State of the Industry, Digital Marketing Part Two: Facebook Pages

This is Part Two of our in-depth analysis into the veterinary industry’s digital marketing. To benchmark the industry and its use of best practices, we analyzed the digital presences of 1,000 accredited veterinary hospitals around the country. We chose to look at accredited hospitals because their hospitals range in size and because we believe they are the best veterinary hospitals in the country. All hospitals reviewed serve companion animals; we did not include equine, emergency or specialty hospitals. Our study is the largest, most comprehensive and most in-depth study ever completed in the veterinary field. All checkpoints were based on yes or no questions. We used only fact to build this study—no judgments. We also broke this data down by the marketing provider, so we could see how veterinary service companies score when it comes to getting their veterinary hospitals up to speed in the digital space. We’re presenting it here to show all veterinary hospitals where they can look to improve their digital game. Our four-part series will cover veterinary websites, Facebook, Google, and Yelp. In this second part, we’re looking at Facebook pages.

Veterinary Facebook Pages

After analyzing websites, we looked at these hospitals’ Facebook pages. Facebook offers veterinary hospitals huge potential for outreach, as Facebook’s user base is gigantic. As of June 2017, Facebook claimed 2.01 billion active monthly users. But just being present on Facebook doesn’t guarantee your success on the platform. Success on Facebook all depends on how you use it.

61%

610/1000

Had Their Facebook Page Branded To Their Hospital 100% of iVET360’s tested clients met this requirement.

Page Branded to Hospital

Your hospital’s visual branding should extend to your Facebook page so your clients and other members of the community recognize you immediately. Your hospital name should be listed exactly as it is at your practice and on any signage you use, and the logo you use online should be the logo you use everywhere else. Most clients will only see your posts in their feeds, not on your actual Facebook page, so the most important part of this is actually your profile picture. It’s best to use a high-resolution version of your hospital’s logo here so you stand out in news feeds. A generic photo profile picture will make you look like any other Facebook user.

75.6%

756/1000

Had A Vanity URL For Their Facebook Page 100% of iVET360’s tested clients met this requirement.

Vanity URL

A vanity Facebook URL is a customized web address your clients can use to find your Facebook page. When you first create your hospital’s Facebook page, Facebook assigns you a randomized URL with lots of numbers appended. When you create a vanity URL, you simplify your address and make it easier for your clients to find you on Facebook. For example, our vanity URL is fb.com/iVET360. That’s much easier to remember—and it looks much better on marketing materials—than facebook.com/pages/iVET360/839408. 23.1%

231/1000

Had Verified Their Facebook Page 100% of iVET360’s tested clients met this requirement.Page Verified When you verify your Facebook page, Facebook adds a small check mark to the right side of your hospital name. With this verification symbol, you add more credibility to your Facebook page, and you show Facebook users that you are an established company. Plus, Facebook prioritizes verified pages in searches, so verified pages are easier to find. This is an extremely easy add yet a majority of the industry has missed this update.

89.6%

896/1000

Allowed Direct Messaging On Facebook Page 100% of iVET360’s tested clients met this requirement.

Direct Messaging

According to Facebook, 53% of people are more likely to shop with a business they can interact with directly, and 56% of people would rather message a company online than call a customer service line. By making your hospital available on Facebook Messenger, you open your practice up to more conversations. Messenger offers unique advertising opportunities you could take advantage of as well.

58.05

Average Number Of Reviews On Facebook

iVET360’s tested hospitals average 77.64 reviews.

Facebook Reviews

More and more consumers are turning to Facebook to see how others enjoy particular businesses. While Google and Yelp reviews are also important, Facebook reviews are often easier to obtain as there’s a good chance most of your clients are already on Facebook. This means writing a review of your hospital won’t require them to sign up for a new account. And, when a Facebook user writes a review, their friends see it too, so your hospital gets in front of more people. You can increase your Facebook reviews by asking loyal, satisfied clients to write you reviews after visiting your practice. There’s a good chance you pay a company to monitor, track and help gain new reviews. As our study found, the industry’s leading social media companies actually scored lower total reviews than the industry average. To receive your veterinary hospital’s score, contact iVET360 utilizing the form below and tell us your hospital name, website, and email address, and we’ll provide an all-inclusive digital report for your hospital for free within 24 hours. Stay tuned for Part Three, where we look at the usage of Google, coming soon.