How to Get Your Vet Team Excited About Social Media (Even If They Hate the Camera)
By Cheyanne Lovan
Quick answer: To get a veterinary team excited about social media, be specific and considerate about timing when asking for photos or video, give advance notice so people can prepare, make participation optional and low-pressure, gamify requests with small incentives, and explain the "why" behind each post so the team feels like partners instead of props.
If you've been tasked with social media for your clinic and you're met with blank stares (or flat-out avoidance) every time you ask for a photo, you're not alone.
This is one of the questions I get asked the most, and the good news is: it's fixable.
Everything below is something I personally tried, tested, and had real success with, both as a vet assistant managing my own clinic's social media and coaching other social media managers ever since.
A quick disclaimer before we dive in: this won't happen overnight. Getting your team bought in takes time and consistency. But if you stick with it, it pays off.
Prefer to listen or watch instead of read? This post is based on an episode of The Veterinary Social Media Podcast, which you can play on the embedded video below or find wherever you listen to podcasts, for the full conversation plus a few extra stories that didn't make it into this post.
1. Watch the Timing of Your Requests
Before you ask anyone for a photo or video, check in on where your team actually is in that moment.
Was it a chaotic day of walk-ins? Did someone just get slammed with back-to-back emergency surgeries? That's not the moment to swoop in with "hey, can I grab a quick picture of Fluffy?" People who are mentally drained aren't going to be receptive, and vague, last-minute asks just create friction even if no one says it out loud, you can bet they're thinking, "What do you even need this for?"
Instead:
Be specific. Instead of "can I get a cat picture sometime this week," try: "I saw we have a feline patient coming in Thursday for a flea treatment — could you grab me a photo for our Cat Health Month post? I need it by Friday."
Give a clear hand-off method. Whether that's texting you directly or dropping it into a shared Slack channel, make sending you content as frictionless as possible. If you don't already have a simple system for this, set one up now — it removes a huge barrier to participation.
Plan ahead at staff meetings. A simple "this month I need a couple of photos of X, Y, and Z — who's willing to help?" goes a long way toward getting volunteers instead of victims.
If you need photos of your team members specifically, give them a heads-up before you show up with a camera. Most hesitation about being on camera isn't really about social media; it's about not feeling "camera ready" in the moment. A little warning lets people show up as their best selves, which makes them far more willing to participate.
2. Make It Fun
Nobody wants a new task added to their plate for free. So don't just ask — gamify it.
If you need five photos of a certain kind of patient or procedure, loop in your management and offer a small incentive: a $5 gift card, an entry into a drawing, whatever makes sense for your practice. Turning a request into a mini-competition takes the pressure off and gets people genuinely excited to participate instead of dreading it.
Are you looking for a community of social media managers to brainstorm and share ideas? Join my FREE Facebook group, Veterinary Social Media Managers Community, and become a member of our 4,000+ community today!
3. Compromise and Be Flexible
Building trust here is everything. Before you use anyone's photo or video, ask directly: "Are you comfortable with me using this on social media?" If the answer is no, respect it, and try again another time, on their terms.
Start small. Instead of asking someone to be the face of a whole campaign, ask for 30–45 seconds of them answering a couple of questions about a topic they're already passionate about. One of my technicians was hesitant at first when I asked her to record a few tips for Dental Health Month, and she ended up going above and beyond, filming an entire at-home toothbrushing demo with her own dog. That kind of buy-in doesn't come from pressure. It comes from giving people room to contribute in a way that feels natural to them.
And if someone truly doesn't want to be on camera, that's okay; there are still plenty of ways for them to contribute:
Holding the camera for someone else
Scouting upcoming appointments for content opportunities
Suggesting topics or ideas
Being your behind-the-scenes second set of hands
Not wanting to be on camera doesn't mean someone can't be part of the process. (There's a longer version of this story plus a couple more like it in the podcast episode above if you want to hear it straight from me.)
4. Be Transparent
Always explain what you're doing and why. Nobody should ever feel like their photo was taken or posted without their knowledge. When people understand the purpose—say, hitting a goal of highlighting a certain number of laser therapy patients to support a promotion, they're far more likely to help, even if it means contributing in ways that don't involve them being on camera.
In my own experience, when team members knew the "why" behind a request, people who never wanted to appear on camera were often still happy to snap photos of me performing a treatment, because they understood exactly how it supported the practice.
The Bottom Line
Every tip above comes back to one question: how can I make this simple and easy for my team to participate in?
Be mindful of how your teammates want to show up on social media. Respect their comfort level. And remember, your management sets the tone for how bought-in the whole team will be. If leadership isn't on board with social media being part of the culture, it's going to be a harder climb. That's not a reason to give up; it just means you're playing a longer game. Stay patient and consistent, and the buy-in will come.
FAQ: Getting Your Vet Clinic Team Involved in Social Media
How do I get a hesitant vet clinic team to participate in social media? Start with specific, low-pressure requests instead of vague ones, give advance notice before asking for photos or video, and explain why each post matters to the practice.
What if a team member doesn't want to be on camera? Respect that completely. Offer alternative ways to contribute, like holding the camera, flagging upcoming content opportunities, or suggesting post topics.
How do I make social media requests feel less like extra work for my team? Make it simple (a dedicated Slack channel or text thread for submissions) and make it fun (small incentives or a friendly team competition).
Want more?
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Struggling with team buy-in on a deeper level? This is exactly the kind of thing we work through inside the Vet Social Media Managers Bootcamp.
About The Author
Cheyanne Lovan is the founder of Hey Cheyanne, LLC, and host of The Veterinary Social Media Podcast.
A former veterinary assistant who managed social media for her own clinic without any marketing background, she now helps vet professionals across the industry build social media strategies that actually work through free resources, her Facebook community, and the Vet Social Media Managers Bootcamp.
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