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Social media case study: Vets Now

Guest post by: Jo Stratmann

Article Overview: Social media agency FreshNetworks helped out-of-hours vets service Vets Now use social media to engage their stakeholders.

Social media case study: Vets Now

Vets Now was started in 2001 by veterinary surgeon, Richard Dixon to provide out-of-hours cover for veterinary practices across the UK.With the dual mission of improving the lives of both vets and pets, Vets Now currently provide an out-of-hours service for over 350 veterinary surgeries across the UK, and respond to over 65,000 small animal emergencies every year.

Social media agency FreshNetworks were approached by Vets Now to utilise social media in order to increase communication between Vets Now practitioners, to provide an educational resource for veterinary practitioners, to sell Vets Now courses, and to recruit more staff. The answer was a bespoke online community, VetECC.

VetECC provides community members with a private, online forum where they can discuss tips, research, best practice and advice in an environment which is not constrained by time of day. The portal also acts as a news service for veterinary related stories, and as a space to promote and advertise Vets Now events and courses. VetECC also contains professional and educational resources and information, further supporting the organisation's mission of making life better for both vets and their patients.

So far VetECC has resulted in 10 direct job applications for Vets Now in just 3 months, with a predicted ROI from recruitment of £21,000. Furthermore, VetECC has provided Vets Now with a new platform for publishing the monthly printed newsletter, which has become the weekly e-news, and will save around £14,000 per year. The portal has also generated increased revenue from course sign-ups, with over 600 click-throughs for Vets Now training courses.

Engagement within the community is very impressive, with 60% of users signing in daily, and 95% signing in at least once a week. This is coupled with an incredibly low bounce-rate of 20%, and an average visit time of 9 minutes.

Lisa Rob, Head of Veterinary Resourcing at Vets Now said:

"FreshNetworks has been an integral part in allowing us to develop our online presence.

They provided support throughout their entire process, but in particular their structured approach to planning and strategy ensured that our community delivered and met the needs of our members."

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Article Tags: FreshNetworks, social media, social media case study, Vets Now



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