Are you a doctor of veterinary medicine who is trying to find marketing ideas to advertise your clinic?

Then you have come to the right place. This article is about to tell you one of the best ways to advertise your veterinary clinic in 2011.

Succinctly, the answer is Facebook. You have to look no further than this social media outlet to effectively bring customers into your door.

This network of people is no longer just an afterthought. It rivals Google and having a presence on it can mean a lot to your practice.

How so?

First, you need to know that in the United States alone there is over 132,000,000 active members of Facebook. That is a little less than half of the total US population (308 million). So, there is a very good chance that a large portion of your current and potential customers have a Facebook account and are on it every single day.

Here is something else you might find interesting.

For some reason pet owners seem to be on Facebook more than the average user. They are very well engaged, well informed, active on many community groups (like PETA) and have a history of supporting causes and businesses that feel passionate about.

So what does this have to do with veterinary marketing?

Its has everything to do with it. You, as the owner of a business that caters to animal owners, have the ability to reach out to all your potential customers in your area.

If you are searching for veterinarian marketing ideas you will not find any better than this!

Having many fans is the equivalent now to better on page one of Google for a good search term.

All you have to do is get a professionally made Facebook page created for you, advertise on Facebook in your area (very inexpensive), get your initial fans, put some creative content on your wall and let your page grow exponentially over time.

Done right you could have hundreds, possibly thousands of fans within several months. The largest investment you have is having your Facebook page professional created.

Keep in mind you do not have to pay a company to build your page (aka a fanpage). You could set it up yourself. But you will catch more flies in your web by having a professional company that specializes in Facebook pages create your site for you then if you did it yourself, without a doubt. A basic Faceook business page looks just like a plain user account and will not grab many people's attention unless you just happen to have a bunch of friends who become fans just because they like you.

Why is having hundreds or thousands of fans important? Is not it just an ego thing?

Hardly.

Any person who becomes a fan of your page by "liking" it not only has an animal but has stated that he or she is interested in your business. They are telling you they "want" you to sell them something. Otherwise, they would never have become a fan.

A large corporations, Coke, did some market research recently and found that one targeted fan is worth $ 150- $ 351 to a company. That may seem like a high number but its really not. Everything that you send to their wall might potentially be seen by hundreds of their friends. One meaningful post post sent to one person could potentially be seen by 250+ people.

So, back to how this can specifically assist you in your veterinary marketing efforts.

Lets say your Facebook fanpage has 500 fans. You send out an update or post on your wall that you are having a "flu vaccination special" for the month of March. 5% of your total fans respond by taking advantage of it. You have just created 25 customers who would not have been at your clinic if you did not have a great looking fanpage and posted a good call to action on it.

There are a few clinics who have over 2,000 fans. While that number would be hard to get in a small town, if you have a good enough fanpage, and a good marketing strategy, those numbers are attainable. Its very easy to get fans in this particular niche. What about when they send out an update. 5% of 2000 is 100 people. The numbers really add up over time. Whats more, you are building brand recognition and good will even with people who do not immediately respond to you call to action.

One of your Facebook fans is far more likely to come to you when they need something for their pet than some other clinic, especially if they have been engaging in discussions on your wall.

Yes, Facebook presents DVMs a great way to advertise their veterinary clinic. Fans equal more money for your clinic in the long run. Its proven that a businesses Facebook fans are more loyal and spend more money than people who are not. It would be foolish not to utilize this advertising medium to its fullest capability.

If you are looking for veterinarian marketing ideas then you have found it. Get a eye-dropping page created for your clinic and watch how business goes up. Who knows how long the whole FB craze will last. It could be gone in several years. But, until then, take advantage of this social network and use it to your clinic's advantage.