Would you rather spend 30 minutes every single day creating content? Or about 3 hours a month? We know how busy your practices are, and let’s get real: 30 minutes every single day translates to 15 hours per month! But when you batch content, you can get a month’s worth of content planned much quicker.
Because we can never truly know what lies ahead in the next year, it can be helpful to navigate these uncertainties by laying down the foundations with some basic essential rules around content planning.
First, Define your goals:
When planning your content, what is the main goal of it? Maybe it’s to gain visibility in your community or possibly grow the number of patients that utilize a specific promotion.
Defining your goals should be your first step to working on your content calendar. The set goals substantially impact your content, so your team must clearly understand your goals while they create content. Pushing out content with a clear purpose will give you and your team a clear idea of expected results.
Next, create a template:
Many tools offer calendar and scheduling features online, but you could make this as simple as a word document or a printed calendar. Choose whichever suits you best!
Your content calendar can be designed according to your team’s needs, but it should include the following info:
- Where it’s getting published (IG, Facebook, Linkedin)
- Content topic
- The date and time for publishing
- Point person in charge of this piece of content
- A checkmark for follow-through. Has it been published according to plan?
Start with a regular yearly calendar:
Use a standard annual calendar as your base when you start to plan your content. Markdown all of the important events that you want to build your content around, such as holidays, hospital events, and happenings in the community. This helps you figure out what content you will need for the future, and allows your team to prepare.
PERSONALIZE!
Once you have written down all important dates, start filling in the blanks with your content ideas. This can include:
- Answering frequently asked questions
- Highlighting cute patients & testimonials
- Specialized services or promotions that you need to educate your clients on
- Get to know the team! Share about your staff through individualized bios
- Linking out or re-sharing of expert articles or posts
- Seasonal or holiday greetings
- Funny memes
Be sure to mix up the types of content to keep it interesting!
And as always, check back for social media holidays and inspiration at https://social.ivet360.com/
2022 pet holidays at a glance:
JANUARY
- National Train Your Dog Month
- Walk Your Dog Month
- January 6th: National Cuddle Up Day
- Jan 12th National Pharmacist Day
- jan 14th: National Dress Up Your Pet Day
FEBRUARY
- Black History Month
- Feb 3: National Women Physicians Day
- Feb 20th: National Love Your Pet Day
- Feb 22: National Walking the Dog Day
MARCH
- March 4th employee appreciation day
- March 10th: National Hug Your Dog Day
- March 13th: National K9 Veterans Day
- March 23rd: National Puppy Day
- March 28th: Respect Your Cat Day
APRIL
- April 11th National Pet Day
- April 27th International Guide Dog Day
- April 30th World Veterinary Day
MAY:
- National pet week: starts may 1
- May 20th: Endangered species day
JUNE:
- Adopt A Cat Month
- Jun 04: Hug Your Cat Day 2022
- June 24th: Take your dog to workday
JULY:
- Lost pet prevention month
- Jul 31st: World Mutt’s Day 2022
AUGUST:
- Aug 26: National Dog Day 2022
- August 15th: National check the chip day
OCTOBER:
- Responsible Dog Ownership Month
- National service dog month
- Sept 28th: World rabies day
- October 16-22: Vet Tech Appreciation week
NOVEMBER:
- ASPCA Adopt a senior pet month
- National pet cancer awareness month
DECEMBER:
- Cat lover’s month
- Holiday closures (if you have any)