Social media becomes a more strategic client tool for vets

EquiManagement this month highlighted a 2025 AAEP Convention presentation from Mike Pownall, DVM, MBA, on how equine veterinary practices can use social media more intentionally for client communication. Pownall’s framework centers on defining the goal, audience, platform, timing, and message for each post, then balancing brand-building content with practice-specific business goals. He also urged practices to lean into storytelling, video, and user-generated content, while responding quickly, humbly, and sincerely to negative comments or reviews. The article notes that platform reach is increasingly pay-to-play, with Pownall saying unpaid posts may reach less than 10% of an audience, making paid promotion and metric tracking part of the modern communication plan. (equimanagement.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the takeaway is that social media is no longer just marketing polish. It’s now part of client communication, reputation management, and, in misinformation-prone environments, trust-building. That makes governance as important as creativity: practices need the right spokesperson, clear consent and confidentiality guardrails, and a plan for handling online criticism without inflaming it. AVMA PLIT and other veterinary guidance warn that careless posts can create legal, employment, and reputational risk, especially when client details, patient images, or emotional responses spill online. (equimanagement.com)

What to watch: Expect more practices to formalize social media strategy, budgets, and response protocols as digital communication becomes a more measurable, and more scrutinized, part of veterinary client relations. (ebusiness.avma.org)