Technology can be a beautiful thing. If you're managing your clinic's social media presence on the go, having a few of the right apps on your phone can make the process even more efficient. Since inspiration strikes me all hours of the day and night, having these apps on my phone allows me to act quickly to implement ideas. That said, I am a huge believer in work-life balance and normally do most of my work at my desk during my normal "hours." Still, these apps have all been lifesavers when I'm traveling, and many of you have indicated that you like to work on clinic or personal phones and tablets. 
So here we go- my top 10 social media management apps (I use iOS devices, but I'm pretty sure these are all Android friendly as well). I'll be doing a similar blog next week of my top 10 photo editing/design apps, so stay tuned! And remember, there is no right or wrong way-- just like different veterinarians prescribe different treatment plans, different social media managers use different social tools. You do what works for you, and your practice! 

10. Google Drive: I save all of my clinic's logos and photos into files on Google Drive. That way I can access them anytime I want to brand a picture or need to pull up an old photo- without taking space on my own phone.  I have access to all of our "media" across devices this way, and can save items directly to it from a text or email too!

9. Tweets Nearby: If you're not sure if your clinic should use Twitter, Tweets Nearby identifies tweets that have been sent from your geographic location in a map viewfinder. If there's not a lot of Twitter activity in the few miles around your clinic, it may not be the right demographic for you and therefore not worth your time. For instance, if I open up Tweets Nearby in some of the outer suburbs of St. Louis, it's crickets in the Twitterverse. But if I'm downtown in the city, I practically can't see the map because of all the activity.
​It also lets you see what's trending around you- great for conventions, concerts, etc. 

8. Facebook Ads Manager: While not as powerful as actual desktop Ads Manager, this app will definitely let you manage the ads you've created from your phone. I use it as a quick way to check in on my ads and see how many people they've reached. You can also allow it to notify you're reaching a spending limit or they're about to expire. Editing features give you the ability to fix typos, alter budgets, schedule and audiences. The app does allow you to create ads, but I'm apparently getting old and like to see those in a larger screen size. 

7. Repost: Think of this as the Facebook "share" button feature for Instagram. This app allows you to post other people's Instagram photos on your own Instagram feed. No need to screenshot if you'd like to reuse a popular photo or meme, plus this way you're allowed to give credit to the original Instagramer- great for building those relationships with your clients and your community. This is great if you have a client post a photo tagged at your location, and you want to share this on your clinic's Instagram feed. Or if you want to repost photos from my feed of my adorable dog Maple, either way :-) 

6. Yelp for Business: a handier version of the website, you can set this up for your clinic in order to respond to reviews or questions right from your phone, track visitor traffic, and upload photos. For those who want regular and instant access to what's happening on their clinic Yelp page, this is the best way to do it, since you can enable it to send you a notification with each new review. 

5. Pocket: Pocket lets you save articles, videos, links in a convenient spot that you can access anywhere. Think of it like using the Facebook "Saved" feature but from literally any website or social media device on your phone. Instead of emailing yourself links or keeping the browser window open forever, I find it easy to come back to these articles later. I use this for animal stories throughout the week, and then when I need something to share, I've got several already saved and ready to go. It will also suggest articles based on your interests/previous saved content (so for me, um....cat videos, basically). 

4. IFTTT (IF): This stands for "If This, Then That" and is one of my favorite apps (and websites) of all time. This app allows you to create "recipes" using more than 60 different connected apps- including Facebook, Twitter Instagram, Gmail, FitBit, Dropbox, etc. For a non-social media example, you can create a recipe that if rain is forecasted tomorrow, you'll get a text reminding you to bring an example. My favorite social media use of this is a receipt that takes photos I post on Instagram and then automatically posts it on Twitter too (but it look like a native photo, not just a link to Instagram). Shhhh...it's a little bit of a secret, but I can't post everywhere all the time! :-) I also like the option to save all your photos from Instagram or Facebook to a Dropbox or Gmail folder, or the recipe to get a notification if a specific person posts on Instagram (great if you have those famous four-legged patients with their own Instagram accounts)! There are literally a billion other combos and recipes already out there- so check them out and streamline your stuff!

3. Bitly: Another app and website combo, Bitly allows you to shorten a link quickly, and if you want, share to Twitter, Facebook, text or email directly from the app. As you can imagine, this is most handy if you want to tweet an article with a super long web address. It also saves your recent links and tracks how many people have clicked then, which can be handy too! 

2. Hootsuite: This app is a great sidekick to the website service, which allows you to share and schedule posts from your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin Accounts all from one place. It's free for up to 3 social network accounts. I use the website every day, but the app is handy if I have a last minute message I want to schedule to post in the morning before my day begins. It also has a built-in link shortener as well! 

1. Facebook Pages Manager: This may seem like a no-brainer, but there are TONS of people who aren't using this app. If you're managing any sort of Facebook page from your phone, ever, you absolutely need this app. Pages Manager lets admins post and respond to comments AS YOUR PAGE, and prevents you from accidentally doing so as your personal account. You can also view and reply to private messages your Page receives (if you've enabled that feature), view your page insights, schedule future content, and get pushed notifications on comments, reviews, etc. While I have mixed feelings on getting notifications on your phone (again, work-life balance here), if nothing else you should use it so you can't mix up your personal profile with your business page. 

By now, you have probably seen that new button on the top of your vet clinic's Facebook Page: "Create Call-to-Action." Another one of Facebook's seemingly ever-changing options, this new button is to the left of your "Like" button in the area of your cover photo. Only visible to page administrators until activated, Facebook started rolling these out to businesses in late December (official release here). Nearly every clinic I work with has now had this button pop up as an option for their page, so I wanted to walk you through how to set it up! While I don't anticipate that this tool will be of major value to clinics, it's yet another opportunity for clients to connect with you in many cases. As far as I'm concerned, an opportunity to connect should never be wasted. This task is well worth your next five minutes. Let's get started: 

Step 1: Click the "Call-to-Action" button 
Don't worry. It's safe. You know you've been wanting to. The purpose of this button is to "add a button to get people to take action from your Page such as shop or sign up." While this is more helpful for businesses selling products online, don't worry- there are more options! 

Step 2: Choose Your Button
There are seven options, five of which are likely to be beneficial to veterinary clinics. The options are 1) Book Now, 2) Contact Us,  3) Use App, 4) Play Game, 5) Shop Now, 6) Sign Up or 7) Watch Video. 
My favorite is the "Contact Us" button, and every clinic can utilize this. Depending on your practice, you may also be able to use the "Book Now" button if your website has online scheduling, or perhaps the "Sign Up" feature for your clinic newsletter. Based on the button you choose, you'll be prompted for the specific address you want your visitors to go to (e.g. newsletter registration page on your website, online scheduler, contact form, etc). 

If you choose the "Contact Us" option, enter your website in the text box indicated. If you have a specific page on your website in which clients can contact you directly, copy and paste that address into this box. For this clinic, we simply used the clinic's main homepage.  Click "Next." 

Step 3: Choose a Destination for People Using iOS
This is simply asking where do you want people to go when they're accessing your clinic Facebook Page from their Apple (iOS) device. The options are either website or app, so unless your clinic has it's own app, select "Website." The text below will confirm the website address you entered in the previous step. Click "Next." 

Step 4: Choose a Destination for People Using an Android
 This is exactly the same step as above, only setting the option for those accessing your Page from their Android device. Again, unless your clinic has an app, select "Website." Then hit "Create." 

Step 5: You're done! 
A screen should pop up stating "Your Call-to-Action Button is Ready." Your button is now active! Hit "Next" on the popup. You can view your results, or number of people that actually click this button, on the right hand tool bar. 

Find this helpful? Use any different call to action options? I'd love to hear what your clinic tried, and what worked. 

Meet Dr. Ryan Llera
Our second guest blogger is a small animal veterinarian currently living and practicing in Kingston, Ontario. His wife Jennifer is also a small animal veterinarian. He  graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2006 and moved to Canada in 2009.  I started following Ryan on social media after realizing (1) he was a U of I grad so obviously had to be awesome and (2) seeing how he was connecting with pet owners, not just specific veterinary clients, on social media by telling powerful stories. His website, articles and social media content conveys solid pet advice and information via a personal and empathetic story, sometimes about his own animals. This kind of human-animal bond storytelling is what pet owners love to read! His story begins: 

-By Ryan Llera, DVM

Who are you?  Are you new here?  Did you just graduate?  My dog is just getting old doc, I don't want to put him through anything.  Is it true that tea tree oil can help with fleas?  How do you handle euthanasia?  I was looking around on the internet....

These are many of the questions or comments I get in the exam room.  Yes, I'm sure you've been asked them as well.  But what are you doing about it?  Some of them are easy to answer in the exam room, others not so much.  For a moment though, let’s stop and think about how much more we as vets could accomplish by making our presence known out in the world.

You know you hate those appointments where the client has waited several days to bring in their sick pet and they only did so after trying some things they found “on the internet.”  Yes, good old Dr. Google who does not have a DVM or VMD.  So why give them a chance to find the webpage of one person's experience that will make your job harder?  Remember the raging firestorm this past summer with the post about ice cubes causing bloat that went viral?  These are precisely the types of things we should be trying to pre-emptively avoid rather than arguing against the court of public opinion later.  For some people, they might see us as just the “greedy veterinarian” trying to drum up business by saying the stuff on the internet is wrong.

I started blogging and using social media (mainly Facebook & Twitter) just at the beginning of this year.  My purpose was 3 fold: 
1) I wasn't happy with the lack of use or limited use by the clinic I work at.  
2) I wanted to build my brand for the future.  
3) The perception of veterinarians in the public and the periodic monotony of daytime practice were getting to me. 

The "Cat Crisis" in veterinary medicine, or the drastic discrepancy between the numbers of cats and dogs seen in our clinics, is a hot topic. While the phrase itself may be a little panic-inducing, the statistics don't lie. Cat visits have decreased more than 30% in the last decade. Compared to dog visits in the previous year alone, three times as many cats did not receive any veterinary care. 

There are many theories, studies and ongoing campaigns to identify and correct this issue. Many like to blame cat owners themselves and economic woes. In my opinion, billions of dollars are being spent on cat products, toys and hilarious feline themed videos each year-- so it doesn't seem like money is the only issue. I think too many owners just don't understand why regular exams are important, or how to even get their cats to the vet in a safe and minimally-stressed manner. We know the care we provide our feline patients is important, we understand cat behavior, and it's our job to help cats whether they are in our clinic or not. It's up to us to change the public perception on the necessity of preventative care, and I think social media can help. 
Here are a few simple ideas to get started: 

10. Share Information to Make Coming in Easier

According to the American Association of Feline Practitioners, 38% of cat owners report being stressed just THINKING about getting their cat to the vet. No wonder we can't get cats in the door! As veterinarians, we need to educate owners before they even get into the exam room. Share helpful tips on how to load cats into carriers, travel safely with cats in the car, and tips to minimize stress throughout their visit.
Consider writing a blog, or making quick posts and graphics to share. Here's an example of a quick graphic you could put along with a blog post! 

Need more ideas for cat travel and transportation trips?  Check out http://www.haveweseenyourcatlately.com/Visiting_Your_Vet.html. 

9. Show off Your Cat Patients

Most of the clinics on social media for have a 90% bias toward dog photos. I'll admit I'm guilty of forgetting to snap pics of my cat patients too. It's so easy to get great pictures of dogs in our exam rooms sitting patiently for a treat, eyes focused on the camera and still happy at the end of the exam. I think we all know that the minute the feline exam is over we quickly usher the kitties back into their carrier. Take an extra minute and get a photo of your cat patients in the clinic, or at least ask your owners to share their photos of their cats from home! 

8. Talk about Ways You're Changing Healthcare

Emphasize that there is more to feline exams than just vaccines. Run a daily series for a week showcasing a different aspect of your feline exam- each with a photo and brief description of what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Educate owners with posts about your vaccine protocols, especially using AAFP info if you follow the three year recommendations, etc. Highlight a new cat wellness package with routine bloodwork. All of these options can educate your clients about cat health, your commitment to the most recent healthcare trends, and get more patients in the door.

7. Connect with Industry Experts

This is an easy one!  There are great groups out there sharing really helpful cat-friendly tips. Connect with them online and share their information. In addition to providing your clients with helpful tips, it reinforces your message and shows that you're "in the know" and connected with these feline oriented organizations. Check out the AAFP/Cat Friendly Practice groups and CATalyst Council to start. 

6. Showcase Cats in Need

Another easy win-win-win for the cat, the client, and your practice. Sharing photos from area rescues and shelters can increase adoptions! With any luck, you'll help find a kitty a new home, make a new owner very happy, and see them for care in your clinic. 

5. Show off Your Cat-friendly Practice 

Even if your practice hasn't been officially certified as a cat-friendly practice, you can still showcase your clinic's more feline friendly features. If you have a special waiting area, cat-only exam room, or special cat-only office hours, post pictures to share this info with your clients. If you need a quick logo-free graphic to share, you can right-click on the image here to download. 

4. Promote the Initiative

There are HUNDREDS of statistics on cats, cat ownership, cat health, and the general disparity between cat and dog visits. Try some clever posts and graphics to demonstrate that you're aware of the discrepancy. Emphasize that you're sharing this info with owners because you want their cats to be as healthy as possible, not because you're trying to rake in their exam fees. The "Have We Seen Your Cat Lately" website, as well as Partners for Healthy Pets website (http://www.partnersforhealthypets.org/) have great info and tips. 

3. Show a Success Story

Have a successfully-managed diabetic or hyperthyroid cat? A patient you're treating or have cured based on something you found at a routine exam? Try showcasing before and after photos of interesting cases, weigh ins for management of that obese cat (ok all of them), or even just post a photo of a cat when they are in for their exam and bloodwork- and explain why. 
Bottom line- share photos and stories. Ask the owner to share what they learned by bringing their cat in- hearing it from another non-vet can sometimes reach even the toughest skeptic.

2. Show off a Service/Procedure

Does your clinic offer dental cleanings for cats? I can't think of how many times I've had owners shocked that this was an option- the services many owners consider standard for dogs are available for cats too- make sure your owners know! If your clinic has the special "kitty condos" for boarding or hospitalization, this can also go a long way into easing owner's concerns about leaving their cat in your clinic even for inpatient procedures.

1.    Share the Bond

How many veterinarians and veterinary staff members DON'T have cats? And better yet, how many of us have cats that we actively sought out? I’m guessing the answers to these questions are “few" and "far between.” Our houses are loaded with cats with great stories- from being dumped at the clinic to being saved by our amazing medical skills in their hour of need. They wriggled their way into our houses and hearts, now show off their pics and stories!

Don’t forget the fun stuff too- while dog shaming photos have taken off, internet cat videos still rule. I can’t even start listing my favorites or we’ll be here all week, but a Google cat video search won’t disappoint. Share fun tips, toys and games you’ve used with your own cats, or find them online. There is an entire website on IKEA furniture hacks to create fun environments and cat furniture. AN ENTIRE WEBSITE. Pinterest is literally brimming with cat-friendly material too! 
Sharing fun feline photos, tips and ideas can help convey to your audience that you love cats just as much as dogs, even when off the clock. Don’t worry, my friends assure me it DOES NOT make you look like a crazy cat lady.....

May your scrubs be ever covered in cat hair and your Facebook brimming with likes, 
CD

So  you're ready to make the plunge into social media! For some of you, the Facebook or Pinterest page may be your first. For others, your personal accounts are brimming with retweets and likes, but you haven't yet made your business "social." And for many, you started this endeavor once or twice before....and ran out of time. 

It happens! As a practicing veterinarian, I understand. Our days are full of to-do lists, busy waiting rooms, clients to call and pets to care for. Posting a picture of that cool foreign body you took out yesterday or setting up that Pinterest board of helpful links seems trivial when you have calls to make, stacks of journals to read and files to write up. 

With so many distractions and obligations, it's imperative that you prepare for your endeavor.  You wouldn't walk into an abdominal exploratory without having done bloodwork and radiographs, or without your surgical pack and suture. Why jump into social media without diagnostics and digital tools of the trade? Glove up, friends, and let's talk about your practice's social media prep, procedure and success.

10. Have your logo handy. No--you can't use the 1 cm square you scanned off your business card. Ideally, you should have a high resolution digital image in color, in black and white, and one with a transparent background. If a graphics company created a logo for you initially, this should be no problem. If not, you may want to ask for their help, or spending some time on the logo in Photoshop or other editing software yourself. Nearly every social media platform will provide an opportunity to upload your logo as a part of your profile.  You can also use your logo to "brand" the photos you share--increasing your exposure and giving them a polished look. Having a variety of options, including your icon (graphic picture alone), your icon and clinic name together, +/- your address or phone number, etc will all come in handy. 

These photos are all actual posts that show different ways to use your logo for branding purposes: 

9.  Gather your data. When setting up social media and online review platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest and Yelp, you'll need all your pertinent data handy.  You probably know the address, hours and website address like the back of your hand. But do you have a copy of your clinic's mission statement, the owner bio or the history of the business? In addition, you'll need both a brief (1-2 sentence) and detailed (1-2 paragraph) description of the clinic and the services it offers for many of these pages, particularly Facebook.

8. Delegate. This step is crucial. Social media, like many tasks in a veterinary hospital, cannot survive on the efforts of one person alone. Involve your team. Social media is fun, and many will want to participate. It is important, however, to restrict the actual act of posting to trusted employees. Every photo you post, every article you share and every statement you make on social media will represent your practice.  Posts need to be medically appropriate, grammatically and factually correct, and if humor is involved- tasteful and free of any potentially sensitive topics.  Make sure any administrators you delegate can be trusted to represent your practice in the same way you would. My personal Facebook-specific recommendation is that the practice owner retain sole "Admin" rights, and make all other employees "Editors." Taking this step leaves owners the ability to monitor and remove any employees from Facebook should their professional relationship end. For more information on Facebook roles, check out: https://www.facebook.com/help/323502271070625

7. Schedule time. It seems so easy to post a quick photo or retweet a quick article-- and sometimes it can take seconds. Sometimes it doesn't.  As we all know, without setting time aside, the likelihood of a "quick, easy job" getting done in a veterinary clinic is slim to none. Blocking off 30 minutes one or two times a week can give you a great opportunity to post quality, engaging content, especially if you take advantage of social media scheduling tools. Furthermore, if you are delegating the posting to a technician or receptionist, this will limit the time they can spend on Facebook pretending to "work" on your page!  

6. Check out your camera.  Engaging content requires VISUAL appeal. That cute puppy you saw in your last appointment will get you a ton of likes, but not if you have pyrantel caked to your phone's camera lens. Yes, this actually happened to me. You don't need to have a digital SLR in the clinic, but consider at least a modest effort in taking quality pictures. The majority of the content I share on my page and the pages of the clinics I manage comes from smartphone cameras. I and many of my techs have Iphones, and another takes  great photos with an HTC One.  One of my client clinics has a hospital-owned  point-and-shoot camera that floats around the office, available for all staff to use when at the first sign of photo-worthy activity.  That camera holds a Wi-Fi enabled memory card, so photos are automatically uploaded to a computer, ready for editing and sharing. If you allow your staff members to take pictures with their phones, be ready to stress that while they're able to take pictures of pets, etc,. they must still adhere to your policies about phone use  during the workday when they are not snapping cute puppy shots.  

Another tip: Check out the "Pose a Pet" app, which will make squeaky toy and other noises to get pets to look at the camera! 

5. Hold a staff meeting. Regardless of the level of involvement, the entire staff needs to be aware of the goals, usage and policies regarding your practice's social media presence. Make sure everyone is on the same page, and consider discussing the following issues:

• Which social media sites your clinic will be using
  
• Your goals in utilizing social media:- promoting the practice, sharing information, showcasing your personal touch
  
• Who is posting
• When they are posting
• Policies regarding cell phone and internet use. 
• How you will ask client permission to use photos, if/how you will document
• Who/when will respond to notifications and messages received through social media, including messages that indicate an emergent situation (rare, but this does occasionally happen)
• Brainstorm for fun ideas, contents, promos and more

4. Build your library of photos. There will be  busy weeks filled with new pet exams, multiple new clients to welcome to the practice, an interesting GI foreign body workup /removal and a clinic event to promote.  Then there will be weeks, usually in January, when your staff spends their time catching up on cleaning and paperwork.  Having a library of material, including cool images- from staff-owned pets, funny articles, clinic pet photos, interesting cases and diagnostic tests, will allow you to maintain a consistent and interesting presence on your social media platforms. My veterinary friends know I'm still looking for that great microscope pic of Sarcoptes!

3.  Plan ahead.  I'm a procrastinator. While I work great under pressure and on a deadline, trying to get your dog to wear a sombrero the morning of Cinco de Mayo and pose for a photo before you rush off to work is not a great way to start your day. Trust me. If you want to share specific images or promote certain holidays and events, you have to plan ahead.  Look ahead on the national and pet holiday calendars, and ask your staff and clients for photos in advance if need be. More often than not, they're eager to share and happy to help. I love the AVMA's Pet Health Awareness Events list, organized by month. Many of them have links to websites and shareable content, making it even easier to educate and promote pet health topics! Check it out at https://www.avma.org/events/pethealth/pages/default.aspx 

2.   Ask for help when you need it. If you're not seeing the engagement you want, you're running out of ideas on what to share, or you can't make the time to get the job done, ask for help. There are a ton of free resources and educational tools out there to help you learn what you need to do or get some inspiration.   There are many professionals, myself included, who are passionate about this aspect of vet med and love to share ideas and info to anyone who will listen.  If you need more tech know-how or content ideas, check out SNOUT School (www.snoutschool.com), owned and operated by a successful veterinary practice manager. SNOUT School is very active on social media, providing webinars and lots of great veterinary-specific information! Multiple initiatives by the AVMA and Partners for Healthy Pets can help provide shareable posts and tweets to help educate your clients and free up time for you to make more personalized posts. If time is the problem, there are companies like mine that offer in clinic training to maximize your efficiency and even daily management of your social media  platforms. 

1. Have fun. I've said this before and I'll say it again. Our job is cool! As veterinarians, we have a profession that makes children and grownups alike green with envy. People are fascinated by our every day, and let's face it-- some some days, we see some really cool stuff.  You don't see thousands of people looking at funny fruit and vegetable photos  or a video of roofing shingles going viral. We have that kind of "awww-inducing," heartwarming- story-making material right down the hall, almost every day. We have the opportunity to show off what we do, create bonds with our clients that go beyond the paperwork, and educate owners to ultimately help them take better care of their pets. The stories, photos  and info you share might be seen by someone who didn't know about heartworm prevention, or who didn't know you were supposed to take your cat to the vet every year. While I'm not saying that posting, sharing and tweeting is going to save lives, I'm saying it has the potential to help people connect more deeply with their animals, and learn more about giving them the best possible health care. Isn't that why we got into this gig in the first place?  Share what makes you smile, what you want pet owners to know, and what makes your practice great. Your clients, and their pets, will thank you.

National Pet ID Week is April 20-26, 2014, and offers a great opportunity to educate clients about the importance of pet identification. In addition, your clinic can benefit by encouraging identification to decrease lost pets, promoting microchip services and connecting with your clients who are already doing a great job of keeping their pet safe. This blog will share some ideas, tips and graphics you can use to launch your message on social media. You can save the images directly from here, or check them out on my Pinterest page for direct download and sharing as well. Happy educating! 

--Caitlin DeWilde, DVM
The Social DVM

10. Post pictures of pets with great identification

This can be a quick and easy pic to post on your Facebook page, or even incorporate images into your Facebook cover photo for National Pet ID Week! 

ID Tags: An easy task you can accomplish right now with your smartphone is to take a picture of the clinic cat or your own pooch wearing their ID tag. Showing your clients that the pets you personally care for are properly identified can go a long way toward demonstrating how important pet IDs are. 

ID Collars/Harnesses: For pets who are already microchipped and/or owners who hate jangling tags, remind them that a visual form of identification is still recommended! Show off a pet wearing an embroidered harness, collar or leash! We asked a client to share a picture of their pet's collar, which has the pet name and owner phone number embroidered. 

Share Where to Find: If possible, highlight a local business or pet store in town that offers this service. Not only will you be sharing information with clients on how to get these products, but you'll demonstrate your involvement in the community and build on a relationship with a business likely to refer clients your way.  

9.  Demonstrate scanning a microchip

 This is an easy one! Use your clinic pet or a staff member's pooch. If you're tech-friendly, a quick 10-second or less video shared on your social media pages can demonstrate how quickly and easily a pet can be identified. A photo collage showing off the procedure, scan result and pet's tag is also a great way to visually share this information. 

8. Post a picture of a microchip on X-ray

We've all heard clients quickly jump to the glowing white alien-bot I mean microchip on radiographs while we're just trying to show them heart size or evidence of foreign body. Seeing the microchip on radiographs is an interesting/cool factoid, plus educates clients on placement. 
Post the picture on your Facebook page with the microchip circled, and ask clients to identify it. Offer a prize (I usually go with a free nail trim) or a virtual high five for the first person to correctly identify. Schedule a post for later that day with the same picture labeled to identify the microchip. Getting your clients to post and interact with your page will boost your visibility and increase your overall engagement! Feel free to use this radiograph if you'd like!

7. Share a resource

While sharing an information piece can be a link to a microchip article, success story, or manufacturer website, we like to share the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup Tool at www.petmicrochiplookup.org. 
This site should be of value to your clients whether or not they received their pet's microchip at your office. While adopted and rehomed pets may come to their current owners already microchipped, they may have forgotten to pack their paperwork.  Owner not sure what brand of microchip their pet has? No problem. Type in the code and the website will identify the manufacturer and provide their contact information/next steps. It's also a nice tool for veterinarians and shelters! 

6. Offer a microchip or ID tag promotion

Run a promotion on microchipping services (e.g. $10 off, free registration, etc.) This is a win-win for everyone! Depending on your microchip manufacturer, they might be willing to partner for a "Chip Clinic" event to quickly and easily microchip a large number of pets. If you partner with a company for ID tags or create them in house, consider offering a free tag to new pets during Pet ID week, or a similar discount.  

5. Demonstrate the microchipping procedure

Use photos and/or video to illustrate the process. You may be concerned about making people squeamish, but you're more likely to educate about how simple the procedure is. Besides, a You Tube search of "microchip dog" turned up 15,200 videos. Make sure what your clients are viewing a reputable video (your own)! If you're not up for the videography challenge, check out these links for two popular microchip manufacturer demonstrations. 

https://www.avidid.com/pet-owners/microchipping101 
http://public.homeagain.com/how-pet-microchipping-works.html

4. Reward Properly Identified Pets

A perfect example of positive reinforcement. Offer a free nail trim or ear cleaning to appointments during the week that come in wearing a name tag with the proper info! Bonus points if they also have a microchip. Then, share their picture, their story and what you did on your social media. Example: post a picture like the one to the left. You could say "Maple came in today for her yearly exam and showed off her cool ID tag! Since this pooch is wearing her tag AND let us scan her microchip, we gave her a free nail trim and some extra treats in honor of National Pet ID Week!" 

This is a nice gesture to your existing clients, plus compliments them on a job well done. Furthermore, it spreads your message on social media and is yet another excuse to post cute dog and cat photos. Win-Win-Win. 

3. Share a Success Story 

Sharing a success story belonging to one of your clients or staff members- or finding one online to share is a heartwarming way to educate with a personal touch. 
If your clinic doesn't have any personal reunion stories as a result of a microchip or other identification, ask your clients in person or on your social media -- they love to tell stories about their pets, especially to their veterinarian! If that doesn't work, visit the website of your favorite microchip manufacturer. A recent search of the top microchip providers revealed plenty of great reunion stories. 
Check out the examples below. On the left is a Facebook post detailing the reunion of an escaped cat- found six months later and six miles away! On the right, a local lost dog whose info had previously been shared on the clinic Facebook page was found. He was identified by an embroidered collar and promptly returned to a grateful family. The clinic posted news of their reunion and a photo of the pooch with his owner in the clinic after his exam deemed him healthy. That post alone earned more than 3,200 views! For a clinic in a town of 10,000, that's great exposure! 

2.  Remind clients to verify contact info. 

We're all guilty of neglecting this. A move down the road or across the country can be a nightmare in terms of paperwork. Changing addresses and phone numbers is easy to remember when it means you might not have electricity, but there's no prompt to remind owners to update their microchip registration info. 
Sharing this graphic or other visual reminders may trigger that to-do list item for a client who has recently moved. Remind your front desk staff to ask anyone who changes their address with the clinic to remind them, or better yet, help them update it with the microchip company too. Depending on the company and associated plans, a small charge may be involved, but the process can often be done online. Having your staff familiar with your microchip partner and their process can save time and provide a valuable service to your clients. 

1. Educate owners about the benefits! 
Microchipping is a no-brainer, and a great service to promote because everyone-- pet, owner, and veterinarian-- benefits. The costs and risks are low, while benefits are permanent and have the potential to save lives.  Educating clients about lost pet statistics and microchip successes can help increase awareness and keep pets safe. 

Some tips for educating in your clinic: 

• Display your microchip scanner prominently
• Contact your microchip manufacturer for new posters, displays, etc
• Make it a clinic policy to check for each pet's microchip during their exam

Tips for educating on your social media: 

• Update your Facebook cover to reflect National Pet ID week
• Share your content regularly throughout the week on your social media platforms-- share photos and links that we mentioned above. Feel free to use the graphics below to post and share! 
• Ask your clients to post/share pictures of their microchipped pets! Better yet, if they have a rescue story to share, ask them to bring in their pet for a photo while being scanned! Asking for stories and photos will increase your social media engagement, and ultimately leads to more social exposure. 

10: It's FREE (mostly). Vets are a frugal bunch, and we've got better things to spend our money on, right? Other than the time it takes to post your content, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and the rest of the social media gang are free. No cover charge. Just BYOP (Bring your own posts!)

9. It's targeted. No more blanket ads to the world of yellow pages and bus benches in the hopes that someone will *happen* to see it. People are only going to follow you if they are looking for a veterinarian (you), they're interested in what you have to say, or they already patronize your clinic.  Now meet them half way and give them what they want! And by "what they want," I mean adorable puppy photos. 

8. Keep an eye on your competition. Let's face it- you want to know what services your competitors are offering, if they're expanding, or if they got the newest flea and tick product. They're on social media, and if you're not, you may miss out on knowing what's going on down the street, and why your clients are going there instead. 

7.  If you don't claim it, it will claim you. Your information, your reviews, your practice- it's all already on the internet whether you like it or not, and whether you have taken ownership of that info or not. Don't you want to make sure that what's out there is a) correct, b) positive, and c) creates the illusion that you're not stuck in the 18th century? 

An example: once upon a time, when working for a technophobe boss, I decided to surprise him by creating a clinic website, business Google+, business Yelp and Pinterest pages (I know, I'm a nerd). Here's the thing: I was able to create ALL of those media forms...without him knowing. Now, granted, I was vested in promoting the practice and knew that being present online would only increase the clinic's profitability and character. But who's to say that I wasn't a disgruntled former client or employee doing the same thing but with sinister intentions? If you haven't taken ownership of your clinic's online presence, someone else can. 

6. Ummm...have you guys ever seen a YouTube cat video? Look- dogs and cats are one of the most popular search topics on image and video searches BY FAR, unless the Olympics are on or Justin Bieber has done something ridiculous again. We don't even have to try to find this stuff- it's literally waiting in the exam room for you to bring to your adoring online fans. Probably while you're reading this. Go check out that ear infection and come back for the second half of the countdown. 

5. You can stay up to date and relevant- in 30 seconds. I once attended a lecture on social media, and an internationally known veterinarian stood up and said "If you're not on social media, you're missing part of the conversation." I joined Twitter that day, after years of avoidance. And that veterinarian was right- just by following the AVMA alone- I was almost instantly more aware of what was happening in the veterinary community- simply because the tweets were basically "headlines" of what was happening in our world. No more digging through the journals to find the one article that actually interested me, and no more being blissfully unaware of what's affecting our profession. By following a few other veterinarians with similar interests (like social media in practice), I picked up quick tips and ideas that were pertinent to my workday. 30 seconds between exam rooms can go a long way to keep you in the know. It's better than TMZ, anyway. 

4. It motivates and ingratiates your staff. One of the basic principles of management is to allow staff members to personalize- so allow their personalities be part of your practice's social image. Featuring a staff profile on your Facebook during National Vet Tech week, posting a comment on your pages for their birthday, or featuring their pets or staff "product picks" on your Pinterest page shows your staff that you value them, their skills and their knowledge. What's more- they'll likely pick up some likes and praise from your followers and clients. They'll likely then share all this on their own social media- further promoting your practice and your reputation as a caring employer. 

3. Connect with your community as a whole- veterinary and otherwise. "Friending" other local businesses and organizations can be a great source of referrals, local information and events, and is a great way to foster a true sense of community, without having to hit those boring Chamber of Commerce meetings. 

2. You'll create an undeniably personal connection- I don't know about you, but if I saw a picture of my accountant lovingly calculating out my depressing tax return, or my mechanic doing a great job of pouring in some oil into my lemon of a car, I wouldn't exactly feel warm and fuzzy inside. But seeing someone post a picture and showing off my old lady pooch or cuddly feline son on their page? LOVE IT!  After all, my dog Maple is the cutest dog in the Western hemisphere. I'm a veterinarian and I'm writing this article- but I would still totally fall for this. I'm totally going to "like" that post, share it onto my wall, tweet it out, add it to my Google+ and Pinterest pages, tag my husband in it, and email it to my grandma. Before you know it 862 people have seen that post with your clinic's name on it. #TotesAdorbs

1. Our job is awesome! It's easy to forget that we have one of the best jobs in the entire world. Student loans, long hours, angry clients, the evil 20/20 segment, and getting peed on AGAIN can make us forget that we fought tooth and nail to get to this job- we attained the dream almost every kid has had at some point. Remember that we get to play with puppies and kittens. EVERY. DAY. People want to see what we do. They want to see the cute furry faces, the heartwarming stories, and the weird foreign objects. More importantly, they want to see that we love what we do. Let's show them. 


Caitlin DeWilde, DVM