips to have a safe, pet-friendly Halloween
• Introduce your Veterinary Technicians
• Educate on the list of treats pets should avoid
  
• Fall toxins that can harm your pet
  

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: “Team Spirit” – Do a short interview series of your Vet Techs for Vet Tech Week! Ask them about their pets, what their favorite part of the day is at the clinic, or even simple trivia questions about their likes! If you have a good number of vet techs, keep the videos to at least 1 min for each tech.
• Video Idea #2: “Walk The Walk” – National Dog Walk Week is October 1-7. Make a video with your staff members showing proper walking techniques and equipment that will keep pets and their owners safe on walks.

Facebook Post Ideas:

• Post Idea #1: “Happy Vet Tech Week” – Introduce your followers to Vet Tech Week! Show appreciation toward your vet techs by adding a call to action for your followers to show their gratitude in the comments. Then you can share those comments with your staff! Want more content ideas for #vettechweek? We have a whole list for you here.
• Post Idea #2: “National Pet Wellness Month” – Focus on posts throughout the whole month that educate your followers on the importance of wellness and regular exams.
• Post Idea #3: “Paint it Pink!” – October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so spread awareness by getting your staff to dress in pink and decorate the lobby with pink. You can even donate to your local breast cancer awareness organization and encourage your followers to join in! Make it fun!

• Post Idea #4: “Halloween Costume Contest” – We say it every year, but it really works!! With Danielle’s proven system for running a successful photo contest, you can have an amazing photo contest that helps your page increase with likes and reach! Learn more here!

Facebook Banner Ideas:

Here are some examples of banners you can use to spruce up your Facebook page.

• Banner Idea #1: “Halloween Pet Costumes” – If you host a photo contest, then fill your banner with pets in their Halloween costumes! Follow the same instructions above as a post idea for a photo contest. People love having their pets featured on your social media pages!

• Banner Idea #2: “Vet Tech’s are Awesome!” – Highlight your vet techs or whole team during the entire month by showing them off on your banner! If you have several team members, use the native Facebook slideshow option, and use more than one banner image!
• Banner Idea #3: “Pretty in Pink!” – Design a PINK banner to show support for Breast Cancer Awareness in your community. You could include pictures of your team or pets dressed in pink to add personality.

Instagram Post Ideas:

• Post Idea #1: “Feature your Vet Techs” – Highlight your hardworking team members and show your appreciation. Share how they contribute to the team and overall patient care. You can also show the special treats your vet techs received during Vet Tech Week!

• Post Idea #2: “Set up a Background” – Show off your grooming pets or pets that visit your clinic with them in their Halloween costumes! Make a photogenic background with Halloween decorations and share on IG. Even invite clients to post on their own Instagram and tag your clinic! #winwin

Instagram or Facebook Stories Ideas:

• Story Idea #1: “Caption This” – Do you have a great photo that you want a witty caption for? Share that photo on your Stories, add the Question Sticker, and ask your followers to caption the photo. Then you can share those sticker replies for easy slides.
• Story Idea #2: “Who wore it best?” – If your team dresses up for Halloween, post some of the photos of the costumes on your Stories and ask your followers, “Who wore it best?” Or “This or That” in a Poll Sticker. People will love voting for their favorite costumes!

Cheyanne’s Bonus Biscuit of the Month

Jackie from The-Social-Unicorn shared this great tip in the Veterinary Social Media: A Community by Snout School! To spice up her annual Halloween Pet Photo Contest, she has created flyers with QR codes that links to her clinic’s Facebook page, so that while clients are waiting at curbside, they can partake in the contest! I thought this was a wise way to use QR codes and add some fun to the curbside experience. Here is a glimpse of the flyers Jackie created:

This project is very easy to create in Canva! Not sure where to find the QR creator within Canva? I found this tutorial that explains it well!

Psst… are you struggling with difficult clients through your curbside service? Our friend, Debbie Boone has created this excellent letter you can send out to your clients to give them a friendly reminder to be courtesy. Check it out!

Janel’s Bonus Biscuit of the Month

I have probably talked about this before, but I can’t stress this enough. The holidays are coming up, and even though things MIGHT be slowing down in the clinic, a lot is happening in the next three months. You got to be prepared! So here is my biscuit….SET UP A MONTHLY STRATEGY! Starting with October.

Here are a few tips on setting up your strategy for the next quarter:

• Set aside a time to hash out all the details. It can be easily distracting working at a veterinary clinic, but try to set aside some time to work solely on your social media strategy.
• Print out some blank calendars or get a planner and write everything you want to post on dates. I start with my marketing goals.
• Then, I look at basic and pet holidays that I want to focus on. Next, I give each month a theme, usually centered around a pet awareness happening each month, like October is Pet Wellness Awareness Month. Lastly, I sprinkle in the fun posts that I want to do.
• Another calendar to use is an online calendar! Use Google Calendar or your smartphone’s calendar and enter dates. You can set alerts to help you remember to post or get the content.
• Narrow down the details on days and holidays you wish to post about. Plan out the photos that you need and write out your copy (text) for the posts. Decide what platforms you will be posting on.
• To fill in days between promos, holidays, and events, develop a plan to highlight different services your clinic offers. Some examples are grooming services, boarding, surgeries offered, services offered, etc.
• Scatter some FUN and INSPIRING posts throughout your calendar. This will engage your audience so that they won’t feel like you are trying to sell them something. Need ideas? Check out our 65 Vet Clinic Social Media Posts That Get Pet Owners To Comment Guide!
• Schedule your posts either in a 3rd party scheduler or right in Facebook Creator, which allows you to post to Instagram and Facebook. Scheduling your posts ahead of time can help cut down your workload!

I hope these tips help! If you have any other tips, you’d like to share, post them in our Veterinary Social Media: A Community by Snout School! We always love seeing what everyone else is doing to promote their clinic on social media.

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