Millions of people are using the internet on a daily basis to access information and connect in social networks. Online access to instant communication and unlimited availability to knowledge has changed the face of business, and more consumers are now finding what they need online and are more willing to buy and pay for things electronically. These internet resources are becoming part of our daily lives, and for many businesses venturing into web development is going to be essential for maintaining a competitive edge in the years to come.
For many veterinary clinics, as with other small businesses, the idea of marketing may seem too difficult, expensive or inaccessible, and if marketing strategies are not ideal it can be discouraging to see little benefit from significant investment; however, digital marketing has made it vastly less complicated for small businesses to promote themselves with very little investment of time or money. Admittedly, better returns can be assured with considered planning and financial outlay; but even if these are forgone, a business can still take small steps to improve its online presence.
Digital marketing
In a literal sense, when talking about developing an online presence for veterinary practices we are talking about digital marketing (otherwise known as internet marketing or online marketing). Digital marketing is promoting a business to clients and prospective clients via the internet or other types of online-sourced media. There are several basic types of digital marketing, which are outlined in Table 1.
Delving into the benefits and drawbacks of each and every one of these digital marketing methods is beyond the scope of this article, but suffice it to say each plays an important role in reaching a particular niche of the client base, and even the simplest methods can be effective when done well.
In a sense, digital marketing has made marketing more accessible to small businesses than ever before. Many digital platforms are virtually free, yet they can reach large numbers of people merely by investing a few hours at the desktop; this is significantly better than traditional marketing platforms comprising print, radio or television advertising. In fact, with digital marketing a business can get five to ten times the number of potential clients as traditional Yellow Pages, magazine and newspaper advertisements, and for less cost (Trye, 2012).
Starting out with digital marketing takes some planning, but it can be taken in stages according to the business' resources and goals. There are three basic tiers of development for the average small practice looking to develop their digital marketing strategy (Figure 1):
Ultimately though, the effort and outcome of digital marketing varies considerably depending on how it is applied; the evolving ways that people are using the internet make a website alone insufficient to promote a business. Some thought must be put towards developing online presence and what aspects of digital marketing are best for attracting potential customers.
Online presence
Online presence is generally the profile of the practice on the internet, and managing this profile is about balancing different areas of digital marketing in order to draw viewers to the brand. Managing online presence involves some key areas, which are outlined in Figure 2.
While these components may at first seem complicated, they can be easily broken down into their key features:
The process of managing online presence generally begins with determining goals for the business and setting a plan in place to achieve those goals using the most effective methods possible. By analysing web data and identifying what viewers are interacting with the most, the online activities can be tailored to rely on interactions rather than on paid advertisements.
Importance of social media
Social media is perhaps one of the easiest ways to begin building online presence. The modern consumer is becoming more accustomed to engaging with businesses via social media, so it is a useful way to attract loyalty and interest in your practice. While we are all familiar with some social media platforms there are new ones developed every day, all of which allow the user to engage with the content in some way (Table 2).
| Type | Examples | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Social networks | Facebook, Linkedin | Connects people of similar interests and background. Enables users to create a profle and interact in various ways with other users in order to build social connections |
| Bookmarking sites | Pinterest, Delicious, StumbleUpon, Yelp | Enables users to recommend, save, organise, search, share and manage links to various websites, resources and businesses |
| Microblogging | Users can publish short updates that are pushed out to anyone subscribed to receive their updates | |
| Media sharing | YouTube, Flickr, Photobucket | Users can upload and share various digital media such as pictures and video. Most services have additional social features such as profles and commenting |
| Blogs | Wordpress, Tumblr | Enables users to publish updates of any length and design. These are pushed out to anyone subscribed to receive the updates. Viewers can comment on blog entries |
| Discussion forums, real-time chat | Numerous different platforms | ‘Chat rooms’ are used for realtime discussions, while forums act more as a community where users hold conversations by posting messages and replying to other peoples' messages immediately or at a later time |
| Social news | Reddit, Digg, Slashdot | Users post news items or links to outside articles and vote on items that others have posted. Items with the most votes are displayed the most prominently |
A large number of veterinary clients and prospective clients are becoming increasingly accustomed to using social media to connect with the businesses that they frequent; while social media may not at first appear to lead to sales, it is the digital equivalent of word-of-mouth marketing (Trye, 2012). More importantly, social media has changed the way sales are presented and how businesses are marketed (Figure 3).
The data to support the power of social media are significant. Statistical surveys depict that nearly two-thirds of online adults use social media, and well over half are Facebook users (Brenner, 2013). More importantly, 80% of social media users prefer to connect with brands through Facebook, where all of their interests can be presented to them in their newsfeeds. For each person that comments on a post by a business page, their comments are visible to friends who in turn may like other pages and social media platforms, opening the door for a vastly extensive marketing reach (Jorgensen, 2012).
Social media has also changed the way that people share feedback about businesses. Sites such as Yelp enable users to post reviews about businesses in a platform that many people can see. Negative feedback is one fear that many business owners have, but there is a way to deal with that feedback that can preserve the business' reputation as well as being useful for both the business and the clients. How you deal with negative feedback in a public forum is a key to public perception; considering how many people might see your response, it is important to make sure that it does not send the wrong message about your willingness to accept responsibility for something that may not have been ideal in the client's eyes (Table 3). Responding to feedback is essential in a social media climate, even if it is only to acknowledge a client's bad experience with regret and a promise to look into ways to help prevent a similar problem from happening again in the future.
It is a good start for a business to venture into social media as a way to develop online presence, but simply being on Facebook is not enough; a business needs to do something with that online presence (Capern, 2013).
Importance of generating original content
Nothing will grow a business faster than an image or story gone ‘viral’, where it is shared with thousands of potential customers; but one of the keys to success with a viral story is that it is the practice's own content that is being shared so that interested viewers will be able to link back to the practice website.
Original content can vary, but it usually involves information or media that has been created by the practice and which is being hosted on the practice's own website. In contrast to creating content, curating content is the reposting or sharing of links to other sites and it can be just as popular if the content is relevant to your viewers (Kanter, 2012).
Creating quality content is a skill in its own right and is closely linked with knowing your audience. Some general rules for creating quality content include:
The ultimate goal of all of this content is to tell a good story. By creating compelling stories that position the practice as helpful, valuable and trusted experts in the field, casual readers can be converted into loyal readers, and in turn those readers can be converted into loyal clients (Pulizzi, 2013).
Quality content is important, but it is also vital to develop content that is suited for the platform that it will be presented. For example, creating content for an e-newsletter is quite a bit different from creating content for a Twitter feed. Content should have one purpose, and this needs to be defined; for instance, is the content designed to teach, to inform or to entertain, or is it to inspire or start a conversation? Viewers will appreciate a variety of content, and being aware of the intent of a piece of content can help to ensure a good spread (Hanbury, 2011).
Online content is important for success but it will not lead to additional clients if the quality of your product is not good.
Quality services and what can be learned from prospective clients
While inexpensive marketing may seem like a dream come true, it does have its potential costs. No matter how good members of the practice are at social media or digital marketing, a poor-quality product or bad customer service is going to be detrimental to the business' goals. An unhappy client can post a bad review online, and if you do not deal with it well then it can mean certain death for your marketing strategy (Jarvis, 2005). Listening to feedback is essential to a business' success by enabling insight into what potential clients want.
All online fans are important to the business, even those who will never be paid clientele. Viewers can be loyal promoters of a brand, even if they never walk through the doors as they can recommend the practice to their friends. Similarly, bad feedback can negatively affect the practice's reputation, so listening to feedback and responding by doing something valuable with that input needs to be part of the overall marketing strategy.
Conclusion
The ultimate goal of marketing in any form is to create loyal customers, and with digital marketing there is a wider pool of potential clients than ever before. Traditional print, radio and television advertising can hardly compare to the effectiveness and affordability of digital marketing; as such, digital marketing is becoming more accessible to smaller businesses. Building online presence is becoming one of the most important things that a veterinary practice can do to promote itself, with simple steps such as creating quality content and maintaining consistently good customer service feedback; however, at the heart of any marketing strategy, good customer service and a quality product will always be the biggest factors that keep clients coming through the doors.