Managing your social media with no time to spare
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by pings and pop-ups. But patients don’t expect instant responses—that’s why they have your phone number. Instead of checking every alert in real time, set aside a window once a day (or even every few days) to handle messages, tags, and post engagement.
Bring Your Practice to Life
Let’s face it: no one wants to read a wall of text on socials. A picture is worth a thousand words... and takes up a lot more space on someone’s screen. That’s free visibility for your practice—and vertical photos take up even more of that valuable newsfeed real estate.
Not only do photos catch the eye, they help humanize your practice. They show what goes on behind the scenes, highlight your team’s personality, and make your updates way more memorable.
Here are a few photo-friendly ideas to get you started:
- A bouquet just arrived at the front desk? Snap a pic!
- Celebrating a team birthday? Post a photo of the cake.
- Renovating the office? Show off the progress!
- Decked out for Halloween or another holiday? Capture the transformation.
Of course, not every post needs a photo. Quick announcements like changes in hours or sharing a link can stand on their own—though a pic of a prize never hurts!
Getting That Perfect Shot
The easiest (and safest) way to get good images? Take them yourself. That way, you avoid copyright issues that come with “borrowing” from the internet.
Good news: your smartphone is more than enough! You don’t need a fancy DSLR. Just point, shoot, and you’re most of the way there. Once you have your photos ready, the Meta Business Suite makes it easy to post them—whether you’re using a desktop or your phone.
Speaking of the Meta Business Suite, it lets you schedule posts, upload photos, and reply to messages on Instagram or Facebook all in one place.
Upload your posts efficiently
Now that you’ve got your photo workflow down, let’s talk about time management. Here are some quick ways to keep your Facebook & Instagram pages thriving—without it eating up your day.
Schedule your posts
When you find yourself with a few minutes to spare, sit down and type out a week’s worth of posts. Pop into the planner in the Meta Business suite to write your posts. Click on a date you want the post to go out and add your text, photos or tags. Make sure you have both your Facebook and Instagram accounts selected. From there it’s as simple as saving it.
When choosing a date, and specify the exact time the post will go live. It’s a good idea to post during your regular business hours, in case a patient is inspired to call you after they see the post.
If you’re scheduling a bunch of posts, mix it up and set some for the morning and some for the afternoon.
Make a date with yourself
If you’re the type of person who needs to schedule tasks in order to get them done (*raises both hands*) then you might want to rely on your calendar for managing the practice’s social media.
Scheduling even just 15 minutes a week is enough time to prepare a few posts. Plus, this will help you remember to include time-sensitive posts, like promotions, holidays, or special days within the practice.
Don’t get bogged down by the notifications
If you find yourself panicking every time your computer or phone chimes with a notification, take a deep breath and relax. Patients understand that they won’t get an immediate response from contacting the practice on Facebook – that’s why the practice has a telephone!
Resist the urge to look at every single notification as soon as it pops in, especially if it stresses you out. Instead, build it into your routine to check the notifications once a day, or once every couple days. If someone has sent a private message or written on the practice’s wall, you can respond to them. If another business has tagged the practice in a post, you can hop over to “like” it – and maybe leave a quick comment thanking them.
Do your homework
The best way to post efficiently is by knowing which posts are connecting with your patients – and which posts are largely ignored. Every week, take a few minutes to review the page’s analytics by clicking “Insights” in the top menu.
These graphs and charts tell you how you’re doing with “likes.” Are they going up, or are you losing people’s interest? They also rank the reach and engagement of each post.
“Reach” tells you how many people saw your post, and “Engagement” tells you how many people liked, shared, or commented on it – as well as how many people clicked through. Higher engagement numbers will lead to a greater reach, so knowing what your patients want to see will help you write more popular posts.
With a little planning, you’ll find it much easier to maximize the time you spend on the practice’s social media. Post when you can, take photos when you have the chance, and don’t stress the small stuff—your patients will love the personal touch.
Any questions? We’re always here to help!