When their pet is unwell, what’s the first thing today’s pet parent will do?
They might call you if it’s urgent, but if your office is closed or the problem doesn’t seem that bad, they’re probably going to Google it.
Any given query will bring up thousands and thousands of articles, written by other vets, other pet parents, and content marketers who know nothing about animals.
Blogging gets you in front of your clients at any time of day. You can be the voice of reason in a sea of conflicting and complex information.
Your blog is the best way to attract new local pet parents and ensure that your current clients trust you as their first source of information.
How do I know? According to Google’s own knowledgebase, “75 percent of people who find local, helpful information in search results are more likely to visit the physical stores.”
So if you’re not blogging, you’re missing out on a huge part of the way your clients make choices for their pets. Here are just a few ways you can utilize your blog to boost your vet clinic:
Create Mini Guides About Common Health Conditions
Do you find yourself giving the same advice over and over… only for many pet parents to forget your instructions, or not seem to understand them at all?
Vet visits are stressful for pets and their parents. Naturally, they’re going to forget some of your aftercare advice, and they may not find it so easy to speak up when they do not understand their pet’s condition.
You can publish blog posts about common conditions and recommend that your clients read them after the visit. You can even print off these blog posts as needed to use as handouts.
Tell your clients how they need to prepare their pets for surgery. Explain what symptoms of complications they should look for. Let them know the reasons behind your advice.
Teach About Preventative Care
Over 80 percent of cats and dogs will have dental disease by age three. It doesn’t have to be that way.
During a vet visit, pet parents do not always think to ask how often to brush their pet’s teeth, what products to use, and how to actually get their pet to comply.
They might not even realize that professional dental cleanings are an option. A blog post about dental health can bring more pets into your clinic for cleanings.
Offering your pet parent clients helpful advice for preventing health problems is a powerful way to stay connected with them between sick visits and checkups.
Publish posts about dental health, weight management, and preventing common chronic illnesses like diabetes and kidney disease.
Help Clients Understand Your Recommendations
During vet visits, you have time to recommend foods, vaccines and products, but you don’t really get a chance to explain, in detail, how your knowledge and experience brought you to those recommendations.
Blogging is a great way to share the data, personal experiences and comparisons that will make your recommendations that much more meaningful.
Inevitably, pet parents are going to do their own research. They’re going to compare experiences with their friends and online discussion groups.
But most importantly, they’re going to experience analysis paralysis.
The topics you’ve spent decades learning about – they’re trying to cram in a few hours as they try to make the best choices for their pets. With so much conflicting information out there, your clients are overwhelmed. They need your guidance.
When you’re an informative, available resource that your clients can actually talk to in person, your recommendations will be taken more seriously than that of someone they’ve never met before.
Stop Health-Threatening Internet Rumors
In my Facebook groups, whenever someone mentions that they are battling a stubborn flea infestation, inevitably, someone will tell them to feed their dog garlic.
Not enough garlic to cause anemia, at least not in the short-term, but in the long-term… who knows?
On your blog, you can address concerns that people have with controversial products, like vaccines and flea and tick medications. You can offer alternative, safe options.
You can help people intelligently evaluate the risks and benefits of their different options. Your content can help people make intelligent choices instead of panicking over that one Pinterest graphic they saw.
Answer Those Embarrassing Questions
Some people have pressing questions about their dog’s anal gland fluids or their cat’s erections… but can’t find the courage to bring those topics up at their vet visits.
They’d rather ask their Facebook group (I’ve seen the photos… and now I don’t open Facebook when I’m eating!) than ask you in person.
Covering these embarrassing topics on your blog opens the door for discussion. You can help clients understand that you’ve truly seen it all, and help them feel confident about starting those conversations.
Creating this content doesn’t necessarily mean that your clients will substitute reading a blog post for getting a professional diagnosis. The truth is actually the contrary.
Uninformed pet owners may brush off a potential health problem until it their pet is noticeably suffering. When they’re informed, they know when they should be concerned, and you can drive them to take action through your blog.
Help Lost Pets Find Their Way Home
Building a local online following can help you team up with your local humane society to find homes for adoptable pets. You can also share posts about lost and found pets in your area.
Connect With Local Pet Professionals
Is there a behaviorist, trainer or professional pet sitter who you love and recommend to all of your clients?
Invite them to guest post or answer questions on your blog. This is a great way to cover topics that are not in your wheelhouse. You’ll also build stronger connections with adjacent professionals who can refer clients to you.
Repurpose, Repurpose, Repurpose!
Once you publish your blog post, you can use it again and again.
Here are some ideas for getting the most out of your content:
- Create a binder featuring your best posts. Just print, laminate and hole punch. Set out the binder in your waiting room as reading material.
- Republish your posts. Allow a pet magazine, local newspaper or online media outlet to publish your posts. At the beginning, they can credit you with, “originally published on…” and can also include a backlink to your website, if published online.
- Publish a book. You can compile your best posts on a subject and self-publish on Amazon for additional revenue. You can also pitch your book to publishing companies.
- Create infographics. Hire a designer to create infographics with the data you wrote about in your blog post. These can be shared across the web and printed and displayed in your clinic.
- Get quoted by the media. You can sign up for free alerts from Help A Reporter Out (HARO) to find out when journalists need a pet expert to quote in magazines and other media outlets. Having a post already published on their topic makes it super easy for them to pull a quote from you.
Don’t Have Time To Blog?
Start publishing professional blog posts right away with the help of a professional veterinary blogger (that’s me!)
I work with vet clinics like yours on all of the above: educational topics, local pet news, debunking myths, and so much more.
Get in touch today – my start-up process is quick and easy so you can get your blog running ASAP, and I always work with you to make sure you’re saying what you need to say – I’m just the middle(wo)man helping you connect with pet parents.
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