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  • Home
  • About
    • Dr. DeWilde & Team
    • Other Projects
      • Vets Against Insanity
      • Vetmoji App
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  • Training
  • Consulting
  • Continuing Education
    • RACE CE On-Demand
    • CE For Your Next Event
    • Veterinary Social Media Masterclasses
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    • 2018 Veterinary Social Media Calendar
    • Favorite Tools
    • Downloads
    • Newsletter
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(314) 896-0760
The Social DVM

Claiming Your Veterinary Practice's Yelp Account

2/6/2019

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1: Find & Claim Your Page
You need to access the specific "Yelp For Business Owners" site, available at https://biz.yelp.com/ to claim or edit your listing. 
Follow the prompts to either login, or get started and set up a new account. Enter your practice zip code, name, and business info. 

Thanks to the magic of Google et al, your practice's info will appear and you'll be asked to confirm. 
From here, there are two possibilities: 1) you'll need to confirm your email and set up a new account or 2) you'll find out that your practice has already been claimed. If the latter, you'll need to start the process of trying to reset the password. 

2. Create a Business Account for Your Practice
​Next, you'll be prompted to create a business account. Unfortunately, you'll have to create this in a person's name, not just the clinic name. I would recommend either the practice owner or the practice manager- whomever you want it to look like is responding to your reviews, etc.- set up the first access to the account For instance, if your practice is owned by Dr. John Doe, when you respond to reviews, it will appear as "John D." responded. Similarly, this person will also be the "owner" of the page, and you'll also need to share a bio and photo for this person. Run this by your practice owner if you're not sure who should be the face of your practice's Yelp page. 
Yelp recently allowed manager access- so once the practice owner or manager has set up the account, additional managers can be added to the page for notifications and managing reviews. 
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In addition to the first and last name, you'll need to input an email address and a password for your Yelp login. Use the email address that you want all notifications about new reviews, etc to be sent to. Typically I would recommend either the practice manager or general office account, so that new reviews are seen by the practice quickly. Make sure to record this email address (username) and password so you can find them in the future. ​
3: Verify Your Business
You'll need to be at your actual place of business to complete this step. Set yourself up by the phone, or let your receptionist know a call will be coming. The Yelp screen you will see states that "To protect you and your business, we need you to answer a quick phone call."  It will show show the business number it has on file, and you'll be able to actually trigger the call by clicking on the "Call Me Now" button. The screen will also show you a four digit code that you will be prompted to enter . This proves you're actually a human answering the phone at the business you say you're at, and not just some robot or disgruntled customer. The whole ordeal should take less than 30 seconds. If successful, you'll see a new screen that says "Your Business is Claimed!" and offering Yelp ads. Skip this part by clicking the "No thanks, continue to my business" phrase in the bottom left hand of the screen. 
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3b: Remove previous users, if necessary
If your page was previously claimed/owned, you'll see the first name and last initial of previous owners, as well as a  portion of the previous user email addresses. If you don't recognize the name and/or they're not a trusted employee, delete them by clicking the "Remove From Business" button. ​
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4. Download the Yelp app, if you'd like. 
The next screen gives you the option to have a link for the iOS or Android app texted right to your phone, so you can download the Yelp app and be able to read and respond to your reviews. This step is OPTIONAL, but if you're interested in monitoring on the go, this is a good app to have. If you're not interested, click "Skip." ​
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5. Edit Your Business Information
After skipping or saving your info about the Yelp app, the next screen will look almost identical, but ask you for general business information. This is where many office managers may get stuck, since this information will most likely come from the veterinarian/owner. Be prepared to answer the following questions: 
  • "How did your business get started? Tell us about your business history."
  • "Tell us about the owner or manager of the business." You're only allowed to choose one, so I would recommend choosing the practice owner, practice manager or lead veterinarian as we discussed before. You'll have fields for a first name and last initial, as well as a drop-down menu to select their official title. 
  • "Tell us about _____ _." Here you'll enter more biographical type information. Yelp prompts your description with "Customers love to know business owners and managers. Tell us what inspired them to start the business." 
  • You'll also be prompted to upload a photo of the owner/manager you select. 
  • What year was the business established? 
  • What does your business specialize in?

Enter the info as prompted. If you don't have all the details when you're first setting up your profile, you can skip certain questions, but it's best to just get it all done at once! 

6. Confirm Your Email Address 
Check your email that you used to set up your business account for a confirmation email and click the link. You'll need to be confirmed before proceeding to the last step of adding your photos! ​
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7. Upload Photos
After you've completed the information, add some photos to personalize your profile, and draw attention during a search. Without adding your own photos, your profile will: a) look dull and boring b) customers will think it's an autocreated profile and less likely to visit/review your profile and c) potentially showcase photos OTHER people have uploaded of your business. Therefore, it's best to add your own and have control over your profile! 

I would recommend not only the typical photos of the building outside, your practice logo, the reception area and the exam room, but be sure to showcase photos of what animal lovers want to see- your veterinarians interacting with animals! I typically try to add 5-10 photos, and ALWAYS am sure to add photos of the veterinary team doing what they do best-- helping animals. 
If you want to go all out, you can also add captions to the photos. I have even used a few PlaceIt photos to showcase app or website-based features that some of clinics offer, like a clinic app or online appointment requests, etc. 
You can access your photos from the left hand menu. Unfortunately, Yelp randomizes the photos so there is no way to pick which one is first viewed, so make sure they're all good photos :-)
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8. Admire Your Work and Share with Your Followers!
 You're done! Go back to regular 'ol Yelp.com and search for your business to see how it will look to your customers! Check out your site and if you're happy with it, share the link on your social media pages and ask your web designer to add a link from your website. Your clients will be able to easily find you and hopefully leave great reviews! 

Have questions? Need help? I'm just an email or click away. Good luck!
-CD
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Five Reasons Your Veterinary Practice Needs Yelp

2/6/2019

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Here we are with that platform we all love to hate.....Yelp. It's been steadily gaining traction and steam since 2004, starting out as a depository for restaurant reviews. You may have even visited it, looking for the best burger joint in the neighborhood near you. Well now, your potential clients are doing the same thing- so your clinic needs to be represented!

With more than 75 MILLION unique visitors looking at Yelp from a mobile web browser EACH MONTH, the platform now boasts more than 170 million reviews. 
Truthfully, Yelp can be difficult and often gets a bad rap for its lack of recourse when allowing businesses to protest an unwarranted review. On the plus side, they offer a free listing with multiple avenues of business contact points, and across industries, nearly 50% of the reviews are 5 star and over 70% of businesses are "recommended." 

Here are my FIVE reasons every practice should be represented on Yelp: 

1. Reviews, photos and info are automatically pulled in by Google and Apple Maps' search engines. When someone searches for your practice on either of these platforms, you want to have some "screen real estate" here and some control over what business information is given. 

2. Without the business account, you have no recourse to be notified or respond to new reviews (good or bad). 

3. Even if you don't claim your page, clients can STILL leave a review! I'd rather know what was being said about my practice and try to have some control of at least some of the content (photos, contact information, hours, etc). 

4. Client feedback. If we're not listening to them, we can't improve.. I know, I know- there will be a bad review at some point, but the overwhelming majority are positive and reinforce the great work we do. Even a "deserved" bad review, or any review less than those glowing 5 stars in the sky, has information we can use to improve our teams, our practice, and ultimately the experience we deliver to our clients and pets. 


5. Client Referrals: last but not least......Yelp has the potential to bring you new clients. It provides clickable links to call, visit a website or map directly to your business. I've seen multiple clinics generate new client leads from Yelp- my own included, without spending a cent. 

If I've convinced you and you're not sure how to set up this access, or you need to go in and spruce things up, visit my Yelp for Business tutorial blog here. 

Need help or have other questions? I'm just an email away! 
Caitlin DeWilde, DVM

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Nextdoor: Is Your Practice a Neighborhood Favorite?

12/10/2018

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I've been really serious about tracking client referral sources at my clinic for the last year. I was tired of the "online" generic response, and changed my clinic registration form to give our new clients more specific choices. I still had the "fill in the blank" spot in addition to checkboxes for the usual: Google, Facebook, Yelp, Instagram, existing client, etc, etc. 
For the first time, I started noticing more and more people writing "Nextdoor" in the empty blank. Then, we received a "Neighborhood Winner" sticker from Nextdoor and an invitation to claim our business page, so of course I did. So what the heck IS Nextdoor, anyway? 

According to the platform themselves, Nextdoor is the world’s largest private communications platform for neighborhoods. 
It launched in the fall of 2011, and has steadily been gaining traction. As of this writing, when I logged into my personal neighboorhood Nextdoor account, there were 186,000 neighborhoods established on the platform. My own little neighborhood has over 300 members, and when I searched for "veterinarian," more than a dozen clinics came up with little hearts next to them- indicating how many of my neighbors had "recommended" them, along with more than 2 dozen specific posts. I quietly trolled them all, making a mental note of my "neighbors" who had recommended or mentioned my practice in the posts. 

I decided it was time to claim our practice's Nextdoor page. LIke many platforms, the good news it that establishing your profile can be a "set it and forget it" approach that needs little updating. Setting it up and enabling the proper notifications can allow you to be more accessible to your neighbors without the need to post frequently. 

You'll recognize the process of claiming your business account as it's nearly identical to the process of other online registries like Yelp, Bing, Apple Maps, etc. It requires the typical practice contact info, history, hours, profile pictures, and verification by answering a phone call on the business number. You can see the screenshot slideshow below, or start the process at www.nextdoor.com/business. 

Once you've established your clinic, you can share the word with your existing clientele via email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Similarly, your profile will allow you to see recent neighbor comments and recommendations, and reply to them if you so choose. 

Many of you may be thinking "Why do I need to do this? Do I really need one more thing to check or worry about?" I get it. I really do- in the day-to-day scheme of things, I don't think that Nextdoor is going to really make or break any vet clinic's reputation. But I DO think that if your clients are looking for you, you want to be found, and you want to be the first to know if your clinic is receiving any negative press. Without claiming your page, you'll have access to neither option. 

To be truthful, I suspect this is more popular in urban and suburban areas. Small towns have many pros and cons, but not needing a digital platform to connect with your neighbors is often one of the pros. 
In my community just outside St. Louis city lines, I could see where some of my clientele may be Facebook-averse and instead use Nexdoor as a smaller, more personal recommendation search engine. My own little neighboorhood group proved to be exactly where I turned when I needed a recommendation for a landscaping project, and the info I got from my post there far exceeded what I found on a similar Google search. Nextdoor is more akin to leaning over the fence and asking your real next door neighbor for advice- far more personable and trustworthy than a random search. 

Bottom line- it takes just a few minutes to set up, and could be helpful in building your online reputation and bringing new clients in the door. Worth a few minutes of your time, in my opinion. 

I'd love to hear how it goes at your practice- shoot me a Facebook message and let me know if your clinic was already getting mentioned, or if you've been seeing clients from Nextdoor's referrals. 


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Top Christmas Gifts for Veterinary Social Media Lovers!

11/26/2018

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With the holidays upon us and Cyber Monday deals launched, it's time to get crackin' on that gift list. If you need a few more ideas for your favorite veterinary lovin' social media nerd, look no further. I know these are good, because I actually own almost all of them! Some are fun, some are super handy, and some are downright essential. Whether these are gifts for a friend, colleague or yourself, they promise to make social media even more fun.
Happy holidays! 
-CD


1. Tripod $25.99
​Hands down, a tripod is THE most practical and useful thing you'll need for getting better photos and videos in the clinic.  I love this one, because it's sturdy and magnetic- giving it extra stability and allowing me to configure it into some weird ways to get the perfect shot. I love that the feet are magnetic- sticking to the dental table, our window frames, and I've even wrapped it around the exam room sink. Looking for a cheaper option? I've also tried this one, which gets the job done with a little less stability and no remote. 
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2. Selfie Stick: $7.99
I know, I know. I was TOTALLY against them forever. Literally, I only recently broke down and got one in the last year and a half or so. I have made fun of people using them and swore I would never join the ranks of such ridiculous photo-takers. But then....we got one at the clinic, and I'm sold. Admittedly, I'm not taking this bad boy out and about to tourist destinations, but for group photos in the clinic, it's the only way to go. It's also really handy trying to get a decent picture of a person and an animal in those tiny exam rooms. Give it a try-- you won't regret it. I got this one which again works with an iPhone 8 (and therefore is Bluetooth, so you don't have to physically connect the selfie stick to your phone). 


3. iPad Mini: $319
Ok, ok, this one is a bit more pricey, but well worth the investment, especially for a clinic. I love the idea of clinics having a single device to use for their social media. Having one device, accessible to everyone, makes taking pictures, editing and posting on social media easy. It avoids the common owner frustration of staff using their cell phones during work time, and can also come in handy for showing owners photos and using other apps as well. Install your social media apps, PicMonkey, Canva and Picsart and you're on your way! 


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4. Dog GoPro Harness $28.72
This one is the the most fun item to use on this list. Obviously, it does require a GoPro, but if you don't want to buy one of those you can often rent or borrow from a friend. The Fetch harness, however, is a little more elusive and you will definitely want it for footage from the dog's perspective. It works on dogs 15-120 lbs, but trust me, not on cats. You can mount it on their chest or on their back, and I've gotten some great clinic tours and behind-the-scenes videos using it! Read my tutorial here, watch me putting it on my pooch Maple here, or check out these example videos here and here. 


5. Smartphone Microphone $49
This is something I'm treating myself to this year if Santa doesn't bring it under the tree. A smartphone microphone will help improve the sound of your live or recorded videos, and is a small addition that pays big dividends! I've used the Rode brand before with my DSLR, but looking for a smaller, more compact mic to keep in my bag or at the clinic. This one is wireless will work for any of you with Android or phones iPhone 7 and before. If you have one of the newer iPhones you'll have to head over to Rode.com and get the new version that works with the lightning connector! If you don't mind a cord, several of my podcasting-loving friends recommend this one! 

6. Smartphone Ring Light: $10.99
If you want to do any video for your veterinary social media, brighten up those dark clinic environments with this selfie ring light. You can adjust the brightness of the light and the added light helps improve the quality of your videos. Even though it says it is a "selfie" light, I use it facing the other way too when I'm filming something in the clinic. Fits on the top of any smartphone, and compact as well.  

7. Flexi-Paw $14.99
Another item I've added to my wish list! I've tried all kinds of cell phone attachments to get pets to look at my phone when I'm taking their pictures in the clinic. From a treat launcher to the Pooch Selfie (requires a ball-driven pup!), I've tried them all. This one makes the most sense to me- a hands free way to keep their treat in view and close to them, and hopefully lining up their adorable fluffer faces with your lens. If anyone tries it let me know! 

8. LabCam Microscope Adapter $193
So this one is definitely a big-ticket item, but I really love it. I've spoken with the inventors of the LabCam (in the medical field themselves!) and they really figured out how to make this work. I've tried several other microscope/smartphone adapters, not to mention the old toilet paper roll method and the verrrrryyyy carefully balancing your smartphone against the lens to get that great ear mite shot, but this one takes the cake. I've used it hundreds of times and it's standing up to the test of time. It's durable and gets the shot the first time, every time. What a great way to educate our clients- showing them what we're seeing under the scope! From parasites to cytology, you know you want to make your photo album a little more colorful with great microscope pics! Check your smartphone for the best sizing!

9. Portable Backup Charger: $14.99
If you're a big social media user, chances are you've run into the problem of draining your phone or tablet battery way too many times. I've gotten better about charging on the go with this handy gadget -- ESPECIALLY essential during conferences and all-day events where I may not have access to a wall charger. Handy and reliable, this has saved me many times! 

10. Waterproof Cell Phone Pouch: $6.46
I love this bad boy. Our jobs are messy, and phones are expensive. I've used this pouch numerous times to keep my phone dry, clean, and safe from whatever I'm about to spill on it, or what my patient is going to um, expel. Especially for farm calls, I've found this to be really handy for both phone protection and as a way to hang the phone (from a chute or IV pole) and have a handy way to film! I also can use the phone while still in the pouch, and it's clear on both sides so you can easily capture photos and videos while using (unlike some of the hardshell waterproof cases). 


DISCLAIMER: You'll notice that these are almost all Amazon links for a few reasons: 1) Who doesn't love and need Amazon 2 day shipping right now?! and 2) We'lll earn a small fee if you follow the links below to order, but it doesn't change your price! This helps us continue to test out and report on new gadgets in the clinic! TheSocialDVM is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. 
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Celebrating National Vet Tech Week!

10/14/2018

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National Veterinary Technician week has ARRIVED! For the next seven days, it's time to put out some serious thanks and appreciation for the technicians that make this industry great!
Here are just a few ways to celebrate your vet techs on social media: 
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1. Individual staff profiles:
Sharing your technician's pictures and bios is a great way to give them a virtual shout-out, plus allowing your clients to get to know more about the team that cares for their pets on a daily basis. It also allows your clients to share their thanks, photos and memories in the comments! Post a candid or headshot photo of each technician scattered throughout the week, or make a specific graphic in Canva. 


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2. Group photo thanks:
This is a perfect excuse to get all your technicians together for a photo. We know it's hard to get everybody in one place at one time (and picture-ready!), but you'll be glad you did. Great way to identify, showcase and thank your whole team in just one post (but I think you can do even more!). 

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3. Facebook Frame:
Facebook profile picture frames are fun ways for technicians (or their allies) to add a fun border to their Facebook profile. You can create your own using the Facebook Frames Studio and a design tool like PicMonkey or Canva, or search
​"vet tech" in the
Frames library (facebook.com/profilepicframes). 
Don't have time to design one? Dr. Andy Roark has two- one for techs and one for their allies now available!


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4. Educate: 
Use social to help educate your followers about what your technicians actually do! Regardless of where you fall on the "technician vs nurse" title debate, it's safe to say that the general public only knows a small fraction of what their job duties actually entail. There's no way to improve on that if we're not giving credit where credit is due, and helping share the realities of the 9,453 things vet techs do every day. Try a slideshow showing your techs in their different job roles- from blood draws to surgery, x-ray to filling meds, medical records to monitoring anesthesia, and of course, patient care. Run a "who got" on some of your tech-specific services in your practice management software and put a number to exactly how many fecal exams or technician appointments were performed in the last year! Bottom line, do what you can to help illustrate and thank technicians for all the hard work they do. 


5. Share great content from industry leaders.
It helps to reinforce our message when we're able to share similar content from trusted sources, especially when they've done a great job of crafting it! Here are a few of my favorites (as of posting this on Sunday, although I'm sure several more will pop up this week so stay tuned to my Facebook page for shares!
  • 5 Reasons You Should Thank a Vet Tech by Dr. Andy Roark
  • North American Veterinary Technician Association Vet Tech Week Kit: This resource has some great ideas, especially if you're looking for some of your social PSA wording. 
  • AAHA Facebook photos: Available in the AAHA publicity toolbox for AAHA-accredited hospitals
  • Facebook cover photo from AVMA​
  • Huge Vet Tech Week toolkit from DVM360.com including multiple shareables!
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6. Say Thanks!

Last but not least, nothing goes further than a personal thank-you. Take a minute to record a quick video to share with your followers about your technicians. Talk about why you rely on them, why they are the best!!, and how they help your client's pets. Need some inspiration? Check out Dr. Jenn Wardlaw's post about her techs on her page @Gateway Veterinary Surgery. 

Give your techs the recognition they deserve- it's the best gift of all. 
​-CD


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Facebook's New Page Layout

8/12/2018

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Like many of you, I received a notification over the weekend that Facebook was going to change the layout of our clinic's Facebook Page. We could go ahead and update to the new template now, or it would automatically be updated for us on August 24th. 
I looked into this a little bit, as I haven't seen too many of these type of updates- usually Facebook either changes the layout and doesn't tell you, or gives you "options" but doesn't require the change.  This redesign appears to be a part of Facebook's efforts to make it easier for people to find info they need from a local business, particularly on mobile devices. You can read more about Facebook's local business updates and initiatives in their press release here. 
I applied the change and truthfully, it was difficult for me to tell the difference. On desktop view, it looks the same. On a mobile device, we have two call to action buttons now prominently visible (Book Now and Send Message), and our reviews and offers were the first tabs available. The map was also visible "above the fold" (before having to scroll). 
Bottom line, no biggie. All of these changes are minor, and if anything, make it easier for our clients to connect. Win-win! Hit the update or wait for the automatic transfer August 24th, and take advantage of a reminder to check your call to action buttons! 
​-Dr. D
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IGTV: What It Is and Why Veterinarians Should Care

6/25/2018

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Another new app. Another new feature of social media. Another opportunity, or another obligation? 

Instagram shook the world of social media content once again last week when they dropped a totally new experience, IGTV. 
IGTV, or Instagram TV, is a new app that offers long form, vertical video from Instagram creators. While the app itself is standalone, you can watch within the original Instagram app as well. 

At first, I was simultaneously excited and bummed- Instagram video without the limits of 60 seconds, PLUS an opportunity to connect with pet owners and clients on one of the most popular platforms..... On the downside, I have been PREACHING about avoiding vertical video at all costs. No more double dipping to film video for multiple platforms..... but in reality, most people seem to have a natural tendency to film vertically anyway.  
But again, with a platform of ONE BILLION users.....seems like a good place to invest some time and content, right? 

The IGTV is easy and user-friendly. Open it up and it starts playing, just like, ya know, regular TV. There are "channels" that will bring you content from people you already follow on Insta, or find new content based on your interests. Just as with normal Instagram posts, followers can like, comment and send videos to friends via direct message. 

So, how is this relevant to the veterinary practice? Can you imagine clients that would tune to your clinic's "channel" for specific shows and videos by you, their veterinarian? With IGTV notifications, your clients will get notified about new videos you release.  Gone are the time constraints of traditional Instagram videos- take all the time you need to explain that procedure or give a tour of your practice.  With Facebook for small businesses being a constant uphill battle in recent months, and social media user's affinity for video over all else growing every day, Instagram is quickly becoming my preferred platform for veterinary practices and groups. 

It's new, and the "shiny" may wear off over coming weeks. I'm anxious to try it out in my clinic later today, and find out the opportunities to link my videos to other platforms or embed in blogs or website content. The possibility of an educational "channel" just for my clients, one in which we can refer clients to for helpful tutorials or for more info about our practice, all created for free, seems pretty appealing right now. 

Move over Facebook, see ya later television. IGTV has arrived. Check out my first IGTV video on the platform, and let me know what you think with a DM or note here. Stay tuned tomorrow for a quick tutorial on setting up your channel, and download the app here: 

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/igtv/id1394351700?ls=1&mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instagram.igtv

--Caitlin DeWilde, DVM


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Increasing Positive Reviews

5/17/2018

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​We all spend a lot of time worrying about that one negative review- how to respond to it, how it will look to clients, the stress it will inflict on us and our teams. While that concern is valid and we do need a strategy for handling negative reviews, we need to put a similar emphasis on building that library of POSITIVE reviews. Think how much stronger our reputation could be if we spent the same amount of energy eliciting positive feedback from those who do support us and will likely continue to visit and advocate for our practice!
 
Positive reviews are just that- positive all the way around. Not only do they help bolster our reputation and earn client trust, but they can help us attract new clients, reinforce our ideals and give us feedback on what’s working well. They can brighten our spirits and help our teams remember why we do what we do. So why are we not trying to get that information? Here are my four tips to getting more reviews.

 #1 Make It EASY!
We can’t assume that our clients know that we’re on Facebook. Or Yelp. Or that we even want reviews. We need to make it as easy as possible for our clients to GET to our review sites and as easy as possible to leave a review. Here are a few tips to make it easy for both your clients AND for you to access your reviews.

  • Create direct, one-click links to your exact practice’s review sites whenever possible.
    • Want to send your clients directly to your Facebook reviews? Your direct review link is www.facebook.com/yourclinicpageusername/reviews.
    • Create a direct link to your Google reviews by following these steps. 
    • Send your clients straight to your Yelp page by creating a direct link. To do so, search for your practice on Yelp, and then click on “Write a Review.” Copy the URL that appears. You may want to visit bitly.com to shorten it into a more manageable link.
  • Make sure your Facebook reviews are turned on! If you don’t see reviews on your Facebook page, they’ve probably been disabled at some point. To change this, visit your settings, then edit page, then the reviews tab.
  • Outside of Facebook, we don’t have the ability to control if reviews can be left. But we can control how we find out about them and how we respond to them. Make sure you’ve claimed your Google My Business site and your Yelp for Business profiles, set up the proper notifications of new reviews, and incorporate them into your regular online reputation monitoring.
 
#2: Ask….nicely.
If we’re not asking for feedback, we’re much less likely to get it. While an in-person direct request can seem pretty awkward, there are many ways to elicit feedback indirectly. Here are a few ideas:
  • Incorporate a “Would you be willing to share your feedback?” option into your post-visit emails or texts
  • Add a “we’d love your support” option with direct, clickable links in your regular digital newsletters
  • Share your 5-star reviews from Facebook, Google or Yelp onto your Facebook page timeline. Thank the individual reviewer, and ask for others to share their feedback too. Be sure to include a direct link in the post!  

Be careful not to offer incentives for reviews, or overtly tell clients that you need more reviews. This can violate the terms of service of some platforms, especially Yelp. Leave the trail of breadcrumbs so they are prompted to and can easily share their experience.
 
 
#3 Don’t Forget About the Visual Reminders
Don’t forget about the power of a visual image. Here are some ways that simply providing signage in your hospital can increase client awareness about your review sites.
  • Get a “Find us on Yelp” window cling for your windows or doors. You can request one for your practice from Yelp here. 
  • Download and print table tents and actual reviews from Small Thanks with Google, and place these in your exam rooms or lobby
  • If you’re lucky, Small Thanks with Google is still offering personalized free materials by mail (check out my unboxing here). This includes:
    • Window clings
    • Table tents
    • Stickers
    • A poster-sized print of one of your top reviews!
  • Screenshot recent reviews and incorporate them as images into computer or TV slideshows in your exam rooms or lobby
  • Include your review links in your email signature.
  • Add an invoice message that prints at the bottom of all receipts. Try something like “Please share your experience with us on Yelp!” or “We’d love your feedback on Google!”
  • Again, share the actual review, Small Thanks social graphics or screenshot of previous reviews directing your clients to review sites from your social media channels. Don’t forget to include the link!
 
#4 Follow Through
Just like any relationship, nurturing your online connections with your customer and your community takes some work on your end.
  • Make sure you’re responding to ALL reviews- not just the bad ones. Thank your clients for their feedback, and personalize the message whenever possible. This demonstrates a commitment to communicating with your clients and valuing their opinion.
  • Consider sharing the love and reviewing more businesses yourself- especially if your practice works with other local establishments. Remember, what goes around comes around! Local businesses can often have symbiotic relationships and help each other out when it comes to client referrals.
  • Monitor your comments and follow through on responding to them where appropriate. In some cases, a client may leave a glowing comment on a regular post- and now you have an open avenue to communicate with them and ask them to share their post in a review format.
 
Get to work, and get those reviews!
-Dr. DeWilde 
 

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Creating a Direct Google Review Link

3/25/2018

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As veterinarians, one of our biggest concerns with social media is dealing with online reviews.
While the threat of a negative review looms supreme, research shows us that the good reviews are integral to our “social proof,” our ability to attract and retain new clients, and for us to get the feedback our team needs to know they’re doing a great job.

I want to make it AS EASY AS POSSIBLE for my clients to leave reviews. The fewer clicks, the better. ​ Here’s how to get a direct, one-click link to drive your clients to your practice’s Google review window.
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Step One: Open a New Tab
  • Keep these instructions open, and open another tab in your browser window
  • ​Paste this address: https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=<place_id>
  • NOTE: this will not actually go anywhere- if you hit enter, you'll get a 404 Error/This is Not a Valid page. That's ok. Just paste it in the address bar, and we'll complete the link in the next step!

Step Two: Get Your Practice’s Google Place ID
  • Go to the PlaceID Lookup Tool: https://developers.google.com/my-business/content/faq#associate_locations_using_placeid_1
  • Enter your practice name in the “Enter a location” field at the top of the map. For the purpose of creating a generic example, I searched for the “GooglePlex.”
  • Click your business name from the list that appears
  • Copy the Place ID on the resulting map, located just under your practice’s name.​
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Step Three: Create the Link
  • Go to your original tab with the google address, and plug in that Place ID into the end of that URL where it says <place_id>
  • Using the example, the URL with the Place ID for the Googleplex with the Place ID added would be:  https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=ChIJj61dQgK6j4AR4GeTYWZsKWw

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Step Four: Test the Link
  • Click your new link, and you’ll see see a  normal Google search result generate, and then within a few seconds, boom! A sweet, awesome “rate and review” box pops up.


You now have a great, one-click link to drive your clients to easily leave a Google review. Copy and paste this into a location that you can store and access easily. Want to make it a little shorter? Try pasting it into bitly.com, a URL shortening tool.
Incorporate your new link into your client emails, clickable links in your newsletter or website, or even paste it in the text of a Facebook post. Stay tuned to next week’s blogs for more ways to integrate and encourage reviews!

--​Caitlin DeWilde, DVM


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Pet Poison Prevention Week 2017: Using Social Media to Educate Your Pet Owners

3/19/2018

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March is a busy month: March Madness, the first day of spring, National Puppy Day and, my favorite: Pet Poison Prevention Week. 
​
It's not my favorite because I love using calculating toxic doses or spinning an apomorphine dose on the "Wheel of Vomit." It's my favorite because we have a HUGE opportunity to educate our clients, and ultimately help save some pets. 

Pet Poison Prevention Week provides a unique mix of client familiarity, pet owner interest, and quick, educational bites that can actually do some good. While other educational health topics can require more lengthy discussions, pet toxins are straightforward. Few, if any, owners are going to quiz you on the toxic mechanism of action of a particular product. There's hard science and well-known institutions also publishing info online, reinforcing your recommendations. Educating pet owners that something in their house- be it grapes, D-con, or the xylitol-laden gum they just set down on the coffee table- could harm their pet, and they're likely to take notice and hopefully commit that factoid to memory. 

So how can you use social media to get these nuggets of info to pet owners? Luckily, we have LOADS of resources at our fingertips, put together by some very experienced and talented groups. Quality, interesting and varied content types (articles, infographics, videos and podcasts) are waiting for you to share them. Or, you can go the extra mile and create your own! 


I've got too many to count graphics, animated posts and educational graphics scheduled for my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram this week, and you're more than welcome to use them. I've also put together a Pinterest board of my favorite resources and articles all in one place, so check it out: https://www.pinterest.com/thesocialdvm/pet-poison-prevention-week-resources/. 
​
In the meantime, here are my go-to resources to make Pet Poison Prevention Week a success at your clinic:


Resources for Clients: 

ARTICLES

There are hundreds out there, and I have found several on the ASPCA Pet Poison Control Center's page, as well as the Pet Poison Helpline.  Pet Health Network and Vetstreet had multiple client-friendly articles as well. Here are some of my favorites I'll be posting on my clinic's page this year. 
  • The Top Pet Toxins of 2017: https://www.aspca.org/news/announcing-top-pet-toxins-2017
  • People Food to Avoid Feeding Your Pets: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/people-foods-avoid-feeding-your-pets
  • Poisonous Household Products: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/poisonous-household-products
  • 10 "Poison Pills" for Pets: https://www.avma.org/public/PetCare/Pages/Poison-pills-for-pets.aspx
  • What to Do if Your Pet has Ingested a Rodenticide: https://www.avma.org/public/EmergencyCare/Pages/RodenticidePoisoning.aspx
  • Popular Xylitol Products that Can Kill Your Dog: http://pethealthnetwork.com/dog-health/dog-toxins-poisons/popular-xylitol-products-can-poison-your-dog
  • Top 10 Plants Poisonous to Pets​: http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/pet-owners/basics/top-10-plants-poisonous-to-pets/
  • Most Common Toxin by State: https://www.aspca.org/news/whats-most-common-pet-toxin-your-state-aspca-animal-poison-control-center-weighs

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INFOGRAPHICS
Looking to share a fair amount of info all in one place? Check out these infographics for a more complete, yet still concise resource to share with your clients. 
  • Download the famous Lili Chin "The World's Most Dangerous Foods" infographic for FREE, or even have it customized for a small fee or order a few magnets! Lili Chin created this with Dr. Jessica Vogelsang of Pawcurious, and I've seen it hundreds of times on social media- it really resonates with clients. http://pawcurious.com/2013/09/worlds-most-adorable-degenerate-produce/
  • "Spot the Pet Poisons in Your Home" infographic from Pet Poison Helpline, available here: http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/uncategorized/infographic-preventing-pet-poisonings/
  • Top Pet Toxins from ASPCA: https://www.aspca.org/news/announcing-top-pet-toxins-2017


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APPS
ASPCA Pet Poison Control Center's App: one of the few apps I recommend to clients, this free app puts 1) trustworthy info and 2) immediate 24/7 access to ASPCA's Poison Control hotline in the event of an emergency. Owners can look up medications, plants, foods, household hazards and more on this app for quick, concise toxicity info. http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/apcc-mobile-app


WEBSITES
Sharing these websites on your social media, or adding to your "trusted links" page on your website will help clients easily access reliable information. To share on social media, simply paste the website and say "Bookmark This!" so clients can save it instantly to their phone or computer. 
  • The Pet Poison Helpline has their 24/7 hotline info, tips on poison proofing and concise client-friendly articles on their pet-owner page, available at http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/pet-owners/. 
  • Similarly, ASPCA Poison Control Center has a pet-owner website with hotline info, articles and even quick audio snippets and podcasts, available at: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control. 
  • My personal favorite, ASPCA's Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant Database, should be bookmarked by every pet owner. It's super handy and easy to navigate, allowing you to search by common and scientific plant name. I use it in practice when fielding owner questions, and personally, any time I'm scouting out a new houseplant or landscaping addition. http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants

OTHER
Everybody loves freebies, so share that owners can get a free Pet Safety Window Cling as well as a Pet Poison Control Magnet featuring the APCC's hotline number here: https://secure.aspca.org/take-action/order-your-pet-safety-pack. 
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Resources for Veterinarians to Use in the Clinic:  

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  • Download the famous Lili Chin "The World's Most Dangerous Foods" infographic for FREE, or even have it customized for a small fee or order a few magnets! Lili Chin (of the fabulous Doggie Drawings) created this with Dr. Jessica Vogelsang of Pawcurious, and I've seen it hundreds of times on social media- it really resonates with clients. http://pawcurious.com/2013/09/worlds-most-adorable-degenerate-produce/
  • ASPCA has free magnets, brochures, charcoal flowcharts and more (pay only for shipping), available only to clinics at http://aspcapro.org/freebies
  • Pet Poison Helpline has a ton of 1 minute videos, a great downloadable infographic, client-friendly handouts, info on getting free static clings to give to clients as well as an order form for your favorite tool and mine, the WHEEL OF VOMIT. http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/veterinarians/free-resources-clinic-clients/
  • I love this client handout from DVM360.com: "Top 10 human medications that poison pets" available here: http://veterinaryteam.dvm360.com/client-handout-top-10-human-medications-poison-pets. This would be great to include on your website and/or new client/new puppy/new kitten kits. 


​Don't forget, you can find all of these links and more in my Pet Poison Prevention Week Pinterest Board (
https://www.pinterest.com/thesocialdvm/pet-poison-prevention-week-resources/) or by following me onFacebook, Twitter or Instagram all week! What are you doing in your practice for Pet Poison Prevention Week? 
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