Many owners of profitable veterinarian practices point to marketing as one of the biggest keys to their success. So what can you do to improve marketing for your practice?

Here are three ideas to get you started:

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1. Boost your social media presence.

Social media has become an integral part of many business’ marketing plans, including veterinarian practices. In fact, social media can be an especially effective marketing tool for vets when you consider that posts featuring animals tend to generate higher levels of engagement, including comments and likes.

For example, brands saw a nearly 300% increase in comments to posts about pets, according to research conducted by NewsWhip. There was an average of 89% more comments across all social media channels for posts about pets and an average of 19% more likes for posts about pets.

Try to get creative with your practice’s social media posts. For example, you could host a competition like the cutest cat or funniest dog picture. Social media is also a great platform for sharing animal success stories. One equine vet has a “Save of the Week” on their social platforms where they tell about a horse who was injured or ill but is on the way back to a healthy recovery.

Don’t forget to use hashtags to promote your social media content and make it more searchable. This increases the visibility of your content and makes it easier for people who are searching for something specific to find you. #petsafetytips, #petfunfacts and #petfleaprevention are a few examples of hashtags that could be effective for a vet practice.

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2. Use local search effectively.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the biggest keys to successful internet marketing. This is the science of ensuring that your practice’s website appears high in search engine rankings for specific keywords and keyword phrases related to your business.

You can take SEO a step further by maximizing your local search results. In fact, local search is especially important for businesses that want to attract customers who are located nearby, like veterinary practices. Many pet owners would prefer to use a vet practice that’s located relatively close to where they live, rather than having to drive a long distance to see their vet.

One tool for maximizing local search results is Google My Business, or GMB. When you set up your GMB profile, your practice’s website will receive increased visibility in search engines and Google Maps when people perform local searches like “vet practice near me” or “vet practice in (your city).”

The more details you include in your GMB profile, the higher your website may rank in local searches. So be sure to complete your profile with a link to your firm’s website, full address and directions to your location, hours of operation, phone numbers and more.

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3. Create a content marketing program.

‍Content marketing involves creating high-quality custom content and posting it regularly on your practice’s website and social media channels. You can also send your content out to clients and prospects via email and even postal mail.

Blogs are probably the most common type of content used in most content marketing programs. The most important thing to remember about blogs is that they should be focused on things of interest to your clients and prospects — not on your practice.

The good news is that there’s a practically unlimited well of topics you can write about as a vet practice. Have a brainstorming session with your staff to kick around ideas for blogs and then create an editorial calendar with enough topics to cover a few months. Your blogging frequency will depend on how much time you and/or your staff can devote to writing, but blogging once a week or every other week might be a good goal for starters.

Implement these marketing ideas soon and watch your practice’s sales and revenue soar!