An image is worth a thousand words

About the Project

I identified a common challenge faced by many veterinary clinics: building a strong social media presence. To address this, I wrote an article for the OVMA's member magazine, Focus, that simplifies the process of creating and maintaining an effective Instagram profile. This guide empowers veterinary teams with the knowledge and practical steps needed to establish a presence on one of the most popular social platforms. By leveraging Instagram, clinics can enhance client engagement and attract new potential clients, ultimately expanding their reach and impact.

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An image is worth a thousand words

For a busy veterinary hospital, the thought of managing various social media platforms can seem overwhelming, especially if you have a small team. With the online world constantly changing, it’s likely you’ve questioned if it’s even worth it.  

Being on social media won’t make or break your practice, however, it can positively impact your clinic by helping you connect with clients. You don’t have to join every platform—pick one or two to focus on. For veterinary clinics with cute clients and great stories, one worth considering is Instagram. 

Instagram is a social networking app that allows you to share photos and videos. A visual platform, it can be a great tool to maintain casual interactions with your clients between visits. It can also help boost your visibility within the community, influence potential clients and strengthen your relationships with existing clients. 

For busy veterinary practices, Instagram is appealing because it’s simple to use and doesn’t require a lot of effort to reach people. You don’t need to invest in professional equipment to produce impactful content—all you need is a smartphone and your patient’s story. 

Veterinary assistant Robyn Tschirhart works at Laurelwood Veterinary Hospital (@laurelwoodvets) in Waterloo, Ont. She says the hospital has seen great value from using Instagram. “At first, my colleagues were uncertain whether it was worth introducing Instagram for the hospital,” she says. “But since establishing our business profile, we’ve seen a jump in new clients and referrals through the platform.”

Focusing on client acquisition, Tschirhart posts behind-the-scenes photos and videos of the clinic to show prospective clients who they are and how they work, and to highlight the culture of the hospital. 

Laurelwood’s most popular posts, however, are new puppy and kitten features. “Most clients love having their pets featured on our account,” says Tschirhart. When the hospital welcomes a new animal to its family or has a feel-good story about the care of a pet, Tschirhart captures the moment to share with followers. 

To date, Laurelwood Veterinary Hospital has more than 1,300 Instagram followers, which it’s obtained organically. “We’ve never paid for followers,” says Tschirhart. Instead, the hospital capitalizes on hashtags and location searches to expand their reach. “It really helps in attracting new accounts and gaining the interest of people who may become future clients.”   

Oakville Animal Clinic (@OakvilleVet) has seen similar success on Instagram and has grown its account to more than 1,400 followers. Dr. Christine Miu manages the hospital’s social media presence and says the platform’s business insights feature helps her analyze the account’s performance and share content that people want to see.

“It tells us how many followers we’ve gained week by week, where they are located and their age range, as well as how many profile views we’ve had,” she says. Using these analytics, she prepares content targeted toward their audience’s interests. 

“The majority of our posts consist of photos of our staff and doctors with our patients,” says Dr. Miu. “Our clients love having their pet featured, and we often have owners asking if their pet can be an ‘Instagram celebrity’ on our account.” 

By posting photos with their patients, and then tagging their clients’ accounts, Oakville Animal Clinic can strengthen its relationships with current clients, and when these clients repost or share the image with friends, reach prospective clients.  

Using hashtags, adding a location and tagging client and patient accounts (lots of pets have their own accounts!) will help extend the reach of your post. According to social media management company Sprout Social, posts that contain at least one hashtag receive almost 13 per cent more engagement than those without, while posts tagged with a location get 79 per cent more.

Heather McPherson is marketing manager at McKee-Pownall Equine Services (@mckeepownallvet) in Campbellville, Ont. As a specialized large animal clinic, she finds that producing educational content helps generate interest in the practice. “We aim to educate,” she says. “We try to guide conversations that teach our community about what our clinic does and why large animals also need veterinary care.”

Since setting up its profile, McKee-Pownall Equine Services has reached more than 2,500 followers, an achievement McPherson attributes to sharing video content. 

“Instagram allows us to engage with clients in an informal way,” she says. “We have a great community and being able to share images and videos that are fun, educational and informative is amazing.” 

Incorporating video into your roster of content, creating Instagram Stories and posting on IGTV can also increase your engagement rates. According to SmallBizTrends, video content shared on social media platforms generates 1,200 per cent more shares than text and images combined. 

Once you’re comfortable with the platform, start tracking your analytics and use the business insights feature to determine what content your audience likes to see. Remember, some posts will do better than others and it takes time to build your following. 

“If you’ve been toggling with the idea of creating an Instagram profile for your clinic, just go for it!” says Tschirhart. “Not only is it a great tool for strengthening your relationships with clients and helping your practice grow, it’s a lot of fun and it can be very rewarding.”

Get consent before you click

Snapping pics of adorable patients? Before you post, make sure you get written consent from the pet owner and any individual that’s visible in the photo. 

Also, keep in mind that current legislation prohibits veterinarians from revealing medical information to anyone other than the pet owner or someone the pet owner has designated to represent them. Don’t discuss/show any details of a case on social media that would breach these privacy rules.

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SIDEBAR

How to get started on Instagram

1. Create an account, complete your bio (be sure to include your location) and link your website. Include a profile image.
2. Build your following by letting your clients know your hospital is on Instagram and encouraging them to follow you (make sure to follow them back!). Add a link to your Instagram account on your website. 
3. Designate a staff member to create content and manage your account. Tschirhart, Dr. Miu and McPherson each individually manage their practice’s Instagram accounts, but often use content from their colleagues. “Social media is a big part of our culture,” says McPherson. “Everyone participates on some level, but I’m the main person who manages our platforms.”
4. Create a content calendar to help with time management. Develop a consistent schedule, such as new kitten/puppy feature on Mondays, a staff highlight video on Wednesdays and an educational post on Fridays. 
5. Engage with your followers and other accounts—Instagram is a two-way platform, so take a few minutes to like, comment and follow.