Tired of sharing the same old flea and tick awareness poster on your veterinary social media? Chances are, your clients will be bored too—making them far less likely to heed your preventive care advice. Unfortunately, seasonal pest outbreaks aren’t going anywhere and pet owners need to stay informed. As such, the onus is on your veterinary practice to find new and innovative ways to educate your clients on threats to pet health.
So how can you stay creative in the fight to defend our furry friends from the sneaky wrath of fleas and ticks? This season, keep pet owners in the loop at your veterinary practice by trying these fun, yet informative flea and tick ideas on social media.
Demystify “the enemy” with reference photos
Nothing stirs fear in the hearts of pet owners more than unknown, unseen threats left to the imagination—especially when it comes to creepy-crawlies. Get ahead of the pest panic by sharing reference photos on social media to give your clients an accurate idea of what to watch out for in the insect world. As a bonus, these photos will help pet owners identify fleas and ticks on sight so they can catch potential infestations and seek veterinary treatment more quickly.
Granted, sharing images of fleas and ticks does run the risk of “grossing out” your audience—so do try for a more clinical approach. You obviously want to avoid scaring your clients into preventive action, so awareness is key here, rather than shock factor.
Keep it real—tell authentic patient stories
When was the last time you took warning from a story that happened “to a friend of a friend” of yours? Probably not since childhood, when these fantastical tales held any meaning. Pet owners look to your practice for real, trusted advice in a local context—so stay authentic!
Share real, local patient stories that actually happened at your practice to give clients an idea how pervasive flea and tick problems are. Sometimes, clients may carry shame about a flea and tick infestation because of the stigma surrounding pests. Fear of judgment may impede a pet owner’s willingness to seek treatment for their pets—so use real stories to build a safe, non-judgmental and informative community online.
Share a trusted educational blog post
Beyond authenticity, sharing accurate educational blog posts is another great way to build trust. You may already have blog posts about seasonal preventive care, which makes this type of social media even easier—simply share a link to your veterinary blog straight onto your social platforms and you’re done!
Post informative, engaging how-to videos
Research shows that video content has outperformed any other type of Facebook content since 2016, so if you want to better engage clients, posting videos is a great place to start. Why not get your veterinary team and mascot behind a camera for a quick tutorial? You could demonstrate how to search a dog for ticks, or how to apply monthly preventive flea treatments to cats. The options are endless—and remember to have fun with it too!
Provide flea and tick do’s and don’ts
Worried about over-educating clients into not visiting the clinic for preventive treatments or post-infestation pet care? Don’t be! Instead, share some basic do’s and don’ts regarding how pet owners should act upon finding one of these pests.
Some clients may even overprotect their pets to the point of keeping dogs indoors to avoid exposure to ticks or refusing to socialize puppies for fear of exposure to fleas. Posting a checklist of do’s and don’ts will help normalize the preventive care process to keep pets safe, and give pet owners peace of mind.
Share interesting DYK facts
To further set your clients at ease, consider posting some interesting “Did You Know” (DYK) facts about fleas and ticks on your social media. In today’s fast-paced online culture, sharing quick, concise facts is a great way to increase retention and boost compliance. After all, how can your practice fight seasonal threats to pet health without compliant pet owners?
So if you want to do your part to educate pet owners on everything they need to know to protect their pets against fleas and ticks this summer, spice up your veterinary social media feeds with these six creative ideas!
