News, Social media,
Beyond Facebook – What is the role of Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube for vet practices?
In addition to being an effective way to promote your veterinary practice and the services you offer, social media platforms can help you to build practice loyalty, enhance your market position, and keep your clients up to date with the latest news and information. As each of these will contribute to your ability to both secure new clients and drive repeat business, developing a comprehensive social strategy will benefit your practice over both the short and the long term.
Deciding where to invest your time and resources can be difficult, we hope this brief guide gives you a clear idea as to the options available to you.
-What is Instagram?
This free photo and video sharing app allows users to share content to either a permanent social profile and/or a time-limited Stories functionality where posts remain visible for 24 hours.
-How can Instagram benefit my vet business?
Instagram is a highly visual platform that can help you to reach the younger segments of your audience who don’t maintain an active Facebook presence. It’s worth remembering that this younger audience will be the pet owners of the future.
The digital landscape is competitive and driving engagement is one of the core components of leveraging the most value from your social presence. Engagement on Instagram tends to be higher than Facebook and targeting the audiences on this platform can help you to showcase a different side to your practice.
From behind-the-scenes glimpses that give your audience a deeper insight into your team to sharing photographs and/or video of the pets you treat every week, there are myriad ways to capture the attention of your audience through Instagram.
-Will Instagram become a useful tool for vets in the future?
As Instagram has evolved, many businesses have found its new features to be particularly beneficial. From enhanced linking and tagging capabilities to highlighting your geographical location, Instagram can contribute to your approach to local SEO.
Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube
-Snapchat
Similarly to Instagram, Snapchat users tend to be younger, more digitally literate and aware of trends. Snapchat offers similar functionalities to Instagram Stories and can be used in equally engaging ways to really showcase your practice’s personality and differentiate you from your local competitors.
Twitter allows users to post short 280-character text Tweets, which can be supplemented with a variety of visual media including photographs, video, GIFs and links. Twitter is an ideal platform to quickly answer client queries, engage in relevant and timely conversations, and post short updates about what’s happening at your practice and within your local community.
-YouTube
Although other social platforms also support video, research data indicates that YouTube is widely used by people across all demographics, making it an important social platform for reaching a wide, diverse audience. YouTube is an ideal place to publish both educational and engaging content, allowing you to showcase your practice’s identity and your expertise to drive client loyalty and pet owner confidence.
How to approach your social media strategy
With so many potential avenues to explore, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed or want to target every social platform and audience available. Although it’s wise to expand your social offering beyond a single Facebook page to maximise your reach, it is also important to ensure you have the time to dedicate to maintaining a quality presence on each social network you choose to target.
Do you need support running your social media? Or guidance on how to make the platforms work for you? Our friendly team, headed up by our social media expert Claire, are ready and waiting to support you either with direct management or through a consultancy approach. Call us on 02382 250102 or email hello@vetsdigital.com for an informal chat.
