Posts in Category: Social Media Marketing
Veterinary Marketing for the Holidays—Goldilocks Style
One of the keys to successful veterinary marketing is finding a plan/system that works for you consistently. Many of us tend to overestimate the time we can give to a project on an ongoing basis. In order to be effective, marketing needs regular time and attention—not just a few spare minutes here and there. As we look forward to the holiday season, now is the time to focus on molding a marketing plan to fit your needs. Beyond Indigo Pets is here to provide the ongoing marketing you need to see real results. Whether or not you’ve already signed up for a marketing package, the following tips can help you get your marketing jumpstarted for the holiday season. Just like Goldilocks, find the veterinary marketing strategy that is “just right” for your hospital while building a quarterly plan with your Beyond Indigo Pets marketing strategist.
Mild Effort
Best if you have: ✓ limited time ✓ no budget ✓ basic social media knowledge ✓ basic photo/video skills
We know that you might not have the time or resources to fully jump into a complete marketing plan right away, but there are some quick and easy ways to get people to engage with your brand. Here are just a few that only require a mild amount of effort:
Idea One: Social Media Holiday Contest Have an Instagram account? Create a holiday contest with a hashtag like #yourbusinessname that people can use to tag their favorite holiday photos of their pets. This is an easy way to create some buzz around your business name. You will simply need to create the marketing message, tell people on Instagram and Facebook, and interact with the posts people tag you in. And all you have to do for a prize is to feature the winning photo on your timeline.
Idea Two: Team Video For social media, create a video with every willing staff member saying “happy holidays” and sharing a pet holiday tip like: “Remember, no chocolate for dogs!” Once you are happy with the videos, have someone schedule them to post on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, or NextDoor during the holiday months.
Medium Effort
Best if you have: ✓ flexible time ✓ small budget ✓ educational content ✓ marketing channels to spread the word
If you have a little more time to devote to your holiday veterinary marketing efforts, here are some ideas that could be perfect for your practice:
Idea One: Client Education Sessions Holidays are fraught with preventable animal health issues that catch many pet owners completely off guard. Educating clients about the dangers of certain toxins (like grapes for dogs or lilies for cats) is helpful in preventing issues that could instantly ruin someone’s holiday. You can hold a free in-person or Zoom class to discuss these concerns. If you do have the event online, make sure to share on your digital marketing platforms.
Idea Two: Honor Your Clients’ Pets Participate in a pet-focused gift like planting a tree in honor of a pet. There are many services that do this for you and your only requirements are to write a check and let your clients know that you are providing this service. For pets who have passed, there are services such as Tree Givers. You can also use something like the National Forest Service. Create a few social media posts explaining the process, make a flyer for the hospital, and let your clients know about the program when they come in for their appointments.
Maximum Effort
Best if you have: ✓ flexible schedule ✓ budget ✓ space in your practice/facility
✓ community partnerships
Idea One: Celebrate Your Clients’ Pets For all the pets that transitioned over the rainbow bridge in the last year (or a time period that you set), create or buy a Christmas tree ornament or other meaningful holiday marker. Invite the families to come in to pick up their special memory gift from you. Make sure to take pictures before and after the event to share on social media (with permission).
Idea Two: Host a Get Together If your practice is open to in-house visitors, create a celebration time where your pet parents can come in and have a beverage, take a picture of their pet, and maybe buy some holiday gifts for Fido. Reconnecting on a face-to-face level helps grow the bond between you and your pet owners. If you have new services or under-utilized services, this would be a great time to showcase them and how they work.
Idea Three: Support Your Community Work with a local rescue group to serve as a drop-off place for a donation drive for the rescue. Gather a list of what the rescue group needs, promote it on social media channels, set up a drop-off area in or outside of the hospital, and then organize how to deliver the donated items.
When it comes to spreading the word about your practice, Beyond Indigo Pets has plenty of marketing plan options so we can do the heavy lifting for you. We deliver impacting results with a custom touch. Think of us as an extension of your business. We are here to help. Call (877) 244-9322 to get started!
Digital Marketing Struggles
In the fledgling days of the internet, digital marketing used to be very simple. Today, everything has evolved and there are multiple moving parts that each seem to require regular attention. We have seen many veterinarians with their head in their hands wondering why marketing on the internet seems so confusing. The answer is: because it IS CONFUSING. How do you navigate it and come out successful and sane on the other end of the process?
Top 5 Veterinary Social Media Posts that Will Increase Client Engagement
Your social media platforms are an invaluable tool to reach and engage with both current and potential clients. If you are looking for new ways to boost your social media engagement, Beyond Indigo Pets has you covered. Keep reading to learn about some of the top posts to get people talking on your page:
NextDoor for Veterinarians
NextDoor is a local social network platform that is limited to “neighborhoods” based on your home or business address. It is designed for local people to post questions, ask for recommendations, and give/get general updates for their area. In fact, many of the posts start with ISO or “in search of.”
Flea, Tick, and Heartworm Marketing–How to Reach People In This New World
As the weather starts to warm up, it is a good time to reach out to patients to keep revenue flowing into the practice and tails flowing through the door. Many of the tried-and-true methods still work. However, there is also room for new concepts to make flea, tick, and heartworm season a success. Let us look at some of the ways digital marketing can be of assistance in this endeavor.
5 Tips to Help Make a Splash this Summer by Marketing to Existing Clients
Vacations, warmer weather, and fun outdoor activities are a great part of summer. It’s also a great opportunity to include some fun seasonal marketing to encourage business year-round and remind existing customers you are there for them in every season.
Don’t let your marketing efforts take a summer vacation this year! Here are some easy tips to help your summer social media marketing make a splash:
Marketing is Communication and Communication is Marketing
So, what does that mean, exactly? It means that every single word that is exchanged between you and a client is marketing. As a veterinarian, you might not realize that your marketing efforts extend beyond a colorful logo, an engaging website, and high-quality Google and Facebook ads. Even the slightest verbal or written communication can impact how your clients think of your business.
5-Minute Ways to Make Time for Morale
In order to survive in the time of COVID-19, businesses, especially those in the veterinary field, have had to think quickly and pivot to provide new ways of offering service. While many companies have managed to successfully navigate this new world, morale has not always been at the forefront of these transitions.
Employee morale, customer morale, and community morale are important elements of a business in normal times, and they are even more important now. If you are interested in boosting spirits in and around your company, here are some easy ways you can do it:
Positive Insights in Unsettling Times
These days, turning on the news can be disheartening. We are all doing our best to navigate this new world and it is very easy to get caught up in the fear of the unknown. In between all of the scary and ever-changing headlines, though, it is important to remember that good things are still happening, especially when it comes to marketing. Here are some marketing techniques that are definitely still working for our clients: