My Engagement Has Been Ruff! What Should I Do Meow?

It may seem that with your Facebook page, you’ve been through it all. Birthdays, anniversaries, the Harlem Shake. At this point you’re probably thinking, what is left to do to keep people interested in coming to your page on a consistent basis? Well, there’s a chance that your furry friends could help you take your practice’s brand to the next level.

Pets are popular, and unsurprisingly, they are everywhere on the internet! From keyboard cat, to the cat that wants to eat that cheeseburger, to the dogs that get excited when a soldier returns from war. A cute critter can be just the thing your potential patients want to see when they go to your page.

According to Forbes, the top ten pet influencers have a combined total reach of 68 million. If your practice had even a fraction of millions of followers, you would be sitting pretty. So even if you use your dog, or the doctor’s cat, there’s a chance that your pet could go viral and bring in more reach than that paragraph about how you’re having a special on whitening.

Here are a few ways to integrate your pets into your social media strategy:

• Practice Mascot – You can have your dog, cat or iguana wear a bandana with your practice colors on it, and viola! You have yourself a mascot.
• Pet of the Week – How can you tell someone has a pet? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you. If you have members on your staff with pets, have them send you a photo and some fun facts about them that you can post to your page.
• Animal Videos – If nobody has any pets, or if someone has a dog in witness protection, you can always go to old faithful; find a viral animal clip and share it on your page. Don’t do this one a bunch, but something like this every now and then can break up the mundane.

Using this strategy can not only get a few existing patients’ attention, you also open up the chance to have them share your pics to their feed so their friends see it. Those friends could be in the market for a dentist, so you never know. Give it a try! We promise your followers will enjoy it.

— Scott George, Marketing Coordinator, Sesame Communications