AAEP session highlights social media’s role in client trust

A new EquiManagement report draws attention to a familiar but increasingly strategic issue for veterinary practices: how social media is used for client communication. In coverage published March 13, 2026, Amy L. Grice, VMD, MBA, summarized a 2025 AAEP Convention presentation by Mike Pownall, DVM, MBA, arguing that equine practices should treat social platforms as intentional communication channels for loyalty, trust, and brand identity, not just as bulletin boards for announcements. (equimanagement.com)

The backdrop is a profession that has spent the last several years rethinking digital communication. AAHA has described social media as an essential tool for finding, educating, and communicating with clients, while newer veterinary education and workshop materials increasingly frame online communication as both an opportunity and a risk, especially as misinformation spreads faster and client expectations for responsiveness rise. AAHA’s 2025 workshop programming explicitly tied social media strategy to misinformation, practice reputation, and stronger recommendations from the veterinary team. (aaha.org)

In Pownall’s framing, effective use starts with clarity: what outcome the practice wants, who the audience is, when and where to post, and what horse owners value or worry about most. He urged practices to think in terms of the “four Es” — educate, entertain, engage, and evangelize — and to lean into storytelling because platform algorithms change constantly. EquiManagement’s report also notes his view that video now dominates social channels and that user-generated content often performs better than reposted material. He paired that with a practical point on negative reviews: respond quickly, humbly, and sincerely, while remembering the wider audience is watching. (equimanagement.com)

That guidance fits with broader veterinary risk-management advice. AVMA PLIT has cautioned veterinarians that social media posts can quickly become legal, employment, or reputational liabilities, including when clinicians share enough case detail for clients to recognize themselves or discuss active complaints online. AVMA’s earlier reputation-management resources similarly encouraged practices to answer legitimate criticism with competence, confidence, and compassion, rather than defensiveness. The throughline is that social media is public client communication, even when it feels casual. (blog.avmaplit.com)

There’s also an education angle. AAHA and AVMA materials both point to social channels as a way to distribute credible information to pet parents, and veterinarians active online have said misinformation is one of the main reasons they maintain a presence at all. In an AAHA profile, emergency veterinarian Marcus Dela Cruz said he underestimated how much bad information circulates online until he began using social media and found himself regularly correcting myths and misconceptions. That supports Pownall’s argument that content should do more than promote the practice; it should reinforce trust in veterinary expertise. (aaha.org)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, especially those in ambulatory or equine practice, social media now sits at the intersection of marketing, medical communication, and misinformation control. A well-run account can help set expectations, explain common recommendations, reinforce preventive care messages, and make the practice more recognizable before a client ever calls. But the same channel can create trouble if staff blur the line between general education and individualized advice, mishandle a complaint, or post content that compromises confidentiality. The practical takeaway is that practices need social media to be governed like any other client-facing system: with clear goals, designated responsibility, written policies, and guardrails around privacy and professionalism. (equimanagement.com)

For equine medicine in particular, the message may resonate because client relationships are often long-term, local reputation matters, and misinformation can spread quickly through peer networks and online communities. Concerns about horse-health misinformation are already well documented in the equine media space, with industry voices warning that social platforms can make unqualified advice look authoritative. In that environment, practices that communicate consistently and credibly may be better positioned to protect both client trust and animal welfare. (horseandhound.co.uk)

What to watch: The next step is likely less about new platforms and more about operational discipline — more formal social media playbooks, more staff training, and more emphasis on educational content that supports the veterinarian-client-patient relationship without crossing into individualized online care. (blog.avmaplit.com)