Get Social! 3 Tips for Increasing Facebook Engagement

Despite the many social media platforms vying for consumers' attention, Facebook remains a tried-and-true way of connecting with current and potential clients.

One challenge over the past few years has been to have each Facebook post reach a large percentage of your established audience, despite the platform’s changing algorithms. Facebook has been very clear on the best way to do this: Make sure your audience is engaged.

If your veterinary practice's Facebook content is not getting the engagement you once had or if you're at a loss for what to post next, consider these 3 tactics.

1. Share Content Generated By Your Clients

You do not have to be the sole curator of your practice Facebook page’s content. Rather than racking your brain for something witty or adorable to post, call on your followers. Pet parents love having a reason to show off their pets! Ask your clients to tag your practice in posts of their furry family members for the chance to be featured on your Facebook page. You can even make the request topical. For instance, ask for photos of dogs in Halloween costumes or of cats with their favorite holiday presents.

RELATED:

• Navigating Facebook's Algorithm for Veterinary Practice Success
• The Veterinarian's Guide to Instagram Video Marketing

Not only does sharing your followers' content take some of the onus off you, but it sends the message that your patients truly matter to you. Best of all, it increases engagement: Clients who have a vested interest in the photos you post (ie, it’s of their pet), they are more likely to share that post. This, in turn, expands the post’s reach to other potential clients.

2. Host a Contest That Requires Comments

A simple trick for generating more comments on a Facebook post is to turn it into a contest. One fun way to do this is to ask followers to caption a photo posted from your account. Make sure it is a photo that evokes emotion, such as a dog covering its face with a paw or a veterinary technician consoling a fearful cat.

Upon asking for the caption submissions, make the rules of the contest very clear. You need to relay how long the contest will run, any specific criteria that need to be met, the prize that will be offered, and how a winner will be selected. Leave the rest up to your audience!

3. Proactively Address Your Clients’ and Community’s Needs

If you notice an increase in the number of patients coming in with bleeding or raw paw pads, take to your Facebook page to remind pet owners of the potential effects of using rock salt to de-ice walkways and sidewalks and offer some solutions or alternatives for keeping pets safe. If a few of your patients have this problem, you can almost guarantee that other pet owners are in the same predicament.

Similarly, use your Facebook page as a platform to remind pet owners of some potential holiday hazards that are common in December, or to reiterate in advance of the summer months that parasite preventives are vital to protecting pets from developing Lyme disease, heartworm, and other vector-borne diseases.

Finally, as you try out these new types of Facebook posts, be sure to track and measure how they are performing. You may notice that one tactic works better than another and will want to copy that method in future posts.