The veterinary industry has had to navigate a wealth of negative headlines in recent years.
National media coverage on veterinary bills and costly and invasive treatments has added extra concern and confusion to conversations around this emotive topic.
With 20 years’ experience in the veterinary sector, we’ve helped clients prepare for a crisis and carefully guided them through numerous PR and social media storms.
But, there is one aspect that clients often overlook once the storm has passed – what happens afterwards.
The digital footprint of a PR or social media crisis can linger long after the event itself.
Read on to find our recommended steps to get your reputation back on track using a combination of PR and SEO tactics.
Step one: Assess your crisis comms response
It’s easy to think you can just breathe a sigh of relief and crack on with the day job following a crisis communications situation.
However, there are valuable lessons to be learned from how you dealt with this scenario and reviewing and analysing your response while it is still fresh in your mind is highly recommended.
Consider the various steps you took while deciding what action to take. Who was involved and how you could improve on your response should a similar situation arise?
Ask yourself:
- How effective was your response?
- Did you react quickly enough to the situation?
- Were all key stakeholders kept up to date?
- How was your response received?
- What would you do differently?
- Were you prepared for the scenario that unfolded, or was your response reactive?
- If your response time was slow, how could you improve that next time?
- How did you find out about the crisis?
- Are you monitoring your brand name across enough channels?
If your answers to these questions suggest room for improvement, then it’s time to review and update your crisis comms strategy.
And if you don’t have a crisis communications strategy in place, now is the time to develop one.
Step two: Proactive PR
If your crisis has been covered in the media, then you’ll need positive, proactive PR to get your brand back on track.
Today’s newspapers are no longer tomorrow’s chip paper – any media coverage is likely to be replicated online and be visible to anyone searching for your business.
In fact, it’s likely to be at the top of Google News if your recent crisis is still very fresh.
While you can’t control or remove this information, there are tactics you can use to make these news stories less visible.
Our top tip is to use positive PR to change the narrative around your business.
What feel-good news can you share about your business?
Think donations, charity support, job creation, investments or developments, but steer clear of the subject that has caused the crisis.
Target publications that have published negative stories about your business, as well as other outlets that hold the same or more weight in your industry or in the local area.
Step three: Lean on your thought leaders
The digital world moves fast, but not fast enough if you are waiting for negative news to disappear from search engine results pages.
You can take action to replace the negative with positive news using SEO and PR.
One of the tactics we use is thought leadership, which enables us to strategically move the conversation on and associate your brand and spokesperson with a different topic.
We look at keyword research to understand what people are searching in relation to your sector.
In the veterinary world, this could be talking about innovative treatments or procedures, unusual case studies or research.
In addition to looking at keyword research, use the following questions to brainstorm potential topics.
Questions to ask yourself as a thought leader:
- What does the future look like for the veterinary industry?
- What’s emerging within your specialism or area of expertise?
- Are the latest trends worth following, or should vets, veterinary nurses and industry professionals approach with caution?
- What could or should the industry do differently?
- How can your experience and knowledge help other veterinary professionals?
Media monitoring and community management
The sooner you know about a crisis comms situation, the quicker you can deal with it.
Being vigilant on social media can help you spot negative sentiment before it gets out of control.
It’s also important to know how your brand is being discussed in the press and on social media following a crisis situation, and whether it has negatively impacted how your business is viewed.
Online media monitoring and social listening tools will help you keep up to date with what people are saying about your business.
Our favourite free ones include Talkwalker and Mention but there are also paid options available if you need more detailed monitoring in place – just ask our team.
Other resources for vets
Our team has created a pack of PR and marketing resources to support clinics, referral centres and veterinary brands.
Refresh your social media channels with 26 content ideas, check our veterinary marketing calendar for all the events coming up in 2026 and up your online activity with our guide to digital marketing for veterinary practices.
For more support, read our guide to handling a social media crisis or contact our team for support with your PR, SEO and social media marketing.
