After last month‘s look at consent and jigsaw identification, I thought it would be good to share something I edited out of that blog. Namely, besides navigating the law and the code of conduct, you also need to manage clients’ expectations of how you use their case online.
Firstly, I’ll say you can run a successful clinic social media account without using cases, so if sorting out consent, the code of conduct and client expectations is too much, don’t worry! However, benefits to sharing cases clearly exist, so ensuring this builds and maintains your relationship with these clients is essential.
Now, now, now
If you do include the use of cases/images for social media use, it’s well worth remembering to manage client expectations. Nothing is as scary as a client who has told ALL family and friends that his or her beloved pet will be on your Facebook page when you have taken the pics for your vaccination campaign that starts in six weeks.
Most of us are still under the illusion that what is posted on social media has “literally” just happened, so be prepared to explain when you will use content.
Managing content
If you have just taken a picture of a client’s cute puppy or kitten in a vaccine consult then it’s worth giving him or her an idea of when you use these images. For best practice, I would advise leaving a gap between taking an image and using it online. This is for several reasons:
- Planning social media content makes a better use of content and takes less time to manage.
- You can create campaigns around similar content, vaccines, neuters and so on.
- You want to make sure the patient is fit and well when you post, or if it has died or is an ongoing case, the client understands why and how you will use the case information.
- It gives you time to ensure consent to share is still given.
Confirming consent
In an ideal world, I would advocate for written consent for use being included on your standard consent form. As I mentioned before, as a basic you should include consent for taking images/sharing information for diagnostic support and staff training, and then also social media use.
You will know how best to set out your consent form for your needs and your clients, so you could treat these as separate areas for consent or put them together.
If you are including social media use of images and information, I would advocate then using a telephone call or email to confirm all is well and advise when you will share the image/case information. This manages expectations and creates a better professional image, as well as complying with GDPR. It is also another opportunity to bond with a client, which is one of the important reasons to have clinic social media.
Yes, you can create a successful social media account without using real life cases from your clinic, but using the pets we see every day is an amazing educational opportunity if handled correctly.
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