Veterinary practices may feel crunched for time during the holiday season, as clients bombard them with last-minute requests and year-end business tasks loom. Add the many personal seasonal stressors, and many team members feel overwhelmed. Creating holiday-themed client content may be low on the priority list, but communicating with clients may actually help reduce workload and alleviate holiday stress. Here are some simple holiday content ideas to get you started.

#1: Holiday hours and updates

Key to avoiding client conflict or confusion during the holiday season is establishing clear boundaries—and communicate, communicate, communicate. Ensure clients understand your holiday hours and when hospital closures or “no veterinarian” days could affect their pet’s care. Establish last-minute prescription refills or appointment request deadlines and encourage clients to plan ahead to avoid scheduling issues. To get the point across, bomb your clients’ social media, email, text, or practice apps with multiple reminders about the changes.

#2: Holiday pet safety tips

Do your clients still believe the old wives’ tales they heard as kids that turkey skin is good for pets or cooked bones make for tasty, cheap chews? Use your blog to educate clients about holiday food safety and other hazards, such as a tipped Christmas tree, candle flames, or lost pets. At the end of your blog post, include a call to action to schedule a pre-holiday visit to discuss pet anxiety, microchipping, or vaccine updates. 

#3: Holiday emergency advice

Pets will inevitably need care outside your scheduled holiday hours. If your practice has no after-hours care line or third-party phone triage system, don’t leave clients to figure out what to do. Pet owners with pet emergencies can panic and have difficulty thinking clearly, so establish an emergency protocol to help them know what to do next. Clearly communicate your hospital hours, and include references to poison control hotlines and local emergency clinics so clients are prepared for the worst. You can also create a blog post discussing what constitutes a veterinary emergency.

#4: Holiday newsletter

A holiday newsletter is a great way to connect with clients, summarize the year’s accomplishments, and look at the year ahead. Use the newsletter to let clients know what the team is doing this season, including fundraising events, pet photos with Santa, or hospital food or gift drives. You can also include short blurbs and links to additional holiday content, such as blog posts or updated holiday hours, and list holiday promotions.

#5: Holiday greetings and well wishes

A heartfelt greeting and thank you should wrap up your holiday season content. Plan a social post or email blast expressing your gratitude for clients who place their trust in your team and their continued loyalty, and include well wishes for the holiday season and new year. 

If you’re struggling with content creation ideas, or simply don’t have time to write blog posts or newsletters, the Rumpus Writing and Editing team has your back. Contact us to learn about our services and how we can ease your holiday season to-do list.