Published on November 19, 2020
Everyone knows Facebook.
In 2019, Facebook had more than 20 million users in Canada, representing no less than 54% of the population. What’s more, two-thirds of people reported visiting a local business’s Facebook page at least once a week. There can be no doubt about the importance of this social media platform as a tool for increasing your visibility and driving engagement.
Here are 10 Facebook tips you can integrate in your digital marketing strategy to leverage the full power of this social network for the benefit of your veterinary practice.
1. Set up your page to make it stand out
- Make sure your images are of good quality and the best size.
- Complete the Description sections (short and long) as well as the About section using strategic keywords (e.g., “veterinary clinic in (location),” “pets,” “personalized care”. Choose words or expressions in your description that your potential clients will use in search engines.)
- Add a call-to-action button to encourage visitors to your page to take specific actions, such as signing up for your newsletter or visiting your website.
2. Create engaging content
One of the most important rules for achieving greater visibility is to create content that encourages your audience to interact with your posts. Developing an engaging relationship with your followers can help build their loyalty to your practice. Questions, videos and GIF are just a few examples of content that motivates people to interact with your page. On this topic, we invite you to check out our 10 content ideas for your social media.
3. Balance your content calendar
The frequency and timing of your posts are also important. If you post too often, you risk annoying your followers. But if you don’t do it often enough, you could be missing opportunities for visibility. So how do you find out the best time to post content on Facebook? If you go into the Insights tab on Facebook, you will find tons of important details that can give you a better understanding of your audience at a glance. Next, go into the Posts section. For example, you can click on the tab “When Your Fans Are Online” to find out the average number of daily and hourly visits to your page.
4. Schedule your posts
Scheduling posts for publication can be very practical, especially if the majority of your followers are online at times when you’re not available (during your surgery hours, outside your clinic’s business hours, or simply when the practice is very busy). In addition, this feature can save you precious time!
Find out more on how to schedule posts on Facebook.
5. Target pet owners
To effectively engage your community, you need to understand who your target audience is. Ask yourself the following questions:
- How old are your target followers?
- Where do they live?
- What types of jobs do they have?
- How and when do they use Facebook?
- What type of content is most likely to interest them (informative, educational, entertaining)?
You can then control who can see your posts based on the characteristics you’ve identified for your target audience.
Are you clients bilingual? Did you know you can publish posts in both languages?
6. Create Facebook Stories
Facebook Stories are photos or short video posts that appear in vertical format at the top of your newsfeed and disappear after 24 hours. Photos and videos are displayed for a pre-determined length of time.
More than half a billion people view Facebook Stories every day. If you’re thinking about how to use Facebook for your business in 2020, note that they can be an incredibly powerful tool for connecting with followers. And because they appear at the top of your news feed, they’re immune to Facebook’s algorithm.
7. Get around the Facebook algorithm
The Facebook algorithm controls the presentation of posts seen by users in their feed: the posts that attract the highest engagement are the mostly likely to be viewed by a maximum of followers. Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say to it has become increasingly difficult to obtain good visibility for Facebook posts without purchasing advertising. There is, however, a good trick that can help boost the popularity of your posts: comments.
For each post, the greater the number of comments made within the first 60 minutes of publication, the greater its visibility.
A tip: we recommend that you ask your employees to comment on each of your posts as quickly as possible!
8. Pin your posts
A pinned post is a regular post that you decide to “pin” at the top of your Facebook page to give it greater visibility. It will be the first thing people see when they land on your page.
You can use this space to:
· share important news;
· present a video you’re particularly proud of;
· promote a cause or campaign to visitors to your page.
Pin any content that’s likely to attract people’s attention and encourage them to engage with your practice. You can modify this publication later by pinning a new post, an action you can repeat as often as you like.
9. Set up automated responses through Facebook Messenger
When pet owners contact you via Facebook’s private messaging, they expect you to respond almost immediately. Messenger’s automated responses can help you satisfy this need for quick answers: you can write an automated message telling people that you will get back to them as soon as possible, taking into account your business hours. Find out how here!
10. Use Facebook statistics
Statistics can tell you everything you need to know: which posts are generating the highest engagement, the age groups of the people who visit your page, the devices they use to access it, etc. This information can be valuable for identifying your targeting audience and optimizing your digital marketing strategies.
If you haven’t already done so, we recommend that you start taking advantage of the numerous features Facebook offers your veterinary practice right away. They’re a great way to develop a virtual relationship with your clients, enrich your interactions and boost your clients’ engagement with your practice.
Rey – stock.adobe.com
