Veterinarians are an integral part of a community. But competition is still one of the challenges that most clinics and hospitals face, especially if they are not aware of veterinary marketing services or create veterinary SEO content for their pages.
According to an online survey, more than half of the world’s population have at least one animal in their homes that they keep as a pet. Then recently, another study has shown that more young adults prefer to have pets than children.
Individuals with pets love them like their own children, and having a regular veterinarian they can call to is a requirement. As a veterinarian with a clinic or a hospital, the next step is to tell the community that you are the doctor they can turn to whenever their pets need them.
Marketing is valuable in any business, so here are some approaches that can work—and what doesn’t—for veterinary clinics.
What Works
Social Media
Everything and everyone is online. The first step into marketing your business is creating your social media pages. Your pages should include your name, important keywords, and location; this helps your SEO for potential patients to search for your clinic and consider scheduling an appointment.
Your social media pages are your connection to the community and your possible clients. It’s where they can stay updated with your latest services and get to know your business better. Social media posts are also easily shared, and spreading awareness to your clinic will come easy if you stay consistent with your posts.
Building a Website
While social media can create an opportunity for the community to engage and interact with you, having a website will increase your online visibility. Your website can contain basic contact details and inform people of your services, rates, past clients, and pet items and equipment your clinic may also be selling.
Your website may also indicate your social media pages and create a one-stop shop for pet owners’ needs. The current trend for individuals is to immediately Google their needs and inquiries, and having a website and building the right SEO content can land you on top of the page.
Word of Mouth
A business becomes powerful when customers are satisfied enough to tell others about it. Before the internet, people relied on word of mouth, and it still works today. When your patients leave your clinic satisfied with your services and your personality towards their pets, they’ll be more likely to tell their other friends with pets.
This marketing method is timeless, and you can direct your clients to inform their friends and family members to spread the word. With the Internet, you can easily have your clients post photos of your clinic and talk about their experiences.
What Doesn’t Work
Sticking to old school methods
As mentioned above, your online presence will help you diversify your market, especially in your community. However, unfortunately, some businesses still prefer to stick to old-school methods such as yellow pages or newspaper advertisements.
In a new-age world where everyone relies on technology and less on traditional media, new establishments need to keep up with the ever-changing times.
Having one type of post on social media
Clinics tend to stick to one type of post, which is usually all about the business and less about their personality. So, this is a common marketing mistake that new establishments tend to make. Without various content buckets, having a singular line of posts can make your veterinary clinic seem standard and uninviting.
That’s why it’s important to consider marketing services or carefully plan your online content to make your veterinary clinic one of the most successful clinics in your community. Not only will you gain clients, but your business can help hundreds to thousands of owners, especially those without a regular doctor they can contact.