5 Reasons You Should Be Interacting with and Sharing Content from Veterinary Influencers

If you’ve spent any time on social media in the past decade, you’re bound to have consumed or interacted with content from an influencer – whether you knew it or not. Online influencing has grown exponentially over the past few years, with nearly 50 million creators considering themselves “influencers,” and isn’t limited to fashion or makeup anymore. Veterinary influencers are some of the new content creators that have emerged from the cultural and financial movement of online influencing.

Let’s dive into the world of veterinary influencers, explore who they are and what types of content they create, and, most importantly, cover why their content should be a part of your veterinary social media marketing efforts.

What Are Veterinary Influencers? And What Exactly Do They Do?

Before we start telling you why influencer content should be a component of your social media strategy, it’s essential to understand what being a veterinary influencer means and how these creators contribute to the digital veterinary and animal welfare communities.

In short, veterinary influencers are creators on social media platforms who have built a reputation and following for their knowledge or experience within the specific niches of veterinary medicine or animal behavior and wellness.

These influencers have become a guiding light for the veterinary community and pet owners alike, offering advice on medical conditions, insights on top pet products, and tips for animal care and wellness.

What Type of Content Can I Expect From These Creators?

Now let’s talk about what you really came here for – content. When it comes to social media influencing, content is king, and the types of content influencers create will vary from person to person and from platform to platform.

TikTok, which has quickly become the largest platform for influencers, is home primarily to video content, whereas Meta’s Instagram offers a wider distribution of both video and static image content. Every platform will have a different prevalence of content, and each unique influencer will approach those content types from different angles and focus on different subjects.

Common content focuses for veterinary influencers include:

• Pet Care Tips: This content can include valuable advice on pet care, including topics like grooming, nutrition, exercise, and training. They often create informative posts, videos, and infographics to help pet owners understand their pets' needs better.
• Medical Information: They share information about common pet health issues, symptoms, and preventive measures. This content may include articles, videos, and live Q&A sessions where followers can ask questions about their pets' health.
• Pet Product Reviews: Veterinary influencers often review pet products, including food, toys, accessories, and healthcare items. They provide honest opinions and recommendations to help pet owners make informed decisions about their purchases.
• Behind-the-Scenes: Showing the daily life of a veterinarian, including behind-the-scenes glimpses of their clinics, surgeries, and interactions with animals, can be fascinating for followers interested in the veterinary profession.
• Emergency Care Guidelines: In critical situations, influencers might share posts about basic first aid and emergency care for pets. This information can be lifesaving and is highly valuable for pet owners.
• Humorous Content: Veterinary influencers often use humor as an avenue to engage their audience. They create funny memes, comics, or videos related to pets, which not only entertain but also help in spreading important messages about pet care.
• Collaborations and Interviews: Collaboration is common amongst influencers, and those within the animal health and welfare sphere may collaborate with other influencers, veterinarians, or animal experts to create diverse content. Interviews with specialists or other veterinarians can provide unique insights and perspectives on various pet-related topics.

Now For The Why…

Influencer marketing has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry, and experts anticipate that industry growth is only just beginning. In fact, the Influencer Marketing Industry is expected to grow over $20 billion in 2023, according to Influencer Marketing Hub’s 2023 Benchmark Report.

But, despite the success of the influencer marketing industry, it’s apparent that not every company – especially small veterinary practices – has the budget to invest in making influencer marketing a part of their overall marketing strategy. That’s why organically interacting with and sharing influencer content is a great (and free!) way to tap into the power of influencer content creation and determine if future influencer marketing partnerships are right for your practice.

Here are the top five reasons you should be sharing and interacting with veterinary influencer content as a part of your regular social media strategy:

1. Unique Perspectives & Expertise

Influencers are considered thought leaders within online communities, and their opinions and experiences are highly valued by their followers and other content creators.

Sharing influencer content to supplement your own posting strategy is a great way to introduce different topics and types of content. For example, smaller clinics that specialize in veterinary medicine for cats and dogs can share content from exotic species, equine, or aviary medicine to offer their audience new and reliable information that would not typically be available from their regular veterinarian.

But the opportunities for unique perspectives don’t stop there. While veterinarians and their staff are well-versed in animal medicine and care, they may not be completely up-to-date on the latest and greatest in pet training equipment. That’s where content from another animal behavior content creator can help.

2. Content Variation

If you’ve built a successful social media strategy for your practice, you know how important content variation is. Continually posting lone images or long videos or rehashing the same topics in your veterinary social media posts will get you nowhere and leave your audience bored and unengaged. This often happens due to content fatigue.

Content fatigue is a real thing that can really affect your practice’s online presence. It occurs when consumers are served the same type of content over and over, resulting in decreased interest and likelihood of engagement.

Bringing content from an external creator can not only create something that is new and exciting for your audience, but also help fill in the gaps of what your internal team is able to produce. Is your practice swamped with new patients, and you just can’t find the time to create video content? Supplement the veterinary social media posts you do have the bandwidth to create with popular content from influencers. They get a boost to their reach and can tap into a new audience, while your practice can leverage content that may be too difficult to create at that point in time – it’s truly a win-win for influencers and veterinary marketers.

3. Authenticity

As we discussed, animal health influencers are often trusted authorities in their specific niche. When veterinary marketing managers engage with their content, it lends credibility to their own brand. Followers are more likely to trust a veterinary service that is endorsed or supported by influencers they admire.

4. Market Research

With social media influence becoming a major revenue stream for thousands of creators, goal-setting and reaching Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) has become a top priority for influencers. To meet goals and bring their engagement to new heights, veterinary influencers need to stay tapped into not only industry trends, but also the wants and needs of pet owners.

By following and interacting with animal health influencers, veterinary marketing managers can gain insights into current trends, popular products, and consumer preferences. This information can be invaluable for adjusting marketing strategies and staying competitive in the market.

5. Relationship Building

Engaging with influencers’ content can go a long way in helping build relationships and collaboration opportunities. Influencers are typically more likely to work with brands that actively support and engage with their content. This can lead to partnerships, sponsored posts, or other mutually beneficial collaborations.

Influencers: The Present – and Future – of Veterinary Social Media Marketing

Veterinary influencers are here to stay, and more and more companies are expected to include them in their marketing strategies. As these influencers continue to gain prominence and shape the digital future of the veterinary industry, it will be crucial for veterinary marketing teams to adapt and develop strategies to capitalize on the growing trend of informal information sharing on social media.

So, the next time you see a post from a veterinary influencer, don’t just scroll past – share, comment, and interact.

Looking to level up your veterinary practice’s social media marketing efforts? Get in touch with our team of social media experts and schedule a demo of our services.