What influence does social media have on driving traffic to your website? How can you increase this traffic? We asked Cheyanne and Makenzie these questions and more!
Cheyanne: Social media is a great tool to help bring awareness and exposure to your business in a new way, but ultimately it’s a tool to help you bond with your clients in a whole new way. What do I mean? The point of social media is to be SOCIAL with your followers and stay connected with the people who matter the most to you!
Overall, social media can be a tool businesses use to build more likeability and trust with the people they want to attract and do business with.
For veterinary clinics, the goal of using social media is to build and strengthen bonds with clients outside of the time they are in the building with us. This means we get to expand on the topics and reveal more about our team and vision outside the 30-60 minutes window clients are at our practice. In addition, it provides us the room to discuss all the things we can’t cover in the exam room.
It’s the lifeline that allows us to humanize our business and team, show how much we honestly care for our clients and patients show that we are a trustworthy resource and expert in animal care and medicine.
Plus, it enables people to partake in the digital version of word of mouth and share how you changed their pet’s life with all their friends and family.
Makenzie: Exactly what Cheyanne said! Social media is a way to connect with clients outside of the clinic. Whether that is by brightening their day with a cute puppy photo, educating them on certain topics, or by offering deals/reminders. Like Cheyanne talked about above, it also offers a way of testimonials/reviews you may not receive in person or are better received online.
It is necessary to go where your clients are. If your clients are not on social media at all, then it isn’t entirely necessary to be on social media. However, the likelihood of none of your clients being on social media is probably very low. Therefore, it is recommended that you hop on social media, even if it is just one platform that your clients favor over others.
It can be helpful for your business since more people are doing online research on businesses before they become clients. More and more people are using social media or Google reviews to base their decision on where to go. Make sure your social media is up-to-date because outdated information could cause someone to go elsewhere.
Question: What platforms should you be on? Also which platforms are best for what type of content? (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)
Cheyanne: To determine which platforms you are on, you need to get a good picture of your ideal client and figure out where they like to spend their time and where they will interact with you most. You must also determine what you can do realistically with your resources and bandwidth. I've seen many teams burn out by trying to be on all the platforms or quit too soon because they aren't getting the results they want because they are juggling way too much!
Regarding the best content for which platforms, it depends on your audience and your willingness and bandwidth to create and stay consistent. However, using video will be a great strategic move for Instagram and Tik Tok (as it is only videos) for sure! Facebook varies depending on your audience, but video and text-based content have generally performed well. I don't recommend clinics pursuing Twitter at this time, as pet owners don't engage there, in my experience.
When I say video, this doesn't mean you have to get all fancy and record action shots and ask your team members for an interview, either! There are plenty of ways to create videos without actual footage of people. Get creative and test things out! Canva allows you to animate your graphics and videos of nature and backgrounds, so you can spice up your static posts and transform them into videos quickly!
Makenzie: The answer to this is very dependent on where your clients are. If you tend to find your clients more on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, head there first! You do NOT need to be on 4-5 platforms; honestly, that would probably hurt your production/content. Focus on 1-2 platforms your clients consistently use and learn about those. Learn how to make Instagram stories, Reels vs TikToks (which gets you more engagement), and what hashtags to use. If you do not have experience with certain platforms, but that is where your clients tend to be, don’t be afraid to fail. Not everything you post will go viral (actually, most won’t), so don’t be afraid to experiment!
As Cheyanne said, it really depends on which platform your clients favor that will determine the content. If the platform has multiple forms of content (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) that is where you will need to experiment with which type of media your clients prefer. Their preferences may change especially as algorithms change so be conscious of any changes in your clients.
Question: What should you be posting on social media and why?
Cheyanne: You ultimately want to post things that make your clients and followers feel you are talking to them directly. You want to get to know your ideal or dream clients like your best friend, where you know all about their preferences, their relationship with their pet, and how they generally like to live life! The more you can hone in your messaging to attract the type of client you want to work with, the more of that client you’ll draw in and boost your engagement as a result!
The best way to do this in post form is by posting entertaining, educating, or empowering things. In other words, you want your posts to make your clients and followers laugh, learn something new, or feel empowered and inspired. But, how you translate that outcome depends on who your clients are and what they value.
Makenzie: This can be something based on clients as well. Learn if your clients like photos, carousel photos, and videos (what length appeals to them), and what hashtags they interact with most. Videos have become more popular in recent years so that could be where you start, but if production takes too long, sprinkling in photos is good! There are also resources out there for you, including the eVetSites client education portal for photos based on holidays, infographics, or videos you can share.
Think about what your clients want and base your content around that. For example, running a special/sale on something because of a holiday? Share the sale and an infographic for multiple posts. Don’t be afraid to ask your clients as well! Would they prefer a video or infographic showing what is harmful to their pet?
Question: If you are busy, should you outsource your social media to a third-party company to run? How can you manage your accounts without spending hours on them or outsourcing them?
Cheyanne: I fully believe that the best person to manage your social media marketing is someone on your team, in-house, and your absolute most loyal advocate for your clinic. In addition, whoever manages your social media represents your business and generates revenue for you, so you want someone who can represent your business well!
This could be someone on your team who is a technician, assistant, or customer service representative. Still, this person needs to be chosen with intention, given the tools and resources to do the job well, and have time to manage social media accounts properly. I teach team members who manage the clinic’s social media in-house how to manage social media like a pro and how to generate more engagement AND revenue for the clinic easily. If you want to learn more about what I do to support veterinary clinics, please feel free to reach out to me by email at contactme@heycheyanne.com or visit my website at www.heycheyanne.com.
Makenzie: Exactly what Cheyanne said. Someone in-house also knows your clients much better than people not even in the same city as your clinic. Make sure it doesn’t overwhelm your employee and be there as a support system if they need to take a break from social media or need help creating content. Also, ensure you ask someone who is active on social media. This will help them to notice trends, can seek out what clients are looking for, and have better knowledge of what will work for your clinic.
Question: What influence does social media have on driving traffic to your website?
Cheyanne: It can have an insane amount of influence! This requires us to have a call to action or lines of instruction guiding people to visit our websites within our posts. So, for example, if you want people to book an appointment and you are sharing a patient’s story on social, remind people they can book an appointment online by visiting your website. People won’t go to your website or share your post unless you tell them to, so we need to be sure we are telling people what we want them to do once they are done with the post.
Makenzie: Going back to the fact that more and more people are doing online research, keep this in mind. New clients will see your most recent posts (or pinned on certain platforms), your call to action in your bio/about page, and your website. Be sure to fill out the about page section on ALL your social media because this can drive traffic just as much as posts will.
Both future and current clients will be looking at your posts so make sure each post has a certain call-to-action, whether that is a direct link (only on certain platforms), a call now (phone number included), or a button to click. You could poll current clients on what they look for in businesses, ask on a new client form where they found your clinic, or evaluate how you search for different businesses you may become a client of.
Question: How can you increase this traffic and possibly new clients using social media?
Cheyanne: As mentioned before, once you tailor your messaging to your dream clients and create posts that grab their attention and make them feel like you understand them, your comments and interactions will increase. Plus, by tailoring your messaging, you build more trust with your clients, thus, your credibility with them grows and they, in turn, are more likely to follow through on your recommendations and do more business with you. Once people trust you more, they will be more likely to tell their friends and family about your clinic, resulting in more clients because you invested in a solid social media presence.
Makenzie: Yes this^^! In addition, strive to be the go-to for information on animals, so informative videos, infographics, etc. This will also boost your trustworthiness with clients, but they also get the education they are seeking so it is a good exchange.
Be consistent with your posting too. This can help keep your posts up-to-date but also will encourage engagement. Remember, you most likely won’t go viral (and that isn’t always a good thing); foster relationships with current clients and make your presence known to future clients.