Social media moves from marketing tool to client comms channel

Social media is being treated less as an optional marketing add-on and more as a core client communication tool in equine practice. That shift was on display in the 2025 AAEP Convention program, which included Mike Pownall’s session, “The Effective Use of Social Media for Client Communication in Equine Veterinary Practice,” and in EquiManagement’s related coverage highlighting social media’s role in client loyalty and brand identity. (convention.aaep.org)

The idea isn’t new for Pownall or for equine medicine, but the framing appears to be evolving. Older dvm360 and EquiManagement coverage shows he has long argued that social media can support profitability, visibility, and client engagement in equine practice. EquiManagement’s earlier reporting also laid out some of the operational basics behind that strategy: get explicit client permission before posting photos or videos, and build a content calendar rather than posting ad hoc. (dvm360.com)

What’s different now is the context. Veterinary teams are communicating in an environment where clients increasingly use online sources, social platforms, and peer communities to shape their views before or after an appointment. AAHA’s 2024 guidance on misinformation argues that clients often go online because information is always available, helps them feel more in control, and offers community, especially when trust hasn’t yet been established with a practice. The organization recommends that teams respond with active listening, validation, and structured approaches such as Ask-Tell-Ask, while steering clients toward veterinary college resources, peer-reviewed literature, and professional associations. (aaha.org)

That makes social media a double-edged tool for practices. Used well, it can reinforce trust, extend education beyond the exam room, and keep a practice’s voice visible where pet parents and horse clients are already spending time. Used poorly, it can create privacy breaches, blur professional boundaries, or feed conflict. AVMA PLIT has published cautionary examples in which veterinarians’ social media activity created legal and reputational exposure, including posts that revealed enough case detail to become discoverable in a malpractice dispute and viral videos that triggered client complaints and employment consequences. (blog.avmaplit.com)

Industry guidance is also converging around the idea that practices need a deliberate strategy, not just a presence. AAHA has promoted social media as a way to build client relationships, loyalty, and trust, while also publishing newer guidance on combating misinformation through better communication and proactive sharing of credible resources. Inference: that puts Pownall’s convention session at the intersection of two pressures practices are feeling at once, growth and risk management. Social media can help maintain loyalty, but only if teams know how to communicate clearly, protect confidentiality, and avoid turning every post into an informal medical consult. (aaha.org)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, especially in ambulatory and equine settings, social media can extend the practice’s educational reach between visits and help counter bad information before it hardens into mistrust. But that benefit depends on process. Practices need consent protocols, staff rules on posting, clear escalation paths for complaints or misinformation, and a plan for linking social content back to science-based resources. Without that infrastructure, the same channels meant to build loyalty can increase liability and make client communication harder, not easier. (equimanagement.com)

What to watch: The next step is likely more formalization, including written social media policies, team training on misinformation conversations, and tighter integration between practice websites, client handouts, and social channels, as veterinary groups try to meet clients where they are without surrendering the message to algorithms or rumor. (aaha.org)