 Kids, it's been a week. The last seven days have been some of the most stressful many of us have ever experienced. As I've shifted from helping practices market and run ads to helping them figure out how to use telemedicine and make COVID-related posts on social media, we're all adapting. In my own practices, it's been a day-to-day change and rapid/forced adoption of new technologies and policies. I spent my last shift conscious not only about my distance from the tech and the client but the inevitable distraction that came when some one-anyone- so much as sniffled or cleared their throat. It's just...been a week. And now that our teams are adjusting to a new normal-- for most of us, curbside care, dropoffs, non-essential/non-elective care-- many of my social media and consulting clients are asking- what the heck are we supposed to be posting? Our normal strategy of crafting a mix of promoting the practice, sharing fun photos, helpful articles and the occasional meme just doesn't seem right now. But social media is now so full of COVID-related posts making MORE of them hardly seems right either. How do we balance? How do we provide value without adding to the stress and overload? Here's what I'd recommend sharing (examples at the end, and please share yours with us too!): 1. How your team is helping: if your practice has donated gowns, masks or medical supplies, share a picture of the team packing it up or making the donation. If you've shuttered your surgery room to conserve PPE, take a picture of the dark empty room and tell the story of why your team thinks it's important. 2. Support the community: if your neighboring businesses are offering new curbside, carryout or delivery options, give them some social media love by sharing it on your pages. Just this weekend I was able to order a curbside pickup kids art project kit from the craft store, a DIY pizza kit from the pizza place down the street and a carryout dinner (even beer!) from a restaurant near my clinic as they try to minimize the loss of business. These solutions and offerings are creative, supportive and frankly, a welcome distraction (especially since I don't cook!). If your team always gets lunch or coffee from a local establishment, consider sharing a post to support them. 3. Convenience offerings: pet owners will still need food, meds and potentially, their care questions answered. Most practices have options to help in some way, and you should share these!
4. The team (at home). By now, some teams have had to cut staff or reduce hours or may even be mandated to stay-in-place. That's ok. That means that people are safe. It's not great for business and paychecks- I get it-- but it means that people are staying safe. If your team is staying home or reducing their hours, share pictures of your team at home cuddling with their pets. This will help showcase your team PLUS the knowledge that pets are not going to be a source of COVID, and let's face it- they're basically the best part of staying home right now and essential to our mental health! 5. Share what's relatable- we're all stressed, we're all tired, and we're all ESPECIALLY tired of COVID. A funny meme, video or totally non-COVID social post is OK. Looking for some good, safe sources? Check out The Pet Effect, Meowingtons or Mutts Comics. Or maybe this particular social media video that I've watched and laughed at 30 times this week (best with sound). 6. Consider supporting those with two-legged kiddos too. Many are stuck at home WITH kids, looking for things to do. My personal feed has erupted with live videos, at-home exercises, and kid-friendly online activities. If your practice is up for doing some kid-centered live videos, like a tour of the practice, a pet exam, or even reading a pet-themed story- I guarantee you this will be a hit with parents EVERYWHERE and further bond your practice to your community. Stay tuned- I'm working on a two-legged veterinary resources kit to share! It's a rough time to be a social media manager and this is an unprecedented experience that is continuing to evolve. Focus on your people and your practice first, and worry about social media if and when you can. Hopefully, these tips will give you a few ideas on keeping your page valuable to your practice and your followers. Stay safe! -Caitlin DeWilde, DVM      Increase your social media followers and positive reviews with this one change to your clinic email account. Every clinic sends dozens of emails every day-- from appointment confirmations to diagnostic test results to acknowledging receipt of records-- our practice is appearing in inboxes across our communities every day. Email communication with our clients is free, easy and accessible regardless of your practice management system software (or lack thereof). Why not take advantage of this opportunity and give your clients a one-click method to not only respond to your email, but also to connect with your social media channels and your review sites? Email signatures give practices this solution in a variety of creative formats. Email signatures, or the block of text that appear and the end of your emails, generally include a sender’s name, email address, business contact info or website. They can be saved and automatically appear with nearly all email providers. Grab the directions for Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo inboxes here! In our case, email signatures can be customized to include not only the practice’s contact information, but also links to our social media sites and our review sites (Google, Yelp, Nextdoor, etc). You could also consider, based on the way you set up your signature, an appointment booking link or other call to action statement and link. For instance, every email you send could close with something that looks like this:  You can make your practice’s signature as simple or fancy as you’d like. I’ve used tools like the free HubSpot email signature generator, the free version or a low-cost version from WiseStamp, or even simply hyperlinking your social sites in the text of your signature.
Personally, for most practices, I would recommend providing one-click links to your Facebook and Instagram channels, and a call to action statement and link to visit your review site on your website (hopefully this page has links to all of your review sites). If you don’t have that page on your website, no problem-- simply substitute your direct Google or Facebook review link. Data exists to support that email signatures do actually generate interest and catch the reader’s eye (check out this cool research and eye-movement analytics here). Take advantage of this opportunity to give your readers an easy to way to contact you, connect with you on social, review your practice and more! Happy signing, Caitlin DeWilde, DVM  I’ve previously written about the need to have a digital workspace for veterinary teams to communicate. In the practice I work, our team Facebook group is still a go-to for sharing important/urgent updates (like when there was a water main break), upcoming team events or random funny memes. It has its limitations, however, and I’ve turned to Slack for work with many of my clients with TheSocialDVM, and have now implemented Slack in a a half dozen client practices. In the face of a coronavirus scare, social distancing and potential quarantines, having a good handle on how your team members communicate outside the building is essential. So What is Slack? Slack is an online communication hub- think of it as a very organized chat room. Used by 12 million daily users and 65 of the Fortune 500 companies, it’s use is becoming ubiquitous in non-veterinary industries. Practices (or any business or group) can set up a free “workspace” and access it via a weblink, desktop app or smartphone app. Within your workspace, you can add team members (who sign in with their own login). Each team member posts publicly as themselves, but can also have private direct messaging conversations with other members of the team. Each workspace has multiple channels of conversation, all starting with a hashtag for organization. For example, veterinary practices often have a dozen or so similar channels that might look like this:  Basic Slack Terminology
If a team member would like to post something-- for instance, that the new schedule is available-- they could go to the #scheduling channel, and drop in a note that the new schedule is posted and upload it as a file attachment. In another example, let’s say a photo was taken of an adorable patient and the receptionist wants to get it to the technician that does social media, but doesn’t want to bother her on her time off. They could simply upload the photo and patient’s name in the #socialmedia channel, and then tag the technician @Amy to let her know that it’s there. Other team members can see the content, but only @Amy will get a notification that she has something waiting for her in the channel.  How Do You Use Slack? After a team member signs in, they can see any channels that have new public conversations (notice that they are bright white)- this means there are unread messages. If a team member would like to post something-- for instance, that the new schedule is available-- they could go to the #scheduling channel, and drop in a note that the new schedule is posted and upload it as a file attachment. In another example, let’s say a photo was taken of an adorable patient and the receptionist wants to get it to the technician that does social media, but doesn’t want to bother her on her time off. They could simply upload the photo and patient’s name in the #socialmedia channel, and then tag the technician @Amy to let her know that it’s there. Other team members can see the content, but only @Amy will get a notification that she has something waiting for her in the channel. Why Should You Use Slack?
What are the Downsides?
New Technology: I think there are very few, if any. It’s a free platform and works in the clinic and out, and can be accessed on virtually any device. That said, us veterinary peeps are slow to change and it is a new technology. Having a quick one-hour lesson and using some fun easy Slack tasks can be a good way to get started and get over the hump. Top Three Tips
Fun Apps Your Practice Should Try
Bottom Line Slack gives practices a better way to organize, communicate with members while respecting boundaries, and work more efficiently. It’s decreased the number of emails, meetings and missed messages for businesses, and is free to use on any device, anywhere. Ready to give Slack a try? Create a workspace, add your team members, and check out this article on the Top 5 Tips for Getting Started in Slack. I’m hopeful this helps your team work together more efficiently, wherever you work. -Caitlin DeWilde, DVM  COVID-19: Educating Veterinary Clients & Promoting Practice ServicesBy now, coronavirus has infiltrated every aspect of daily life: canceling school, events, vacations, and worst of all, putting people in the hospital. Keeping people safe means social distancing, limiting the "non-essentials," and an increase in basic hygiene. What impact will this have on pets? On our veterinary practices? And what should we be doing? I can't even pretend to know all the answers. But what I do know is NOW is the time to be the source of reliable information, honor our veterinary oath to protect public health, and do the best we can to support our teams and our businesses. Here are some ways to start with our veterinary social media channels: Be the Source of Reliable Information. Take this opportunity to educate your clients about coronavirus-- in people and in pets. As veterinarians, we have an obligation to protect public health, too. While there's still much knowledge to be gained, there are reliable information sources out there from AVMA and WSAVA, plus the human-focused sources of the CDC and WHO. Graphics
Springboard Ideas for Social Post Text (feel free to copy!): Our veterinarians have taken an oath to protect not only animals but also public health. To that end, we wanted to share resources to help both pets and people! This is an emerging situation, but this is what we know now: ✅ There is still no evidence that pets get COVID-19 ✅ There is no evidence to suggest that pet dogs or cats can be a source of infection, including spreading COVID-19 to people. (based on numerous infectious disease experts, as well as the CDC, OIE, and WHO) ✅ Washing your hands before and after interacting with pets is still a good idea to minimize the spread of ANY germs or diseases. ✅ If you or someone else in the home is having symptoms, it is recommended another individual in the home takes care of the pet(s) and contact between the infected individual and the pet(s) is limited until we know more. ✅ If you are symptomatic, please stay home unless seeking medical care. It is advised to call your healthcare provider first so that your healthcare team can reduce risk of transmission while providing care. This keeps everyone safe! ✅ If your pet is in need of medical attention and has potentially been exposed to the virus- please contact a local public health official first, who can then consult with local veterinarians to best provide care while minimizing risk of transmission of COVID-19 to others. If you are unsure if your pet needs to be seen, call our team! We are happy to help you via phone or email. ✅ As always, look for reputable, accurate, information from credible sources, such as the CDC or state/local health departments. 💻 CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html 💻 World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 💻 American Veterinary Medical Association info: https://bit.ly/2U10YOI 💻 World Small Animal Veterinary Association info: https://bit.ly/3aTi7k1 Other Great Articles/Shareables/Resources:
Highlight the Offerings Your Practice Has That Can Help.
A local bookstore in my town sent out an email yesterday providing some of the CDC/WHO information, and reminding its customers of the impact this disease can have on the local economy, small businesses and their employees. The email focused on how they were committed to providing the same level of small business service even in a disease outbreak: offering free shipping and even curbside pickup so owners didn't have to come inside. How could our practices do the same? By highlighting the convenience offerings we can provide!
Good luck, stay safe, and wash your hands! -Caitlin DeWilde, DVM   A key step in claiming and personalizing your Facebook Business Page, as well as creating a unified brand identity, is claiming your Facebook handle, also known as a vanity URL.
This handle will allow your Page’s web address to be customized. Instead of the default jumble of numbers and letters like facebook.com/alkjsdlfkjwelkrjlkjf13lkj234, you’ll be able to direct your viewers to facebook.com/yourveterinaryclinic. To customize, you’ll need to be an admin on your practice’s Facebook Page. This process is easiest done on a desktop, where you’ll
Having trouble? Check out Facebook’s username guidelines here, or shoot us an email! -The Social DVM Team   One of the main reasons to use social media is to allow followers to know more about the practice and specifically, about the people, caring for their pets.
Facebook’s “Our Story” section gives us the opportunity to do just that-- tell our story, humanize our business, and connect on a more personal level. Differentiate your practice from all the others that also provide “compassionate, state-of-the-art care” by taking this opportunity to tell your viewers exactly what makes you different. The Our Story section is located prominently on the right side of your Facebook Business Page (desktop view), or under the Home and About tabs when viewing on mobile. Clicking the “finish your story” button underneath gives you a new screen that will allow you to add an image, title, and long-form text. Think of your Our Story section as the Facebook version of your website’s About page. Share the background of your practice and the “why” behind the work you do. Spotlight the people who make up your team and highlight the services your practice offers that make you different. We’re not talking about digital dental x-ray or the latest heartworm preventative. We’re talking about your team’s unabashed goal to channel their inner cat lady vibe to make cats more comfortable in a feline-only exam room, the extra attention you give to geriatric patients, your receptionist’s special talents in helping those dealing with pet loss, or your owner’s decision to open the practice based on their goal of fulfilling their childhood dream in their old neighborhood. Add a photo (NOT of your building-- of your people doing what they do best! Go for the warm and fuzzy)! Dimensions have changed, but we’ve found luck with images sized 1200 x 445 pixels. Next, add a title, and then review your full product. Grammar nerds will appreciate the word processing features like paragraphs, bullets, quote blocks, bold/italics, and even the ability to add links. When you’re done, add your story and click the blue “Publish” button in the bottom right corner. Your updated “Our Story”’s image and first few characters will appear on your page. Take advantage of this free, easy and quick option to give a little more personalization to your page. Your viewers may never visit your website to read that “about” section or staff profiles, so give them this key information where they’re looking-- on your Facebook page! - The Social DVM Team  Google posts are a relatively recent feature that allows verified businesses like veterinary practices to create a post, much like a traditional Facebook post, that will appear in the local panel on Google’s search results as well as on Google Maps. Here’s a rundown of what you need to know and how you can implement these into your marketing strategy. WHO Practices that are verified businesses on Google are eligible to use the Google posts feature. Pet owners searching for veterinarians or your specific practice may see these posts in the search engine. WHAT Posts, much like a traditional Facebook post, can include a description, photo and clickable call-to-action button. They act as mini-ads for your practice! Content can include photos, images, GIFs and videos. Google offers several post type varieties, including:
 Call to action buttons can be linked to your practice’s specific URLs, such as your appointment booking link, recent blog post, or website home page. Call-to-action button options are:
WHEN
Most Google Business posts expire after a week, with the main exception being event posts with a date in the future. Posts can be scheduled within the platform up to seven days in advance. In addition, Google does send an email notification when your post is about to expire, or if you haven’t posted in a while. WHERE Google business posts appear in a user’s search engine results (specifically the Google knowledge panel). Google states that they may also appear in the Google feed (for Android devices) if the user has shown an interest in the brand. Offers appear near the top of the Business Profile on Google Search and Maps. They also appear with all other posts in the Updates tab. WHY Google Business posts offer several advantages, including:
Bottom line? If I have a FREE opportunity to take up more space on a search engine result, use a photo or video to show a warm and fuzzy feeling to potential clients, and provide an easy, one click way for clients to book an appointment, I’m going to take it. HOW To create a Google post:
Tips:
Most Google posts can be similar to those you would run on your Facebook or Instagram accounts. Since they have the benefit of “lasting” a bit longer, it’s reasonable to use more “evergreen” content. Avoid the daily barrage of cute puppy pics and try general “Book Now” posts highlighting a specific service or feature such as laser therapy or a cat-only exam room. If you have a blog, share the link and image and a teaser for the content. Remember that your posts will be seen by clients who are searching not only for you, but for the search terms that may appear in your post. Vary the content each week between cats and dogs, and between service, offers and news for a balanced approach. After Posting Your post can be edited or deleted, much like social media posts. It can also be shared directly to your Facebook or Twitter page, emailed directly, or a shared via a direct link visible on each individual post. You can also view the post on Google directly in order to give it one last final review. Reviewing Your Posts You can monitor the success of your posts easily within your Google Business dashboard. Luckily, users are likely to engage with your content because they’re already searching for you on Google. Click on each individual post to view it’s metrics, or check your email for a weekly summary from Google. Specifically, you can view how many people saw each post and how many clicked the link. For more info, check the latest on Google here, or shoot us an email! Happy Posting! -The Social DVM Team  Make it as easy as possible for your customers to leave you a glowing five-star review by creating a direct one-click link.
Once you have your link, throw it to the masses! Embed it on your website, include in post-visit surveys and communications, and share it on social media along with your latest five star review.
Good luck! -The Social DVM team  One word. VERY.
Simply put, a social media handle is a “username,” preferenced by the “@” AKA “at symbol” and used on social media channels. Your handle allows others to find your business on social media by adding it to the tail end of any platform’s web address. For instance, the handle @thesocialdvm can be added to facebook.com/thesocialdvm, instagram.com/thesocialdvm or twitter.com/thesocialdvm and properly direct you to our pages. You may also see this referred to as claiming a “vanity URL.” So why is it so important to have consistent handles across all social media platforms? Your social media handle is a huge part of your branding when it comes to online marketing. It creates a clear, unique identifier of your practice and brand. Ideally, a strong and memorable handle will be easy for your clients and customers to remember and tie back to your business, no matter where they are searching. In addition, having a single unique handle will allow you to market more effectively. Simply add the “@yourvetclinic” to business cards, brochures and client materials for a universal result! Some things to consider when creating your social handle:
The bottom line? When creating a social media handle, it is important to try, whenever possible, to be consistent across channels that allow you to customize- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, and even Google Business. Be creative, but be concise! In some cases, a username you want may already be taken, and you can then decide if you want to have multiple handles or choose a new one that will apply across all channels. Have questions? Need help coming up with a social handle? We are just an email away! -The Social DVM Team  Can you believe nearly 85% of mobile users watch social media videos with the sound OFF? Truthfully, I can. I almost never have my sound on- I’m always worried about my phone going off in an exam room or waking up a kiddo at home. It’s just easier for to leave the phone’s sound off. Consider this stat along with the facts that: 1) videos are the preferred social media content (from the perspective of users and algorithms alike) and 2) we have just a few short seconds to capture our viewer’s attention. Combined, these reasons make captioning your videos a worthy investment of time and in some cases, money. Captions are a great way to improve the length of watch time as well as getting your viewer to understand your message. Even on image-heavy Instagram, captions can increase view time by 12%. Adding captions sounds hard, but really can be done in just a few steps. Here’s the roundup of the platforms and options: A quick note about file type: I had never heard of an .SRT file (SubRip file type) before I started captioning videos, so don’t feel bad if you hadn’t either!  Facebook
Auto-generated:
Unfortunately, the only way to include subtitles on your Instagram videos is to have them be a part of the original file. There are a few apps that can help with this, or traditional video editing software like Adobe Premier Pro. YouTube
Happy Captioning! The Social DVM Team  I’m a big believer in practices having a social media/digital “team.”
A team approach:
Let’s focus on that last bit for a second. When I say “safer,” I’m not just talking about protecting it from a disgruntled employee. I’m also talking about, ya know, that thing I do like three times a week, which is forgetting a password or getting locked out of an account. To be fair, the first possibility is also just that- a possibility. Having multiple admins means that if someone does leave, on good terms or not, the practice won’t suffer and can still access their accounts without that awkward transition. I think this is particularly important for practice owners who often don’t actually manage their accounts day-to-day. Even if you have no intention of ever logging into your Facebook, Yelp, or other accounts- it is THE online representation of your business, and you should own it the same way you own your client list, blood work machines or inventory. So? How do you do that? I’ve rounded up the “how to’s” for all accounts that allow multiple admin or manager roles. Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/help/187316341316631?helpref=related Yelp: https://www.yelp-support.com/article/How-do-I-set-up-additional-logins-for-my-Yelp-Business-Account?l=en_US Google Business: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3403100?hl=en For the accounts that don’t yet offer this feature but still need multiple people to access (looking at you, Instagram and Nextdoor), I would recommend using a password manager like Last Pass owned by the practice owner. Happy account securing! Caitlin DeWilde, DVM 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. 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.  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. 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." 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:
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!  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 :-) 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  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  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. 
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
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.
|
RSS Feed