Unleashing December Delights: A Veterinary Social Media Extravaganza

Hey there, December! Can we get a round of applause for making it to the last stretch of the year? If you’re eyeing a 2024 goal of leveling up your social media game, well, guess what? December’s got the perfect festive vibe to kickstart your plans.

December 1st – Monthly Preventatives Reminder: Time to nudge our pals about their pets’ monthly preventatives. Let’s chat about why year-round protection is key, even when it’s chilly. Share some real-life tales to make it stick and aim for preventative compliance in 2024!

December 4th – National Cookie Day: This is a fun opportunity to share a pet-friendly baked treat recipe or encourage clients to share their favorite pet treat recipe with others (how fun would a pet cookie swap be?!)

December 5th – International Volunteer Day: Open up the floor to any pet-related volunteers you might have following you! Whether they donate time to walk dogs at the local shelter or foster adoptable pets, your volunteer followers will love the opportunity to talk about how they are helping pets, and how others can get involved!

December 9th – International Day of Veterinary Medicine: It’s all about us! Highlight the “human-animal bond” and explain hat that really means. Chat about what vet med means to you.

December 16th – Ugly Sweater Day: Who doesn’t love an ugly holiday sweater? Now picture them on our adorable pets! Staff, bring in your ugliest, and let’s make the clinic cat a style icon too!

December 21st – First Day of Winter – Safety Chat: Winter’s here, and safety first! From cozy gear to antifreeze awareness, let’s cover all the bases to help your clients keep their pets safe and secure. Here are some excellent topics to cover:

• Shake off the winter gear for pets who don’t tolerate the cold well.
• Keep your pets inside as much as possible when temps dip below freezing.
• Don’t leave pets in cold cars.
• Review and know the signs of hypothermia and frostbite.
• Keep hand warmers away from curious pets.
• Keep pets away from rivers, lakes, and ponds unless you are certain they are frozen solid.
• Beware of antifreeze.
• Wipe paws to make sure they don’t ingest any ice salt.
• Soothe noses and paws with a quality paw balm.
• Heat sources are cozy, but can be dangerous, so avoid unsupervised time around them.
• Bang on the hood of your car before starting it to give stray cats and other critters time to evacuate.

Winter Holidays Countdown:

• December 7th: Hanukkah
• December 25th: Christmas
• December 26th: Kwanzaa
• December 31st: New Year’s Eve

Time for holiday cheer, resolutions, and big thanks to our clients for a fantastic year. Any pet resolutions on your list?

• Safe Toys & Gifts Month: Remind your clients that toys should always be durable and intended for use by pets (no little kids stuffies for Fido!) and that they should stick to flavors and brands of treats that their pet is used to from reputable treat companies. Don’t even get us started on those red and green holiday theme rawhides…
• Cat Lovers’ Month: A celebration of all things cat – from staff kitties to clinic cats and our purrfect patients! Be sure to show off plenty of cats this month to celebrate all things feline.

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And there you have it! With all the gingerbread, candies, and icing in hand, the next step is to construct your gingerbread house. Keep in mind that getting a headstart on planning your December social media will save you from a headache that even egg-nog can’t cure.

Feeling more stressy and depressy than holly and jolly? Don’t worry; our monthly social media package is here to save you from a total holiday meltdown. No subscriptions required – simply snag it for December and revel in pre-made graphics, copy-and-paste captions, tutorials, and customizable templates. Let’s add some sparkle to your social media this month!

• 19 Beautifully designed graphics, including a 4-minute, fully narrated video focusing on Winter Pet Safety.
• Expertly crafted captions to copy and paste and take the stress out of your social media.
• Links for templates that include Facebook, Instagram, and Stories sizes so you can jazz up your own photos from the clinic.
• Tutorials to assist you and your team with adding your logo to your graphics, utilizing the templates, and scheduling your content in advance for peace of mind
• Access to free assistance and help from VHA’s resident social media and marketing expert, Laura.