EP22 - What Pet Owners Actually Want To See On Your Social Media

Are your veterinary clinic’s social media posts falling flat? You’re not alone. In this episode of The VetPractice Playbook, we break down what pet owners actually want to see on your social media and why most veterinary practices are missing the mark.

If you’ve ever wondered why your engagement is low, why new clients aren’t finding you, or why posting feels like a waste of time, this conversation will change how you approach content entirely. The truth is, successful veterinary social media isn’t about posting more. It’s about posting with purpose and building trust before clients ever walk through your doors.

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Timestamps
 00:00 Intro
01:38 Social Media Struggles
03:18 The Biggest Misconception in Vet Clinic Social Media
06:03 Showcasing Core Values and Clinic Identity
08:45 Getting Started on Social Media
11:51 Coming Up With Ideas for Content
15:52 Don't Bash the Pet Owners
19:00 Closing Points
20:25 Outro 

Transcript

Intro

SPEAKER_02 0:10

All right, welcome to the Vet Practice playbook brought to you by Vet Practice Pro, where we talk all things veterinary leadership, management, clinic ownership, and more. I'm Kayla Biddles, joined by John Bittles and Harrison King.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

I'm John Biddles. No, I'm Bon Jittles. You can be John Biddles. I'm Bela Kittles. Oh, there we go. Harrison in the house.

SPEAKER_02 0:32

Yeah. So make sure to check out vetpracticepro.com where we bring you tools, conversations, and frameworks that help clinics move out of survival mode and into intentional leadership. And then make sure to join our email list, follow us on social media, and don't forget to join our circle community. Harrison, you want to talk about Circle?

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Sure. So Circle is our community where any veterinary professional, practice owner, practice manager can go and ask questions, learn from each other. It's like Reddit, but uh much nicer than Reddit, uh not as toxic. And we actually just had somebody ask a question the other day that was about checks and balances. Yeah. Nice. So yeah. Um, so if you want to go and uh you know hear from us and learn from other people in the industry, there's about 400-ish people in there.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

So and if you're part of the circle group, let us know how we can engage with you, how we can connect in different ways that we may not have even thought about and how we can support you more. Um, there's a post on there that's a catalyst for that. Drop your ideas, we'd be happy to help.

Social Media Struggles

SPEAKER_02 1:37

Yep. So in today's episode, we're talking about something that um most clinics are doing, but I don't think they're doing it very well all the time. And that is social media, which was why we have Harrison on today's episode. The go-to guy for that. So most veterinary clinics are posting, but they're not always connecting with their people. Um, so they're sharing random pet photos, occasional holiday graphics, uh, maybe a staff birthday here and there. Um, but they're wondering, you know, why is my engagement so low? Why aren't new clients coming in? And it just feels sometimes like a waste of their time, right? So today, our goal is to fix that. So, Harrison, what's the big misconception?

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Well, before we dive into the big misconception, we have to address the elephant in the room.

SPEAKER_02 2:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:25

We're missing somebody.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Oh, that is true. We're missing my mother. We're missing. We did not bring that up.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

We're missing Zay Richard King. Yeah. And Emily King today.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

She has been on a whole campaign of speaking recently.

SPEAKER_02 2:41

Yeah. I can't keep track of her.

The Biggest Misconception in Vet Clinic Social Media

SPEAKER_00 2:43

So she is today, uh, for those listening, she is out in Champaign, Illinois. That's how you say it, right? Champagne. Champaign, Illinois. And she is uh, what'd you say? Champagne. The uh she's speaking for Zoetis with a few practice managers and practice owners and stuff like that, but she is not here today. So she is sadly missed. But um, let's dive into uh social media as a whole. There's so much to unpack. Um but I think that the biggest misconception, I think, with social media is that which I see a lot of the corporate companies doing actually, and I understand why, because it can be trying to post personal social media posts from 500 clinics that you own is impossible. Yeah. So something that they do is they will post generic stock imagery or holiday posts or whatever. And I always say that something is better than nothing, but those posts are practically nothing. So I think that the big misconception is that um those kind of posts work, but then also that you really have to think about what pet owners and viewers in the animal care space want to see. Like I don't think that they necessarily want to see, you know, learn about your dental machine or whatever. Um and I think that, you know, there are a few things that pet owners are actually wanting to see. And most of the time, from what I find, it's mainly educat uh entertaining content nowadays, but I feel like it is important to provide that credibility with educational posts, even if they don't perform as well. Um, I think that that is something that is a little misunderstood, is that if a post doesn't perform well, then it doesn't matter. It's like, well, that's not entirely the case. I think that, you know, one of the clients that I work with, um, Cat Care Center, the entertaining post, do the best out of any of them. But the educational post, I think, provides some credibility to the head doctor there, Dr. Lacey, because when she does speak, she speaks with such authority. And there are a handful of videos that we posted recently where, especially on TikTok, where people say, like, wow, like I would totally come you use you as my veterinarian because of the way that you're speaking about, you know, your patients, the way you speak about cats, like your your love, you know, for them, et cetera, et cetera.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

So well, I think too, one thing when we started to change the social media all-stars, that people appreciated just getting to know the staff better. Yeah. Um, and they felt like they knew us before they even came in, which is already building trust. So they trust us before they even come in because they see us on social media. Um, and it can just be an image talking about something or just a funny video, or just a random, yeah. I mean, it could be anything, just getting your name out there and showing people who you are.

Showcasing Core Values and Clinic Identity

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Yeah. I mean, using Cat Care Center as an example again, one of the videos that has really done well, which is funny because let me paint it, let me paint the picture. So the video that I posted a few weeks ago for them was literally me walking around to the staff members and saying, Would you slap someone if it meant your cat would live or something like that? Like, you know, something really stupid. Like, would you slap someone or like let it die or whatever? And all the staff, of course, they answered yes, like and some of them like dumbfounded, like, well, yeah, you know. Um, and that video ended up getting almost a million views, I think, across the board. Um, and they're a very small account. Like, we just started working with them. But I think that that is a good way of showcasing the staff, kind of going back to what you're saying, Kayla, showcasing the staff without just, for example, posting a picture of them. Yeah. Um, it shows that they care about their patients, it shows their personalities because of some of their answers are a little bit, you know uh uh, I guess it shows a little bit of who they are, I guess. Um and so yeah, I don't know where I was going with that.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

But I think if you're gonna make the post about you, about your business, you need to figure out what drives that. Whether that's your core, you're trying to show a core value. Like if you're gonna go from the inner entertainment side move to they need to know our identity, they need to know what we're capable of, they need to know who we are. You really have to look at what core values or what motivated you to post that specific thing about your clinic. For example, we talk about um All-Star a whole lot as far as how they open doors for people. They literally hire somebody to open doors for people when they come in about not having phones and in the workspace and having pedestals, not having a reception desk instead of pedestals. So if that's positive feedback you're getting from your clients, then showcase that. You know, not what you're excited about, but what your customers are excited about. If you want them to see inside your clinic, let them see inside through your customers' eyes who have given you positive feedback.

Getting Started on Social Media

SPEAKER_00 8:13

Yeah, no, for sure. And I think going back to Kayla's point about showcasing the staff. I remember back when I was working full-time at the clinic and we were making those office style skits, and Devin was in a lot of them. And people kept online but also in person were requesting, like, where's Devin? You know, where's that? And I think that that can have a real impact on um, you know, the trust with your clients, but then also getting new clients as well. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:46

So if they're just starting out on social media, how would you what's like the first step? Like where would you start?

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Um I think if I were starting out on social media, I would start with one platform. Uh, don't worry about posting on all the platforms. I think that you have to think about your audience that you're trying to reach, uh, your location. Um, if you're trying to reach younger pet owners, I think TikTok is a great way to do that. Um I think being consistent. So saying you're gonna post three times a week and sticking to that is super important. And I think having an outline of what posts you're going to publish throughout the week is important as well. So you're gonna have maybe one educational post and two funny posts. Maybe the two funny posts will be one trending sound, the other one will be a funny original idea. Uh, maybe one will be showcasing the staff, maybe another one will be, you know, showcasing the head veterinarian. Uh so I think that's where I would start small. I think it's important to focus on one platform because you want to I think hone in on what works on that platform and then you know, spread your wings.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

I think each platform has a different audience.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

Each platform definitely has a different audience. I see a lot of clinics, they start with Instagram and Facebook, and I think that's a good starting point. I think that if you are trying to increase brand awareness specifically, I think TikTok works very well with that just based off of their algorithm and the audience that is on there. What else?

SPEAKER_02 10:31

Um, I so when I was doing social media um too, because it, you know, it can be overwhelming. You think it's gonna take up all your time, this or that, but like I scheduled posts. I don't know if you schedule a lot out, but you can just take, you know, an hour a day or so and post out, you know, your week content. So it's done, it's easy, um, doesn't take up too much of your time as well.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Yeah, yeah. And I think, you know, to give owners and practice managers an idea of how long it takes to create content, you know, I think if you look at it as a whole, 12 posts for an entire month, oh, that's gonna take so much time to do, which is why you can hire somebody like me to help. But if you are if you are doing it yourself, I when I work with a clinic, it usually takes me maybe an hour and a half to film anywhere from 12 to 15 posts. And so I think that if your goal is to really film three in a week, that'll maybe take you 15 minutes. Right. So, and if you are, you know, I don't know, I feel like throughout the week you can find 15 minutes.

SPEAKER_02 11:39

Yes. Yes. You just walk around with your phone, yeah, some video content.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

Right, right. And I think that it can be it can literally be anything.

Coming Up With Ideas for Content

SPEAKER_02 11:49

Like I think that sometimes So then where where do you get your ideas from?

SPEAKER_00 11:55

That's a great question.

SPEAKER_02 11:56

So somebody's like, yeah, I'd love to, but I have no idea where to even look or begin.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

So a lot of you probably listening are wanting to reach pet owners. I would say that if you are I guess this applies both ways. So I think when coming up with ideas, if they're not educational and if they are more, you know, comedic based, I would try to make them as relatable as possible if they are not super entertaining. I think that what you want is people to be commenting, oh my gosh, this is so relatable. I, you know, just happened to me last week, and that way it'll get a ton of shares. And I think shares are really the the highest currency when it comes to social media value, at least on Instagram anyway. Yeah. And so, like, for example, we posted a video of my mom's a few days ago, and it was of her and her surgery gear saying, telling pet uh the pet owner to stop Googling symptoms when she just googled the symptoms. And so, like, that was you know, a lot that got a lot of shares, a lot of people were saying, you know, how relatable that was. And I think that that can apply to any clinic, really. But I think that creating relatable content is a bit more difficult when you're trying to reach pet owners. And so I think that's why, for example, with Cat Care Channel, we're kind of taking the approach of we want it to be sort of more entertaining while also showcasing the staff members because asking them those questions, you know, that I mentioned previously had really nothing to do with relatability.

SPEAKER_02 13:31

It's just fun and get to know them.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

Yeah. Um, but creating ideas, coming up with ideas, I would try to make them as relatable as possible. If you're wanting to research ideas, I think scrolling through the different platforms is okay, but I would think about your daily interactions with your clients and think about what can be made into content from that.

SPEAKER_02 14:00

Yes, I agree.

SPEAKER_00 14:01

So, like, for example, you know, back in the day, a few years ago, it was really popular for people to impersonate their different breeds, like when they come into the clinic, right? And that was from the um angle of uh veterinary professionals, but it because was also relatable to pet owners because that's their dog. Like they know when it comes in that it's gonna be like that. Yep. Right. Um and so I guess just thinking about that when coming up with ideas.

SPEAKER_02 14:33

Yep. Yep. And I think too, like, you know, we always heard like, I can't get my dog to take the pills. And so like it could be something funny to you, of like trying to get a dog to take a, you know, a medicine and you're struggling like the pet owner and it's relatable to the pet owner. So definitely trying to think of things or examples like that that you hear the clients, what problems or issues do they have at home and somehow make it kind of funny.

SPEAKER_01 14:57

I think some of the comedy stuff that seems to work well and perform well is when you take something that's known amongst a group of people and then you exaggerate it. So, like, you know, people people like cute pets. Well, then you do a video where we love cute pets. You know, you literally push the envelope on it. Or if you're doing leadership or something like that, we all had that difficult employee. Let's make that employee a little extra difficult and let's make our response a little bit extra. So it's like when you push that boundary, there's this element of humor and sarcasm that everybody can relate to on this level, but you're taking it a step further and adding some humor into it and some hyper exaggeration. That's a good place to start because it's easy to find those places that are relatable for everybody. And then, okay, what if we just magnified it times 10 and then put it on social media? It's it's humor, it's funny, and everybody can connect.

Don't Bash the Pet Owners

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Yeah, I agree. And I think that when creating content, something to keep in mind for your clinic is to never bash the pet owner. Yeah. Um, I think that that's something that I still keep in mind and uh definitely kept in mind when I was working at the clinic full time. I think that I've seen less and less now, which is actually good, but I remember seeing clinics back in the day that you know would either like upfront insult a pet owner or like have like the underlying tone of insulting the pet owner. And I really never understood that because you are actively pushing away your client base. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

Right.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

If somebody is in if I was in the clinic and I saw, you know, a a post, you know, insulting your a pet owner, I'd be like, Yeah, you know what? No, there is a fine line you can ride where there's this whole, you know, inside joke and vet med where like the husbands don't know what they're talking about, blah, blah, blah. Like I think like stuff like that's fine, but just keep that in mind when creating content.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

Yep. Um, yeah, I think we've been talking too a lot about like make it funny, interactive, but I think throw in there some educational thing. Um, I would always think about the seasons, like what's coming up. So we're in the Midwest, so it's getting warm. Fleas are coming.

SPEAKER_00 17:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 17:15

Um, all of that. So then you can.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

We found a flea on the couch, everybody. It's not okay. I can check you myself.

SPEAKER_02 17:22

It looks like we're all not comfortable sitting on the couch.

SPEAKER_00 17:24

No. Um, but we're doing it for you. It was on me.

SPEAKER_02 17:28

Um, so educational posts like that, just a quick video of like, hey, it's getting warm. Do you have heart rump prevention? Do you have flea prevention? Just quick, you know, educational posts as well.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

I would even take it a step further as well to make educational posts around current events.

SPEAKER_02 17:43

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

So, you know, looking at AVMA news, looking at uh VIN news, looking at DVM 360, and seeing what things could apply to your location. I remember now, granted, this is kind of a hyper example, but I remember when COVID was happening and everybody was worried that their pets were gonna get COVID. Yeah. And we made a video of my mom's talking about COVID, and that went crazy, it went bananas on Facebook. Um, but thinking about current examples and applying it to your content uh locally, if it makes sense. Like I know the screw screw worm, whatever is going around and hasn't going around for a while, and you know, it's that could apply to different vet clinics based on their location, stuff like that. Yeah. So okay.

SPEAKER_02 18:35

So I think for our audience who's listening, if you guys need to start somewhere, like Harrison was saying, just try to think about what's your goal. Do you want to do three posts a week, two posts a week, and then one educational, one funny. Um, just get it started and you'll learn your audience, you'll learn where to go with the post. Um, do you have anything else to say about getting started?

Closing Points

SPEAKER_00 18:56

Um not necessarily, but a a few closing points is that I would don't be discouraged if a post doesn't do well, it's the name of the game.

SPEAKER_02 19:06

Yeah. I think don't pick it, you don't need to be perfect right off the bat. You don't need to go viral.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

Yeah, just keep just keep posting. I would also uh make a point that you are not going to get a ton of new clients strictly from social media. Yes. You might get a handful, but that's where paid ads comes into play. And we'll do another episode on that because I'm not going to get into that. And my final point is that if you're going to uh when you do post, when you do start, your some of the first posts that you should do are um an entertaining post that you can pin at the top of your profile, a uh informational post about who you guys are and what you guys do at and pinned at the pop top of your profile, and then an educational post showing your credibility um and credentials and pinning that at the top of your profile. That way, when a non-follower comes and visits your profile, they will immediately see those posts at the top and see what you guys represent, what you guys are all about, and kind of go from there.

SPEAKER_02 20:19

Yep. I like it.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 20:22

All right, anything else?

SPEAKER_00 20:23

No, that's it.

Outro

SPEAKER_02 20:24

All right. So that's it for today's episode of the Vet Practice Playbook. We hope you got a few plays to use yourself and for your clinic. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with others, leave us a review, and check out vetpracticepro.com for tools and courses that can take your clinic to the next level. We'll see you guys next week.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

See ya. Great week.