Once a veterinary clinic has its social media management team in place, the next big question is: how much time should I dedicate to our social media and SEO efforts?

Well managed veterinary practices often track results and ROI for as many aspects of their practice as possible. Determining time commitments and setting limits will help identify and value labor costs, maintain project focus and will create a predictable stream of information for your audience.

Here are some tips to consider when asking the social media time question:

Develop a guideline for how often you would like to be posting on each social media account. There is no right or wrong way to do this but the old adage of quality over quantity should be considered.

Compare the amount you post per week with the change in followers/friends. As your engagement or number of followers increase, your postings should too.  Also, try to offer a mix of media during the week. For example, in your social media calendar, Mondays could be for photographs, Wednesdays are videos and Fridays are articles. Keeping it varied keeps it interesting for your readers.

At least 20 minutes a day should be set aside for a review of your social media accounts, replying to any comments or engagements, and posting new images, sharing articles, or writing status updates.

Also be conscious to allocate a certain amount of time per week to research the latest social media trends, look at what your competition is doing, and develop your social media strategy based on these findings.

Navigating the social media marketing world can be a time-consuming commitment for veterinarians and animal hospitals. To stay on track, use the timer on your watch or phone.

Social media calendars greatly help the process of executing a clinic’s social media strategy. Planning ahead of time ensures that you vary your posts to keep them as interesting and engaging as possible and keep them closely aligned with your clinic’s mission and objectives.

Overall, it ensures your posts stay connected to your marketing plan.

It also helps you think creatively about how you can engage with your clients on important pet matters. For example, if you recognize National Pet Dental Health Month in February, start ramping up conversations about dental services around January 15 through the month of February. Posts should be written at least 30 days in advance, carefully edited and saved for later distribution.

This process avoids writer’s block, encourages more members of the practice to contribute, and allows for practice owners to review content before it’s posted.

Certainly, there should be posts created “on the spot” based on immediate opportunities, but allow the structure created by the posting calendar to “lead the way.”

Most practices are a mix of personalities, styles, and voices. These different positions appeal to the wide spectrum that is your target audience. Consider forming a team of contributors within your practice that will share the responsibility of content creation, inspire one another and develop posts that appeal to different demographics within your target audience.