Two ideas for talking about ticks on social media

Tick season is year-round, so we can't blame you for feeling fatigued when it comes to encouraging clients to use preventives on social media. We've taken some of the pain out of the process with the two Facebook post ideas below.

Follow the simple instructions, and ta-da-you're done…with the posts, that is. Ideally, these posts will initiate conversations between your practice and your clients, so get ready to talk ticks!

Idea #1: Attention-grabbing adorableness

Buy or borrow a few pet costumes (or maybe you can just raid your closet).

Ask a couple of clients who've brought their pets in for routine exams if you can take pictures of their pets wearing the disguises. Tell the clients what you plan to do with the photos and get permission to use them (Psst! Here's a printable photo release form).

Agnes is here to look cute and serve as inspiration. (Photo courtesy of dvm360 associate content specialist Sarah Mouton Dowdy)

Pick your favorite pictures and then post them to Facebook along with the following text, modifying it according to the costume and the pet:

This isn't really a strawberry-it's Agnes in disguise! Gotcha! Tick-borne diseases are similarly hard to recognize in both pets and people. The best way to protect yourself and your pets is with year-round prevention. Call us or stop by to get tick preventives for your pet!

Idea #2: Engaging education

Drag and drop the image of the handout below to your computer's desktop.

Drag and drop this image to your computer's desktop.

Post the image on your practice's Facebook page along with the following text:

It typically takes less than 48 hours for a tick to transmit disease to your pet. That's why it's so important to use preventives year-round and to regularly check your dog or cat for ticks-even if you live in an urban area. Click on the link to download a handy handout on tick prevention and scanning for ticks at home, and then reach out if you have any questions! www.dvm360.com/tickhandout