“May your heart be light and happy, may your smile be big and wide, may this blog contain helpful information inside!” – An Irish Proverb…sort of.
Happy March! Let’s talk about what’s coming up this month and how to harness these dates and observances to entertain, educate, and engage your clinic’s clients!
Kick off the month with a Preventative Reminder. Spring is on its way and will be here before you know it, and so will those pesky fleas, ticks, and mosquitos.
Employee Appreciation Day is on March 4th. Your clients LOVE the staff at your clinic - they trust them with some of their most precious and treasured friends. Celebrating your staff today is good for employee morale AND engagement with clients. A team photo, some employee features – whatever you do, make sure your team is involved!
We know you have seen some very unique and sometimes, downright strange pet names. March 7th is Unique Names Day and a great time to feature some totally unique and awesome names. I saw a video from a clinic recently that would fit this adorable observance so well. Have staff members take turns opening an exam room door, clipboard in hand, and calling out some of your clinic's most unique names (or make some up – Beef Shreddington, Sheriff of Snortingham and The Great Catsby are two of my favorites I’ve ever heard!) Stitch them together and ask your clients to share their pet’s unique name or the most unique pet name they have encountered.
It's International Women’s Day on March 8th and time to celebrate the women of your clinic. From inventing new technologies, shattering glass ceilings, and shaping the future of vet med, women have been pushing vet med to new heights for as long as animals have needed care. Celebrate all of the women of your clinic today who are thriving and succeeding in your neck of vet med!
Daylight Savings Time starts on February 12th, and I always like to remind clients that the time change might throw their pet off a bit. With Spring Forward, it's not uncommon for pets to be a little confused about why
they are up an hour early, and they might not be ready for breakfast when it's served, or might not have to potty when taken out!
Shamrocks, pots of gold, rainbows, everything green - what’s not to love about St. Patrick’s Day? Ask your clients to show off their lucky little shamrocks and share an Irish saying that definitely relates to the bond we share with our pets. Here are some of my faves:
“When I count my blessings, I count you twice.”
“A good friend is like a four-leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have!”
“Beware of people who dislike cats.”
Spring is officially back in action on March 20th! Celebrate The First Day of Spring by highlighting some seasonal safety reminders. Make sure these are all on your list:
- Safer spring cleaning: Bring some light on noxious fumes and toxic chemicals.
- Spring cleaning for pets: check their essential gear, wash what you can, and replace what can’t be cleaned.
- The great resurgence of parasites
- Signs of seasonal allergies in pets
- Consider a microchip the best way to say goodbye to winter and hello to spring is to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. More outdoor time can mean more chances to be separated, and a microchip can help ensure reunification.
National Puppy Day and Cuddly Kitten Day are both on March 23rd! This is the perfect chance to feature all of those new pets that have come to see you for their first exam recently. Because little puppies and kittens are so irresistible, I suggest a twofer by highlighting recent “My First Vet Visit” photos in your stories, and making a post asking clients to share photos of their pets as puppies and kittens!
Sorry not sorry for the earworm but cats deserve our R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Respect Your Cat Day is on March 28th and a great time to talk about those finicky felines. There is a lot of mystery out there surrounding cat behavior
and good cat care. Pick some topics to post that you feel passionate about (it’s people who expect their cat not to scratch their couch but provide no appropriate scratching surface for me) to help cat parents be better
cat parents!
Doctor’s Day is on March 30th and a great time to feature your veterinarians for many of the same reasons you celebrated your staff on March 4th. Some fun ideas for featuring your doctors could be “Facts about Dr. X You Might Not Have Known” or, if you have a multiple doctor practice, play match the pet to the vet and feature photos of your doc’s and their various personal pets.
March’s monthly observance is a doozy, Pet Poison Prevention Month!
Here are my suggestions:
Run this as a weekly feature, blog about it, or compile it into a helpful video. There is WAY too much to cover in a single post. A smart move would be to break this information down into the following subcategories:
- Medications: The Pet Poison Control Center reported medications accounted for almost 40% of calls they received in 2020. Human meds, meds for other pets, or too much of their own meds, are all topics worth addressing.
- Foods: I’m sure you feel like a broken record, but there are still people out there who need reminding.
- Plants: Houseplants are all the rage and spring bouquets will be making their way in soon. Review with clients what plants are okay and what plants are downright deadly. With Easter coming up next month, a no lilies for kitties reminder is in order!
- Household Items: Common cleaners, rodenticides, insecticides, antifreeze, pool chemicals, and more are all hiding in many households. With Spring moving back into town, a lot of those chemicals and poisons will be making their way back into clients’ households.
There is a lot of ground to cover in March, and VHA has already done the hard work for you! For $60, you’ll receive 15 graphics, captions to copy and paste, templates to customize, and tutorials to assist you with topics like scheduling your content, adding your logo, and more. Included this month is a video about pet poison prevention, an infographic-style Spring safety post, and everything you need to get March scheduled and squared away!
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