I was recently invited to participate in career day at my son’s elementary school. I was asked to give a short presentation to each of the five second-grade classrooms and to lean into why learning and specific subjects are important for an aspiring veterinarian. While I probably spent too much time on the slideshow, I was relieved to find that most of the students were only concerned with telling me about their pets.
My 7-year-old son was proud of his mom and enjoyed showing off my stethoscope, X-rays and a handful of specimen jars I brought. His teacher took a picture of us, him beaming and me wearing my practice’s branded scrubs. “I should post the photo on my practice’s socials and tag the school,” I thought. And then I reconsidered.
I practice a couple of days a month and spend most of my time as a marketing consultant. I help veterinary teams nationwide figure out what works best on their social media. I’ve done the work for more than a decade and know unquestionably that the secret to social media success is photos and videos of real people doing the things they love. It resonates with clients, stops them from scrolling, and opens the door to client education and loyal bonds. Showing team members outside of the office, especially when they’re doing something that demonstrates their love of pets, people and community, is always a hit with clients.
But yet, I had to pause and think about the classroom photo. While I love marketing, I’m not much of a personal social media user. My general rule of thumb is that if I haven’t shared a meal with you, I don’t accept your friend request. I don’t want to share all the details of my life with the masses.
Posting a photo of my son and me on my practice’s very public social media account seemed different, partially because the picture showed his face and where he goes to school. I also couldn’t help feeling that I would be doing it for likes.
What’s the proper thing to do? The good news is that there is no one-size-fits-all answer. But a framework can help you decide what, when and how to share content in a way that benefits your practice and protects your privacy.
Why Sharing Matters
Social media isn’t just about cute patient photos. It’s also about connection. For pet owners, choosing a veterinarian means looking for someone they can trust, and trust is built faster when clients think they know you.
Research consistently shows that posts featuring actual people, regardless of their role in the practice, outperform stock images and text-only content. Real people plus a pet do even better. Personal content resonates because it:
- Humanizes the profession: Clients see you as more than a white coat.
- Builds rapport: Clients feel a connection when they walk in the door. The bond is particularly true if the two of you have a shared interest, like a kid at the same school, a beloved local sports team or a hobby.
- Encourages loyalty: People are more likely to stick with medical providers to whom they feel connected.
- Differentiates your practice: Showcasing personalities helps you stand out in a crowded market. That scenario is particularly true at independent practices, which have more flexibility in supporting and showcasing their unique team members and local involvement.
Sharing Too Much Can Backfire
Before you start livestreaming your Sunday brunch or posting about your child’s soccer game, hit the pause button. Sharing on social media comes with risks and drawbacks such as these:
- Safety concerns: Veterinarians can be targets of harassment. Posting your home address, vacation dates or child’s school (even indirectly) can put you at risk.
- Blurring boundaries: Clients don’t need access to your entire personal life. Oversharing can make professional interactions uncomfortable.
- Polarization: Some practices embrace values-driven posting, but political or polarizing content can alienate segments of your client base.
- Burnout: Feeling pressure to always be “on” and share private details can lead to emotional exhaustion.
Two-Part Framework
How do you decide what’s appropriate to share? I recommend evaluating posts through these two filters:
- Comfort: Am I, my team and everyone in the photo comfortable with it being public?
- Relevance: Does the content serve our clients, practice or profession?
If you respond “yes” to both questions, the post is usually safe to share. Examples of what works well include:
- A photo of team members hiking with their dogs. (It’s comfortable and relevant.)
- A short post about why you became a veterinarian. (It shares a story and builds a connection.)
- Supporting a neighboring business, such as a team outing. (It displays community support.)
- Celebrating a birthday. (It humanizes the team and builds morale.)
What you should avoid are:
- Posting your child’s full name, school and birthday party. (Comfortable? Probably not. Relevant? No.)
- Sharing an angry rant about a difficult client.
- Vacation dates with a “can’t wait to get away” remark.
If you’re leaning into sharing, set up guardrails such as these:
- Separate personal from professional accounts: Use privacy settings to lock down your profile.
- Establish a policy: Decide as a team what’s off-limits.
- Review geotagging: Turn off location tagging on sensitive posts.
- Ask permission: Always check with staff members before posting information about them.
Sharing With Intention
Luckily for me, someone took a candid photo of me speaking to the students and posted it on the school’s social media. No student faces were visible, and the photo didn’t identify my son or the classroom. I shared the image on our practice’s social media channels because it helped us achieve our goal of being comfortable and relevant. It also showed that I was committed to supporting the community and young pet owners. I mentioned in the accompanying text that I was helping my son’s school, but I left out the specifics.
Showing that I’m a mom with kids has helped me relate to many clients. They know I understand that juggling kids, school, soccer and a cat with diabetes is a lot of work.
Many veterinarians share way more or way less than I have, and it works for them. I recommend sharing enough to humanize yourself, build trust and strengthen client relationships, but not so much that it compromises your safety, boundaries or professionalism.
Every post should pass the comfort and relevance test. Share with intention, not obligation. And measure the results to ensure your strategy benefits the practice.
BEING VULNERABLE
One of the most powerful forms of connection is vulnerability. A thoughtful post about a pet you’ve lost or the challenges of balancing work and family can resonate deeply. But vulnerability requires caution. Ask yourself:
- Am I sharing to connect or vent?
- Will the post help my clients, my practice or my profession?
- Am I prepared for comments, both supportive and critical?
- Done well, personal posts can be incredibly meaningful. Done hastily, they can feel unprofessional or expose you to negativity you weren’t prepared to handle.