Vets are starting to look at their online marketing as a business driver. Up until now, vets have been of the mind that a website is needed but it's not measured and as a result, under invested in. This is changing. As we move away from traditional advertising like Yellow Pages, vets are starting to look elsewhere, and online is the obvious place. The key here is that results can be measured.
At the AVA conference in Canberra last week, I presented 2 sessions on online marketing - one on making a website work and the other on Facebook. The key message to take home was:
- measure your online activities i.e. how many people go to your website, how many people contact your clinic using your website, which pages do the clients look at most. This will give you confidence to invest further
- if you're considering Facebook, do it properly or not at all. This too requires significant investment.
We offered website analysis for all delegates at the conference. We had more than 100 clinics register, reflecting the interest in the area. Delegates that participated went away with a report that outlined changes to make - some that could be done by the clinic, others that require expert help.
Thanks to everyone who attended the talks and the stand it was a very productive week. There was a lot of interest in online marketing and we were really busy on the stand. It shows that this area is growing in importance to consumers and vets. Here's our report:
