Most businesses think of their website as a marketing and conversion machine, but there are more purposes for your digital presence than just selling your services. While WhiskerCloud’s main focus is building you a website that converts users into paying clients, we also want to focus on the little details that help build trust with your clients and potential clients that find their way to your website.
Business is booming in the veterinary industry with adoptions and sales of dogs skyrocketing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and while this means more potential clients to bring into the clinic, the new normal of not being able to fully meet their new veterinary team or even step inside the building means that your website and other digital platforms are going to have to build trust with them in other ways.
Make sure to feature your team on your website!
Your veterinary clinic is made up of a group of people, and those people are what make your business unique. It’s important to use photos of your team, patients, and building to create a connection with the users of your website. In fact, a recent online study found that human faces lead to higher conversion rates on your website!
Even high-quality photos taken with your cell phone can be enough to edit and bring some life to your website. If you’re proud of your clinic and your team, be sure to showcase it!
This is especially vital if you have grooming or boarding centers that you want to feature on your website. Photos will let pet parents see exactly where their pet will be spending their time while they’re away, and it doesn’t get more important than that when marketing pet boarding services.
READ MORE: Why Leaving Veterinary Team Members Off Your Website Hurts
Your website must have an SSL certificate!
For years, we’ve been cautioning anyone who will listen that a website with no SSL certificate is like a car without seatbelts—you should not drive that car. All WhiskerCloud websites have an SSL certificate the moment they are launched, and this is for your protection and the protection of your users.
What is an SSL certificate?
An SSL certificate is something you add to your website to ensure a few things, including:
Encryption, or scrambling, of any data that is entered into your site (credit card data, contact information, messages, and so on).
A secure connection between an internet user (pet owner) and the website.
If users are going to be requesting an appointment, completing forms, or providing any information at all on your website, providing the security of an SSL certificate is crucial.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Here’s Why Your Vet Clinic’s Website Needs an SSL Certificate Now
Make sure your website is up to date!
Nothing says, “These people don’t care about details” like a message on your website that says, “We’ll be closed on Saturday, July 4th, 2020” in September 2020. It’s not just about cleaning up outdated information on your website—it’s also critical to keep your website current (especially in the age of COVID-19). As protocols, hours, team members, and services change, be sure that your website is also updated regularly. Set a reminder to check your website regularly to make sure that all information is correct and up to date.
We know that things are moving quickly during the pandemic, and that’s why we built an entire resource center around all things COVID-19 and your veterinary business. This will be a guide to ensure that your business and website are ready to operate digitally with things like forms and social media communications.
OUR GUIDE: Everything Your Veterinary Hospital Needs to Know About Coronavirus
Your social media accounts are an extension of your website!
A website is a portal to share your story, showcase your products, and acquire new clients—and your social media pages can be an extension of your online presence. As much as a website changes, the social media platforms allow you to constantly update your clients with what’s happening in your clinic and give them a behind the scenes look at the people that care for their pets. These posts will help you build a bond with your clients, share news, and promote upcoming events and specials.
Here’s how one hospital increased engagement on social media by nearly 70% in one month by making one simple change.
The Problem: Stagnant social media engagement. With WhiskerCloud managing their social media, this hospital was doing well. However, they wanted to take their social media to the next level.
The Solution: Involve the entire team in taking photos to share with WhiskerCloud and flood their Facebook page with epic, adorable, fluffy patient photos.
Case Study: Team Engagement Leads to Higher Social Media Engagement
With more client interactions going digital, your website and social media channels are the perfect places to cultivate and sustain relationships and rapport with clients new and old. Keep things fresh and share what’s happening with your team as often as things change. Why does all of this matter? 94% of people won’t trust an outdated website. It’s that simple.
WhiskerCloud clients get unlimited support and updates to their website and social media channels because we know the importance of keeping content as fresh as possible.
READ MORE: The Data Says You Need a Professional Website for Your Business
WhiskerCloud websites are fully loaded with everything you need to grow.
We offer cloud hosting, SEO, real-time website tracking, reputation management, social media management, and advertising — and all of it comes with unlimited support from our team.
