Social Media
Social Media Tools & Forms
Make managing your social media easier with these free downloadable tools, guidelines, policies & forms.
Waggy Dog: FREE 2024 Social Media Calendar for Vets
The cost of living crisis is encouraging you to be creative about how you market your veterinary practices to pet owners who are struggling to make their dollars stretch.
2024 looks to be more of the same, so to help you get a jump on your social media planning, Waggy Dog Marketing has created a calendar with 365 days of content all planned out for you!
- Seasonal messages
- Notable dates
- Pet health and safety tips
- Fun facts
Click HERE to download
Social Media Cheat Sheet
This handy document will help you to keep track of all the confusingly sized images required on your social media accounts.
Posting guidelines include Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok and Pinterest
Social Media Community Guidelines
If your business has any social media accounts, you need to set up Social Media Community Guidelines. These Guidelines set the rules for public engagement for all of your online accounts and importantly, clarify with followers what is and what is not acceptable on your practice’s social media profiles.
Social Media Policy – for Team Members
Every business should have a Social Media Policy as even if your veterinary practice is not using social media, your employees are.
A Social Media Policy will protect your business and brand from legal risk and uphold your reputation on social media. The Policy should describe in detail how your practice and employees should use social media.
Thanks to the Australian Employee Manual: Instant HR Policies & Procedures for making their Internet & Social Media Policy available to the Vetanswers Community.
Approval Form for Use of Pet & Client Images/Video
Sharing photos and videos of your patients and clients is a big part of your social media content. However, you need to make sure you have signed permission for the use of client and patient photos/videos before they can be posted online.
Set up a system to ensure all clients have been given the opportunity to sign a Client Photo/Video Release Form by adding a checkbox in your practice management system or a note on the client’s record.
Vetanswers Blog Posts: Social Media …
If you’re after some basic information about social media for your veterinary practice or business, the Vetanswers blog is a good place to start.
Click HERE to visit the Vetanswers Blog, scroll down until you see the Blog Categories box and Click on the Marketing and Social Media Blog category to see all of our posts.
Do I Really Need a Veterinary Blog?
The answer to this question depends on how much you think your clients are looking for pet information online. If you know they’re looking online for answers to basic (and not so basic) questions about the health and care of their pets and animals and you’d prefer that they come to you for the answers, then having your own blog is a great way to ensure this happens.
Some resources to help you out from the Vetanswers Blog:
I’m struggling to keep up with social media, now we need a veterinary blog??!! 🙁
Your Veterinary Blog – The Engine Behind Your Online Presence
Tasty Tips for Newbie Bloggers in the Veterinary Industry
What do you mean you still don’t have a veterinary blog?
There Are So many Social Media Platforms – Which Should I Use?
It’s hard to keep track of all of the different social media platforms and unless you have a full time social media employee – impossible to keep up a presence on all of them.
Luckily, you don’t need to be everywhere – just where your clients and potential clients are. So the first question you need answered is, where are your clients hanging out online?
Facebook for Business
Although the popularity of Facebook has been waning over the past few years, having a presence on this social media platform should still be part of your Marketing Plan.
Facebook for Business (Facebook)
How to Use Facebook for Business: 25 Facebook Marketing Tips and Tricks (HubSpot)
Facebook Marketing: How to Drive Demand, Create Loyal Fans, and Grow Your Business (HubSpot)
Experienced Facebook Business User?
Beginner’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads (Social Media Examiner)
Instagram for Business
Instagram was launched in 2010 and is a social media platform built around sharing photos and videos. Now owned by Facebook, it can be helpful to your business by building brand awareness and connecting with your clients in between their visits. It also focuses on images and you have so many cute photo opportunities!
If you’re not yet on Instagram and wondering if it’s right for your veterinary practice, here are a few resources to help get you started:
Getting started on Instagram (Instagram Business Blog)
23 Types of Instagram Posts from Real Veterinary Practices (LifeLearn)
Experienced Instagram User?
How to Get Started With Instagram Stories for Business (Social Media Examiner)
LinkedIn is a professional networking site, so it’s probably not the best platform for veterinary practices to connect with pet owners. If however, you’re a supplier to the veterinary industry then setting up a Company Page can be a great way to establish authority and expertise in your area and to connect with practice owners and managers.
LinkedIn Company Pages: The Ultimate Guide [+ 10 Best Practices] (Hubspot)
Snapchat
Snapchat was launched in 2011 and allows users to share temporary, short photos and videos. It’s a mobile-only platform and the short-term messages become inaccessible after they’re opened, although stories are available on a profile for 24 hours. It’s a platform that is more widely used among Millenials, so if that’s one of your target markets then you might want to consider adding it to your Marketing Plan
Snapchat for Business (Snapchat)
Snapchat for Business: The Ultimate Marketing Guide (Hootsuite)
Snapchat for Business: Everything You Need to Know (Business News Daily)
TikTok
TikTok was started in 2018 by a Chinese company and is a short-form, video-sharing app that allows users to create and share 15-second videos on any topic. It has a strong focus on localised content, is fun and entertaining and roughly 75% of users are under 34 years. Whether it’s a platform that should be part of your Marketing Plan depends on the target market you’re hoping to connect with.
What is TikTok? And Why Marketers Need to Care (HubSpot)
How to Use TikTok: A Step-by-Step Guide (HubSpot)
TikTok Marketing: A Content Strategy for Businesses (SocialMedia Examiner)
Google Business Profile
It may not be a social media platform, but having a professional presence when clients and potential clients are searching online is essential to the success of your business.
Your Google Business Profile
Formally known as Google My Business, creating and maintaining your free Google Business Profile is an important tool to ensure your business can be found by local pet owners – and as Google is the world’s most visited website it’s a bit of a no-brainer.
Your Google Business Profile is a free business listing from Google that allows you to provide details and photos of your business including location and services AND it will help to improve your local SEO.
How to Use Google My Business to Get More Customers in 2022 (Hootsuite)
Stand out on Google with a free Business Profile (Google)
Google Local Map Results – Our Guide to Getting Discovered Faster (Doctor Multimedia)