Facebook, Instagram, News, Social media,
Instagram- Yes your veterinary practice needs it
Back to Basics- What is Instagram?
Instagram is a social media platform now owned by Meta (the new name for the Facebook Group of products) primarily based on photos and videos.
Why is it good for veterinary practices?
People love photos of pets and people! So, you have a huge amount of popular original social media content at your disposal every single day in practice.
Is it better than Facebook for vet practices?
One thing Instagram is better at is engagement. It is much easier to get Likes and increase your reach on your Instagram posts than it is on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.
But always try to look at your social media platforms as appealing to different audiences. For that reason, it’s not better, just different.
4 Reasons why your practice should have an Instagram Profile
- Higher levels of engagement.
- Reach a wider and younger audience- think pet owners of the future!
- Show a different and more personal side to your practice for example, you could use your account to share behind-the-scenes photos and get creative with Instagram Reels
- Great for local search.
How to use Instagram for Vet Practices
Get Posting to Instagram:
- Set up a business account – use your practice name so clients can easily find you.
- Link this to your practice’s Facebook Page
- Write a bio – keep it short, friendly and informative
- Add your contact information and a link to your website
- Take a photo or video
- Write a caption- use emojis to capture attention and make it fun
- Include hashtags – these are crucial to help people find your posts and account. For inspiration see our guide on hashtags for vets.
- Tag the post with a location (important! This means people in your area will find you more easily)
- Hit Publish!
Building your Account on Instagram:
Consistent, high quality, unique and interesting content is the number one way to get your vet practice noticed on Instagram. Tell your practice story by posting regularly and engaging with your followers and other accounts. Having an active presence builds credibility, creates trust among your audience and tells people more about your practice and what services you can offer local pet owners.
As you post content, ensure it reflects your practice’s personality through your images and captions.
Hashtags
Relevant hashtags and location tagging to your posts will help when users are searching for their interests and businesses nearby. Hashtags are relevant keywords or phrases that people can use to categorize and tag their posts. When you add hashtags to a post, story, or reel they’ll appear when people search for that hashtag in the Explore tab.
Top Tip from our Social Media Team:
“Create your own hashtags for your practice and make it easy for people to discover you.
To do this, simply add a unique hashtag to your next post. Encourage your community and pet owners to use your hashtag when they share photos and videos about your practice and their pets. Their followers can then tap the hashtag, see posts about your business, follow your account and interact with you! “
Spend time finding local pet owners, follow them, like their posts and write genuine comments. Being kind and authentic is key– no spamming allowed!
Did you know, you can advertise on Instagram too. Easily set up Ads directly from Instagram by promoting posts within the platform or via your Facebook Business Suite and Ads Manager for much more control over audiences, budget, campaign optimisation and creatives (images).
Need help bringing your Instagram account to life?
Whether you need some training so you can run your own Instagram or need us to run it for you, get in touch with our veterinary social media experts hello@vetsdigital.com to find out more.
