Social Media Strategy: 2014 Changes & How to Adapt in 2015

Transcription

1 Social Media Strategy: 2014 Changes & How to Adapt in

2 Social Media Strategy: To paraphrase the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, the only constant is change and this seems particularly true in the world of social media. At this pace, January 2014 seems like a decade ago, and the social media strategies that worked back then won t necessarily be successful in With that in mind we ve put together a summary of the key changes to the most popular social media networks in the past year, and how to adjust your tactics to hit the ground running in We teamed up with Danielle K. Lambert, founder of SnoutSchool.com, who offers courses on social media management for veterinary practices. Danielle is also the practice manager at Quinnebaug Valley Veterinary Hospital (QVVH), so the strategies presented here are tested in the field. _2 / 13

3 CHANGE #1 The Decline of Facebook Organic Reach The Change Organic reach on Facebook continues to decline. Up until recently, Facebook has allowed us to easily connect with everyone who has Liked our business pages. But now there is so much traffic on social media that users can t possibly see everything that is posted by everyone in their network. Facebook s solution involves an algorithm that sorts posts from family, friends, and especially businesses, based on engagement that is, they determine how likely it is that people will want to see a post based on how much they have interacted with other posts from those people and businesses. In the case of business, the free ride is over hey, it was good while it lasted! Your Response Strategy: Start Leveraging Other Options. While it was free and easy, it made sense to throw your time and energy into your Facebook presence. Now, Facebook should just be one part of your online marketing. 1. Look to other platforms. Where are your clients? The best way to find out is to ask. Consider: Adding a question to your WebDVM4 VSmart survey. Using SurveyMonkey.com or SurveyGizmo.com. Including a question on your client check-in sheet. Once you know what social networks they re using, pick one or two to experiment with. _3 / 13

4 2. Start leveraging Facebook Ads. There is no arguing that Facebook ads increase your reach. Here s why we think it s worth it: Facebook ads are cost-effective you can adjust your budget starting at $5 per day. There are a variety of robust targeting options that ensure your ads are served up to the right audience. Return on Investment (ROI) is very measurable so you can experiment and decide what works for you. When you compare Facebook advertising to the old days of buying an ad in the Yellow Pages, there s no question that you re getting more value. If you re ready to give Facebook ads a try, download our free Facebook Advertising Guide. QUICK TIP: QVVH has a question on their check-in forms asking which social media networks their clients use the most. They have a practice profile on each network that is used frequently by at least 30% of their clients. _4 / 13

5 CHANGE #2 You Can t Ask for Likes and Shares on Facebook The Change: Facebook no longer lets you directly ask for Likes and Shares. We used to advise practices to come out and ask their fans to Like and Share their Facebook posts to increase engagement and reach. Now, Facebook has determined that there were too many pages using this tactic to spread spam and scams, so their algorithms will penalize the organic reach of posts that ask for Likes and Shares. Your Response Strategy: Be naturally engaging. Creating quality posts that people will Like and Share on their own is the best way to reach more people. For example: 1. Post pictures of your patients. Get permission from clients to share their pets pictures and stories, then share away. Everyone loves cute pet pictures, and you can bet the owner will be excited to share! The added benefit is that prospective clients will have plenty of opportunities to see your practice at work and know that they can trust you. 2. Ask questions in your posts. In this example from QVVH, they introduce their new patient, and ask clients to guess the candy-themed name. As you can see, the post has 26 Likes, 41 comments and has reached 1,285 people as a result. _5 / 13

6 The Exception: Lost Pet Posts We ve all seen and likely shared posts about lost pets that ask people to share. From what we ve seen these are the exception to the rule, and here s our theory on why: Once you re well established as a creator of valuable content through your high engagement rates, your posts are presented to a larger portion of your fans. Even if asking for the share gets that post penalized at first, a number of people will still see it. Those people will share it, getting it in front of their contacts, who will then also share it. Facebook s algorithm will equate all of the shares to valuable content, and you will not be penalized on the whole for these posts. The power of social media can then prevail to bring these pets home. _6 / 13

7 CHANGE #3 Quality Links Preferred on Facebook The Change: Facebook Prefers Quality Links. While we re sure none of you are intentionally sharing content that linked to questionable sites, such sites often post cute or hilarious pictures with links to unrelated content with the hope that people would share without realizing what they were sharing, and they d get more clicks. Now Facebook is cracking down on this and penalizing pages that use clickbaiting strategies. Your Response Strategy: Share your own quality content. Your Blog: Your blog can be whatever you want it to be. You can: Share patient success stories. Take readers behind the scenes at your practice and have a peek at your unique culture. Introduce staff in a personal way. Share important health information in fun and interesting ways. Tell clients what to expect when they bring their pets to you for particular reasons. Connect with your audience by answering questions, telling stories, and so on. Once you have all of this quality content that is interesting, humorous, personal, and educational, you have an ongoing source of quality links to share on Facebook! As an added bonus, the information you are sharing takes people to your website instead of someone else s. _7 / 13

8 You can repurpose your blog content as well there s nothing saying you can t re-share an older post if the content is still relevant and up to date. You are creating an asset, one post at a time, and building your online presence. Check out this example from QVVH they ve combined quality content with the natural engagement strategy we explored above by making their Facebook post into a quiz. [image from slide 24] ClientEd Online: If you have LifeLearn s ClientEd Online library integrated into your website, you can share any of the over-1,500 educational articles through your social media channels as well. Again, you will drive traffic back to your own website using a short teaser and a link to the article. To learn more about ClientEd Online, visit lifelearn-cliented.com. _8 / 13

9 CHANGE #4 New Twitter Profiles The Change: Twitter Profiles have a new look. Twitter has changed their profile pages. Profiles have a large banner image at the top, along with a profile photo that goes with your tweets. Your Response Strategy: Take advantage of the new look to create a great profile. You don t have to be a graphic designer to have a great banner image on your profile. Our favorite tool for designing things like Twitter banners is Canva.com, because it is user-friendly, and already has a perfectly-sized template just for Twitter banners. _9 / 13

10 Have fun with it! Start with a picture of your team, some patients, or something fun from your practice, add a Call to Action (CTA), and you have the added benefit of using this space to get people to act. Check out these examples from SnoutSchool and LifeLearn: _10 / 13

11 CHANGE #5 Instragram Is Booming The Change: Instagram Doubles Expectations. Most people did not expect Instagram to take off the way it has, but this photo-sharing social media network now has over 200 million users. Your Response Strategy: Start an active Instagram page! If your clients indicate that they re on Instagram, you should be too. There are some differences between Instagram and other social media that you need to be aware of, though: 1. Unlike Facebook, Instagram began as a mobile application. While it is available on desktop, it is still primarily used on mobile devices. That means you have another opportunity to reach the growing number of pet owners who are using mobile devices. 2. It s about photo sharing above all else. This is your opportunity to showcase the behind-the-scenes stuff that helps people get to know, like and trust you. You can tag the location where the picture was taken in order to get your practice name out and help local people find you. 3. You ll mostly just want to share photos, but you can share some of the same types of things you re sharing on Facebook. And you don t have to worry about reach at least not right now. 4. You only need to share between one and three photos per day to have a strong presence without annoying people by filling up their feed. For a great example of an effective page, check out Progressive Animal Wellness on Instagram at _11 / 13

12 Why Bother Trying? By now you might be wondering, with all of the ongoing changes and the effort involved, Why Bother? With clients and patients in your office, you spend time: 1. Communicating: you ask questions, probe to get at health issues and questions, address concerns, and so on. 2. Educating: sharing information about pet health, preventative care, and important things pet owners need to know. 3. Connecting: you learn about the pets on a personal level, build relationships with pet owners, and do your best to nurture a bond with them. But with healthy patients, you only get about 15 minutes a year to do all of that. Great social media includes all of these things, and you get to do them 365 days a year! Communication, education, and connection are all important to client retention. Social media gives you the chance to stay top of mind and make your practice sticky by actively engaging in all three activities. When you look at it that way, you can see that the effort you spend maintaining your social media accounts on a daily basis is actually a very efficient way to reach out to many clients at the same time! _12 / 13

13 Want help? WebDVM4 Social provides a weekly stream of content for veterinary practices to share on their social networks. It s the easier way to manage your social media profiles all from one easy-to-use platform. Sign up for your free trial today! _13 / 13