Your data on MRCVSonline
The nature of the services provided by Vision Media means that we might obtain certain information about you.
Please read our Data Protection and Privacy Policy for details.

In addition, (with your consent) some parts of our website may store a 'cookie' in your browser for the purposes of
functionality or performance monitoring.
Click here to manage your settings.
If you would like to forward this story on to a friend, simply fill in the form below and click send.

Your friend's email:
Your email:
Your name:
 
 
Send Cancel

Making the most of social media
Make sure you review your ‘insights’ tab as this will show you what posts have received the most engagement.
Justin Phillips explains how to use Facebook effectively
 
For veterinary practices, social media predominantly means Facebook, said Justin Phillips during a lecture at this year’s BSAVA Congress.

Facebook can be used to provide a window into your practice and you have the ideal subject - with pets being the most engaging content on the internet.

Mr Phillips emphasised the need for each practice site to have its own Facebook page, filling it with great content from the people in the practice. He suggested that managers should empower the front of house team and invest in training to show everyone how to use Facebook to its maximum.

His message was to photograph as many pets as possible - obviously with the owner's consent - and to use these pictures to populate your Facebook pages. He advised having a social media calendar so that you can plan your Facebook content for each day and make sure you have the appropriate material. Of course, this does not prevent you from putting up lots of extra posts and pictures should something of interest happen.

Make sure you review your ‘insights’ tab as this will show you what posts have received the most engagement and allow you to plan more content along the same lines. As you can schedule your posts for the week via the Facebook scheduling tool, this will allow you to schedule the most popular posts for the times when you know they will be most viewed.

It is inevitable that there will be the occasional conflict and Mr Phillips had three pieces of advice to help with possible or real conflict issues.

1. Prevention is always better than cure so build a great community of pet lovers who engage with you on Facebook and are very likely to jump to support you if they see negative posts about you. It is also worth proactively asking for reviews of your practice; this will serve to dilute any less positive posts.

2. Assess any negative comments, be objective and do not engage with any offensive or beyond reason comments that are made. The genuinely negative comment should be see as an opportunity to learn.

3. If a comment is reasonable, take action and reply as soon as possible, asking the person who has posted the comment to come and discuss the issue with you. Posts left in the review section cannot be deleted (posts in any other section can be deleted and the user can be banned), but if you feel things are getting out of hand it may be wise to temporarily take down the section and then reinstate it a few weeks later.

Facebook is undoubtedly a massively important tool for engaging and attracting clients and if its use is planned and handled carefully, it can be an enormous asset to any practice's PR tool kit.

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.