How to grow your pets instagram
How to Grow Your Pet's Instagram Followers & Engagement in 2021
I hope everyone is having an absolutely wonderful start to the new year! We are settling in with everybody happy and healthy and feeling in a giving mood as we embark on a killer 2021.
Reflecting back on the last 3 years and where I am today with my blog, I wanted to offer a little help to all the aspiring dog bloggers.
I get asked a lot, “how do (did) you grow your Instagram account and blog?”
Well, when I started 2 years ago, Instagram was a lot different. It was much easier to get exposure and grow your following, and in turn, grow your blog traffic. No doubt there has been a lot of changes, making it harder for smaller aspiring dog bloggers to get seen.
So I wanted to give back to you what you have all given to me to help you grow your accounts and make an impact this year. What follows are a few actionable steps and best practices to grow your account and blog traffic in 2021.
Community & Content = Growth
Unfortunately, You can’t just post ANYTHING anymore and expect to see engagement. Every post and caption and action needs to be calculated and done with a purpose and intention. There’s billions of people on instagram and they’re getting more choosey of who they follow by the day. They need to be given a reason to follow you.
Of course, if you have a cute pup that you’re obsessed with and don’t care about getting followers or getting seen, that is 100% ok. But if you are trying to get your cute pup seen and hopefully monetize the account in the future, then there’s a few things you can do to help get on the right track.
Like I said, give your followers a reason to come back to you everyday and give new people a reason to follow you.
The first step is to find a community and join the conversation. If you have a specific breed, count on there being a community and few large niche pages centered on sharing images and videos based on that breed. Start interacting with the followers of those accounts. It’s much easier to get interaction from accounts with 100-2000 followers than 50,000 followers.
Go to one of the images and go into the LIKES and start interacting and engaging with those people.
Follow them, drop a comment, drop a few likes. Let them know you’re watching and liking what they’re doing. These days a few likes and a follow go a long way. As in every social media platform, you need to give to receive. Be present in the conversation. Authentically engage. Reply to questions they pose in captions. You know, be social!
Now for your content. Content is still king.
You’re no stranger to what good content looks like. You see it all day every day. Why? Because instagram rewards accounts with good content.
If you don’t know how the instagram algorithm works, here’s a breakdown.
Instagram wants people to spend as long as possible on the platform so they’re only going to show the content that is considered good because if people see bad content, they’ll most likely exit the app and that’s not good for ad revenue for Facebook (and that’s all they care about).
Better content + more time spent on platform = more $$$ for Facebook.
Good content gets good engagement. So let’s say you post on your feed. Instagram shows your image to a small percentage of your current followers. If that content demonstrates that it’s getting good engagement (likes, swipes, saves, comments, shares), it’s going to start showing it to more of your audience and therefore will increase your reach. If it’s not getting good engagement from the beginning, it’ll more likely get buried and not be seen.
So that is why it’s so important to have great image and video content. Your iPhone takes amazing quality images so it’s not your hardware. It’s the thought behind the shot, the lighting, etc. You need to be able to tell a story with your image and have an image that you can support with your caption so it works. Nobody wants to dark shaky videos or grainy underexposed images.
When you’re taking an image or video, you have to ask yourself, “Does this bring me or someone value? Would I Like, Share, or Save this?” If you can’t answer that, it’s probably not worth the post.
Lead with value above everything else. You want someone to come to your profile and think, “hmm, I like what I saw, I got some value from this post and I’m on board with their message and vibe. Follow!”
But please remember it doesn’t have to be perfect!! Perfection is the enemy of progress. Instagram also rewards accounts that post frequently. So it’s best to find a happy medium.
5 MUST-HAVE TOOLS FOR TAKING THE PERFECT PET SELFIE!
Example – get a dog selfie stick and record a quick 20 second video of you and your pup in the park doing some training exercises. Make sure it’s clear and sunny and it’s not shaky. Write a caption about ways you’re training your pup and some of the problems you’re running into. I can guarantee people will relate and offer words of support, encouragement and advice. It’s that easy.
Now for Engagement
Engagement is huge. That really is the determining factor in growth and traffic to your website or blog.
Here’s some tips to grow your engagement.
20 Minute Rule
Before you post, spend about 10-20 minutes engaging with your audience and new audiences. Leave some likes, follow and comment on targeted accounts. The objective is to get them back to your account. So when you do post your new piece of content, you have new eyeballs and new chances to make a good impression and grab a follow.
Give Your 2 Cents
Like I said, you have to give to get. Give love and you’ll receive it.
Go to your explore page – and go search for a relevant hashtag. Go to the Hashtag Page. You’ll see 2 tabs. TOP and RECENT. Click RECENT. These are the accounts that are smaller and trying to get seen and are more likely to reciprocate engagement. For 20 minutes each day, go to a few different hashtags and find images you like and give your 2 cents. Just share some love. They’ll give it back.
Smart Stories
Stories are another great way to show some behind the scenes content that won’t make it to the feed. However, if you just post to your stories, most likely only your followers will see the content.
A little unknown secret is that you can attract new audiences with your stories.
When you post a story, swipe up to get the features. Click Hashtag and add the relevant hashtag. This way it’ll show up in the Hashtag Story. This will be seen by people who are looking at the #goldendoodle hashtag story and if they see what they like, they’ll click to your profile.
There’s plenty more tricks and tips but here are a few solid actionable ones you can do every day to get the ball rolling.
Let me know if these work for you or if you have found any tips that have worked for you that I didn’t mention.
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How to Make Your Pet Instagram Famous
March 01, 2018 146 Comments
Updated October 2019
Instagram has become one of the most popular social networks for photo and video sharing.
With over 800 million monthly active users at the start of 2018, the mainly mobile photo sharing app had reached 1 billion monthly active users by June 2018.
Thousands of people are being launched into stardom via Instagram. Fashionistas, fitness experts, and mom bloggers are growing massive followings and enjoying the perks of social celebrity (namely free products and compensation for sponsored posts). In addition to people, pet accounts are seeing their own success stories. Suddenly it's not that crazy to see a celebrity dog with 100,000 followers and a book deal!
How did these savvy pet owners grow their Instagram followings? It's not rocket science! Seriously, anyone can do it. I know because I (Steph) did it myself! In late 2015, I launched my dog Django's Instagram account, @djangothegent. Fast forward three years, and Django has 80,000 Instagram followers and friends all over the world. He has been featured by countless media outlets and sponsored by some really great brands.
So here it is... here is everything I've learned about Instagram after rocketing my long-haired wiener dog to social media stardom. Here are 11 tips to grow your Instagram account, boost engagement, and get more followers.
Tip 1: Image and Video QualityPosting high resolution images and videos are a must. You'd be surprised how many people post out-of-focus, blurry or grainy photos! High quality content with a clear subject matter is more likely to be noticed and liked by your followers as they scroll through their main feed or Instagram's "Explore" tab.
What do we mean by clear subject matter? If you're posting a picture of your pet, make sure your pet stands out in the photo. Does your dog blend in with the photo's busy or colorful background? Is he or she out of focus? Instagram users are most likely to open and double tap photos that stand out - photos that compel them to pause and take a closer look.
Photo layout is also important.
Generally speaking, vertical photos do much better than horizontal (or landscape) images. Why? Think about scrolling down your Instagram feed on your phone. When you come across a vertical photo, it takes up your whole screen! Horizontal photos, on the other hand, only take up a fraction of your screen and are easier to overlook and scroll past without double clicking. If possible, make sure your vertical photos have an aspect ratio of 4:5. This is the maximum size photo Instagram will allow. Anything more than 4:5 (i.e. 4:6) will be cropped by Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
Brushed my chest hair today and feeling pretty good about life! 👊👍 ↓ #OnGoodHairDaysLikeToday #ILikeToGoOutsideWithDad #ForASuperLongWalk #ThenSuddenly... #WhenWereREALLYFarFromHome... #ILikeToStopWalking #SitDownInTheMiddleOfTheSidewalk... #AndJustWait... #AndWait.
.. #UntilAMinimumOf30Ladies #ComeOverToSayHi #AndRunTheirFingersThruMyChestHair . #DjangoTheGent
A post shared by DJANGO (@djangothegent) on
One other huge tip? Post puppy photos and videos. Seriously. Instagram users cannot get enough puppy content, and engagement is tremendously higher for adorable puppies. Have you ever noticed how very big Instagram dog accounts will frequently post 'throwback' puppy photos? This is because puppy photos naturally get more likes, comments, and shares. No one can resist clicking on and fawning over a puppy golden retriever or adorable baby dachshund... then sharing it with three friends. If you have high resolution puppy photos and videos, use them to your advantage and post one every 1-2 weeks.
Tip 2: Post More VideosVideo content is extremely powerful on Instagram. High resolution and engaging videos (i.e. they are funny, relevant, adorable, etc) generally get higher engagement than photos.
These days, users are more likely to engage with and share a video versus a photo.
Instagram now allows users to post videos up to 60 seconds long, but this doesn't necessarily mean your videos should be this long. Most users get bored after 20-30 seconds, so try to cap your videos at this time stamp.
Tip 3: Leverage Hashtags & Location StickersView this post on Instagram
Be honest, on a scale of 1-10 how fierce and intimidating do I look?? 🦁 . #InsteadOfBeingCalledTheLionKing #PleaseReferToMeAs #TheSausageKing #IThinkItHasABetterRingToIt #YaKno?… #OkBye . #DjangoTheGent
A post shared by Django The Gent (@djangothegent) on
Relevant hashtags and location stickers will introduce your content to a large, targeted audience.
Instagram allows a maximum of 30 hashtags per post - why not use these to your advantage? Focus on the 30 most relevant and niche hashtags for each post; avoid unspecific tags. What do we mean? If you're posting a picture of your brindle french bulldog, tag #brindlefrenchie, #brindlefrenchbulldog and #frenchbulldog. Your post is more likely to be featured by Instagram via the hashtag #brindlefrenchie than a generic tag like #dog and #dogsofinstagram.
Tons of people search Instagram by location, so take advantage of this feature. If your post performs well, it is likely to appear as a featured post when someone searches for photos in your location. Again, be specific. If you're posting from Windansea Beach in San Diego, California, use the location sticker "Windansea Beach, San Diego" instead of "California" or even "San Diego".
Tip 4: Instagram StoriesView this post on Instagram
Sometimes girls stop me on the street to pet me and say hi.
Sometimes I secretly slip my cell # in their pockets when they’re not looking. #CuteOrCreepy?#AnswerInTheComments 😜 . #Works1Outta10Times #IllTakeThoseOdds… #SideNote #NiceMeetingYouTodayLindsey #CallMe . #DjangoTheGent
A post shared by DJANGO (@djangothegent) on
In addition to posting on your main feed, you should also post Instagram Stories to boost engagement and reach. Unlike main feed posts which are on your profile indefinitely, Instagram Stories are perfect for photos or videos that you may not want on your profile forever. Rather, these Stories disappear after 24 hours. And keep in mind that you can and should include hashtags and location stickers in Stories.
How do Stories help boost overall engagement? If you publish high quality content to your Stories, your followers will likely engage with the content (i.e. messaging you, sharing the content with friends, etc).
The more engagement your Stories get, the more likely it is that Instagram features your content alongside other 'trending Stories' on the main feed. Now your Stories are suddenly being shown to tons of new people!
You can also use Stories to drive traffic to existing posts or to stir up demand for a pending post. To share a main post to your Stories, click the paper airplane icon just below your post the select "Add post to your story". Consider including a fun "New Post" sticker or caption to the Story.
Tip 5: How Often Should I Post on Instagram?Every post (accompanied by 30 high quality hashtags) is an opportunity for a new audience to discover you. This doesn't mean, however, you should post 10 times a day. Excessive posting may turn off your followers and result in a wave of unfollows.
The general rule of thumb for Instagram is to post consistently and average 1.5 times per day. Consistency is key. It is ok to post every 2, 3 or even 4 days, so long as you keep up this cadence.
If you post infrequently or let a few weeks pass without any activity, you risk losing followers and fans. Your audience may forget that you exist and find new accounts to follow.
Do I post each and every day to Django's account? I should, but I don't. I have a full-time job and don't always have the time or energy to keep up daily activity. That said, I do post regularly and rarely let more than 3-4 days pass without new content.
Tip 6: Build A Base of FollowersAs soon as you get on Instagram, start following other similar accounts. If, for instance, you're launching your pug's new Instagram account, follow other pug accounts and pug "community" accounts (i.e. @pugsofinstagram).
Spend time each day interacting and engaging with your new Instagram friends. Like photos, respond to comments, and comment on posts you love. These accounts will give you inspiration for posts. You'll also get on their radar - a bunch of these accounts will probably follow you back.
Tip 7: "Sometimes I Pretend to be Normal, But It Gets Boring So I Go Back To Me" - Ain EinezizView this post on Instagram
I'm not saying I'm Batman, I'm just saying that no one's ever seen me and Batman in the same room before . #OhAndAlso #IAMBatman #TheDarkWiener #TheCapedSausage #TheMaskedHotDog #BruceWeen #JustSoWeAreClear #KBye . #DjangoTheGent
A post shared by DJANGO (@djangothegent) on
Personality is what makes everyone unique and special, so pour your personality into your captions and hashtags. Friends and followers will love getting to know you through your posts.
When I first launched Django's Instagram account, I was a unsure of how to proceed with his captions. Do I let my fun-loving, dry and occasionally crude sense of humor let loose, or will that turn off followers? Over time I became increasingly comfortable letting my personality shine.
Not only did I notice better engagement, I also started having more fun with Django's account. Now I have one rule when posting - I have to make myself laugh or smile with each post. If I can entertain myself, I consider the post successful.
One more tip? Share personal and humanized content - something people can relate to and emotionally connect with. Your post is more likely to be liked, commented on and shared if your followers identify with your experiences or see themselves in your content.
Tip 8: Get Featured!View this post on Instagram
When you lay in bed thinking about a new crush . #HerNameIsCarnitasTaco #AndSheIsTheLoveOfMyLife #MyOtherCrushIs @reagan__peters #SheMightWeigh200lbs #ButItsCoo #ImIntoBigGirls . #DjangoTheGent
A post shared by DJANGO (@djangothegent) on
Over the past two years, Django has been featured consistently in the online and offline neighborhood.
Django has been featured by huge "community" Instagram accounts, publications like Subaru's Drive magazine, and internet powerhouses like People.com. Each feature has resulted in new exposure and followers.
How can you get featured? Start with big "community" accounts on Instagram. If you post great shots of outdoor adventures with your dog, reach out to @adventuredogsofficial via direct message or email, send them your most engaging high resolution photos, and ask to be featured.
Getting feature in offline publications like newspapers and magazines is definitely more difficult, but it is also doable. Usually huge online media sites like People.com have a few writers that focus on specific content, i.e. pet-related posts. See if you can reach out directly to one of these writers. Introduce yourself, your account, and ask them to consider including your account in relevant future content.
View this post on Instagram
“Hairy swamp monster sighted around the shores of Lake George!! He responds to names “Django” and “Lil D” and was last spotted asking girls on the beach for their numbas. Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, and please watch your elbows #HeLikesToHumpElbows” writes @djangothegent from upstate New York . Follow us @adventuredogsofficial and tag #AdventureDogsOfficial to be featured! . #AllDogsAreAdventureDogs 🌲🏔🌊
A post shared by all dogs are adventure dogs (@adventuredogsofficial) on
Tip 9: Cross Promote With Other Influencers
As you engage with your following and audience, you'll slowly start to get to know the people behind the accounts. Consider cross promotions with similarly sizes accounts. Cross promotions can include shoutout-for-shoutouts or jointly-hosted giveaways.
Another rising trend is "engagement groups".
In engagement groups, an average of 10-15 similarly sized accounts join a group DM (direct message group) and agree to engage with each other's posts. The the idea is to trick Instagram's algorithm by boosting engagement on your friends' and your own posts. So how exactly does this work? Whenever someone in the group DM posts on Instagram, they share the post in the DM group. All the others in the DM group then go over to the new post and like and comment on it. All of a sudden, a brand new post has 10-15 more likes and 10-15 more comments. Instagram will see this sudden engagement, assume the post is doing well overall, and therefore boost the post across the the news feed. Engagement Groups are especially powerful when large Instagram accounts (25k+ followers) team up.
Tip 10: Celebrate Milestones with a GiveawayView this post on Instagram
"Hello? 911? Oh hi Brian. It's me again. Sorry but it happened again.
.. The remote... Yeah that's right... between the cushions. Do you think you could send someone over? ... Brian?... Hello?" . #DjangoTheGent #StuckSausage #Help
A post shared by DJANGO (@djangothegent) on
There are a few ways to host a giveaway on Instagram. Thrive Hive provides a great resource for the various types of giveaway.
Once your account reaches 1,000+ followers, consider reaching out to a brand you love and ask them to sponsor your giveaway with one product. Brands usually welcome exposure to a new targeted audience and are willing to offer one free product in exchange.
In my experience, the most effective giveaways are those where Django works with one brand and gives away one high quality product, i.e. a dog hoodie, pet camera, or a dog bed. We keep the contest rules simple: (1) Follow Django and the brand (2) Like this post (3) Tag 2 friends.
These rules guarantee simplicity (i.e. higher probability people will enter the giveaway), engagement, and new followers.
Below is an example of a giveaway Django hosted for animal non-profit More Than a Cone. More Than a Cone wanted to raise awareness for their cause, and a giveaway on Django's Instagram was a wonderful way to get in front of a new dog loving audience. The giveaway prize was a huge box of Kong dog toys. To enter the giveaway, friends just had to follow Django and More Than a Cone and tag a friend.
Tip 11: Boost Your Brand On Facebook and Other Social Media ChannelsView this post on Instagram
☀️ MEGA GIVEAWAY **CLOSED** ☀️A HUGE congrats to giveaway winner @ernest_hemingwag and a big thank you to everyone for participating and supporting amazing non-profit @morethanacone!!!! ✨❤️🐾 . I've partnered with non-profit More Than a Cone to give away a HUGE box of Kong goodies 💛 1 lucky winner will win a massive box of dog toys for their pup😍Super simple to enter: ➡️ Follow @morethanacone and @djangothegent ➡️ Tag 1+ friends in the comments! (1 tag = 1 entry, keep tagging friends for more entries!)
A post shared by DJANGO (@djangothegent) on
After Django's Instagram account surpassed 50,000 followers, I decided to launch his Facebook page.
Facebook introduced Django to a brand new audience of dog lovers, and many of these new Facebook friends ultimately started following Django on Instagram.
Connect your Facebook and Instagram accounts, if you haven't already. Sharing content from Instagram to Facebook became incredibly easy after Facebook bought Instagram in 2012. What this means is you can post a photo, video or story to Instagram and immediately upload it to your Facebook page with one click. Instagram also allows you auto-follow your Facebook friends in seconds. By connecting with your Facebook friends on Instagram, you will automatically introduce them to your Instagram account.
Outside of Facebook, consider expanding your presence on other social media platforms. Do you post video content? Then create a YouTube channel! We launched DJANGO's YouTube channel in 2017. Our content includes a mix of hilarious Django videos, educational dog content (here's a great example), and product videos.
Do you prefer Pinterest? We launched DJANGO on Pinterest just recently and have since become huge fans of the platform.
One Pinterest strategy we recently discovered is to pin your Instagram photos to Pinterest. Make sure each Instagram photo 'pinned' links back to your original Instagram post. Whenever someone comes across your Pinterest post and clicks, they'll automatically be taken to your Instagram post. All of a sudden you are driving new traffic to your Instagram page!
When Django was a baby, I spent 30 minutes every morning doing "school" with him. We practiced sitting still - I would walk around the apartment while Django sat patiently in one spot, waiting for me to give him the OK to run over and grab a treat. I also taught Django to look at the camera whenever I am taking a photo. How? I would tell Django to "Look!" at me. Whenever he caught my eye, I would praise him with "Good look!" and give him a treat. You can imagine that this makes taking photos of Django so much easier!
View this post on Instagram
Anyone else’s hair fluff up in the humidity!? 😂 ↓ #InAdditionToMakingBabiesWith @selenagomez #IveDecidedMyOtherLifeGoal #IsToBeAHairModelFor @pantene… #CALLMePantene p.s. #MomsHairAlsoFluffsUpInTheHumidity #ButSheDoesntLookAsGoodAsMe… #SheLooksMoreLikeMonicaGeller #WhenAllTheFriendsGoToBarbados (please tell me u know what I’m talking about...😝) #ItsSeriouslyFrightening . #DjangoTheGent
A post shared by DJANGO (@djangothegent) on
One last thought.
It is very easy to compare your account growth, follower count, and engagement with other accounts... and get frustrated if your account isn't performing as well or growing as quickly. As soon as you start letting these thoughts creep into your head, your fun-loving Instagram account becomes a stressful job. What is the point of posting fun images of your pet if you suddenly hate doing it?
There are now over 1 billion monthly active Instagram users, and Instagram's algorithm inexplicably dictates which of these accounts see above-average growth.
Unless you are Selena Gomez or a Kardashian, your account will never be the biggest or most successful. And it shouldn't have to be! With 1 billion users, Instagram is offering an incredibly opportunity to amass hundreds, thousands or even millions of followers. Stay savvy (i.e. follow the above tips), be yourself, and have fun.
BEFORE YOU GOWe would love to hear from you and check out your Instagram account! Drop us a comment below (include your Instagram account name!) and remember to follow our sausage dog celeb Django on Instagram. DM us on Instagram when you do so we can follow you back!
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How to make Instagram pet successful? 8 Rules for WikiPet.ru Success
Animal photos are undeniably as popular on Instagram right now as food, fashion, sports, and travel. Pet accounts now have thousands and hundreds of thousands of followers. Millions of people are scrolling through their feeds looking for videos and photos of touching animals to satisfy their craving for cuteness.
Therefore, if you are a happy owner of a furry pet and want to share the moments of life with your four-legged friend, our advice is for you.
nine0006
1. Tell the story
Tell your guests and future followers about your pet's story. How did you get the animal, was it adopted from a shelter, or is it a rare breed. Maybe your pet has an interesting fate or there are some features, unusual abilities, oddities of character. What makes it different from others? Tell us about it in one sentence, because that's how much fits in the Instagram profile header. Master storytelling as the most important tool for engaging your audience. This skill will be very useful for witty captions under posts. nine0003
2. Post only high-quality photos
If you have already created an account and shared your pet's story, it's time to fill your page with photos. Now Instagram has entered the era of quality content. People love clean, beautiful, bright feeds, so we strongly recommend that you honestly evaluate the quality of your photos so that only the best ones get into the feed.
Photos must be original, clean and aesthetically pleasing. Try to take photos in natural light, look for a beautiful background that is not overloaded with unnecessary details, use special programs for processing photos before posting them, the best of the free ones: Snapseed, VSCO, PicsArt. Try to take mostly horizontal shots (this applies to both photos and videos)
Photo:andrewknapp
3. Maintain a consistent style
A consistent feed is another important tool for achieving popularity. Try different filters, photo placement/sequencing principles. Be inspired by other accounts of your subject, but do not try to repeat them exactly. The same style cannot suit everyone. We advise you to think about the character of your pet, evaluate its color and other external features in order to determine the brightness, color scheme, heat balance, etc. that is right for you. for settings when processing photos. It may take you a lot of time, but this is a necessary condition for creating a truly high-quality account, with a large number of subscribers.
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Photo: thiswildidea
subscribers. Do your own research. Which tags are most relevant to your pet? This will help you attract new audiences and get into established communities. Use both very popular tags, such as #photocats, and tags with a narrower audience of #rooftop cat. Try to include tags in English, and also come up with your own tags with which you will sign each photo, which will make it easy to find you. But be careful! It’s also not worth overloading the post with tags, the Instagram robot doesn’t like this. nine0013 The stagram.com service will help you
5. Keep in touch with your audience
To maintain a constant high level of engagement, you need to post at least once a day, and preferably two - in the morning and in the evening. The best time to post photos is up to you to figure out on your own. Usually, it is morning and early evening. Don't forget to also like and comment on the posts of your followers and those you follow.
Instagram is a social network, so to be popular on it, you just need to be socially active. Pay attention to spelling and punctuation, be polite and friendly. nine0003
6. Get inspired and fantasize
No matter how cute, touching and funny your pet is, the same pose in the same location or very similar shots quickly become boring. Look around. Maybe on your usual walking route you come across interesting places: beautiful walls, cozy courtyards or a “dog friendly” cafe where you can take photos that have not yet been included in your photo stream. Or maybe your furry friend knows how to ride a skateboard or likes to dress up? This can also be an occasion for beautiful shots. nine0003
Collect props that look good in photos and set up a separate Pinterest board to post ideas that inspire your creativity.
Photo:itsdougthepug
7. Plan
Observing your pet, taking photos and editing, and keeping in touch with your audience can take a lot of time.
In addition, you are unlikely to want to give up your usual activities for the sake of an extra hour on Instagram. Therefore, we strongly advise you to install a special scheduler application on your phone, which will allow you to upload and caption several photos at once, in order to guarantee you regular posts with the desired frequency without your participation. nine0003
Application in the Apple Store
8. Have fun with the process!
The biggest plus in your decision to keep your pet account is the fact that you will spend more time together! To catch interesting moments, emotions and manifestations of an animal, you will need to observe it more from afar or involve it in the game more often, and this will invariably bring joy to both. Just remember to always have your camera ready.
You might also be interested: « There was a magnificent dog wedding in the USA! «
How to create, promote and monetize a pet blog
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Your pet can not only bring joy to the family, but also generate income.
It is enough to start and promote his profile on Instagram. So, one advertising post of the most popular animal in the social network - Spitz Jiffpom - is estimated at 45 thousand dollars. The main content of the dog is short videos with descriptions in the form of emoji. nine0003
Do you want to make a real Instagram star out of your pet? Then be sure to read this article. In it, you'll learn how to create a successful animal page. We will also consider all the nuances of promoting and monetizing such an account.
Program for promotion on Instagram - SocialKit:
- Collecting and filtering the target audience
- Masslooking, massfollowing, massliking
- Delayed posting of photos, videos and stories nine0116 Mailing in Direct, autoresponder
Registration >>>
This is interesting: How to add a carousel post to Instagram
A step-by-step plan for launching a pet profile
Our instructions will help you think through the creation of the page and avoid common mistakes.
Analyze a niche
Animal blogs are not new to Instagram. There are accounts of dogs, cats, parrots, hedgehogs, foxes and even hippos. nine0003
We recommend that you analyze competitors and find out which topics are the most common, and which niche is free (your favorite can just occupy it). Pay attention to what page owners write about in their posts: what formats they use, what content is most often in the TOP.
The information you receive will help you understand in which direction you should move.
Come up with your own idea
Each animal is unique in its own way. Take a closer look at your four-legged friend and try to determine its zest. Unlike people, animals do not know how to pretend, so you have to adapt to their habits and character. nine0003
How to make your pet an Instagram star? Create a winning image!
- External beauty . The hallmark of a pet is often visual appeal. If you manage to convey the charm through photos and videos, then he is guaranteed popularity.
- Uncommon . This may be a natural anomaly or an external feature: a strange color, a displeased expression of the muzzle, strabismus. The behavior of the pet may also be unusual. For example, a dog barks strangely, a cat is not afraid of water or likes atypical food. nine0117
- Touching story . In social networks, abandoned/wounded animals that miraculously escaped death often become popular. If you snatched your pet from the hands of flayers or picked it up from the street, immediately create an Instagram account and tell its story to the public. In the future, focus on a happy salvation, draw a parallel how good it is now and how everything could have ended sadly.
- Training . Try to teach your pet different tricks: walk on its hind legs, jump through a ring, “sing” a song. nine0117
- Non-pet animal . An Instagram celebrity can be a python, a fox or a squirrel.
In this case, delight subscribers not only with visual content with the animal, but also with posts about everyday life and the complexities of its content.
- Creativity . You can create interesting habits for your pet on your own. If you love to cook, create a cook animal profile. A pet can also "become" a psychologist, a jeweler, an artist, and a representative of other professions. nine0117
- Travel . A great option for those who travel a lot is to take your pet with you on trips and take pictures / videos with the sights in the background. Post cheerful photos from different cities and countries, add many locations to your feed, and don't forget to share notes and tips.
- Trending . Another idea is to create a four-legged mod account. Let your pet write reviews on new cosmetics, test beauty life hacks. Don't forget about dressing up. By capturing an animal in interesting clothes and accessories, you will definitely collect a lot of likes.
By the way, this will give you the opportunity to earn on unobtrusive advertising integration in the future. nine0117
- Emotions . If your pet clearly expresses sadness / joy, be sure to focus the attention of the audience on this. You can, for example, make touching videos with him, funny selfies, or film the animal's reaction to various life situations.
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Choose a style
The audience is primarily attracted to the visual. Having decided on the idea of an account and the image of a pet, choose a priority page design option. An Instagram blog can be black and white, muted or bright. Try to stick to a single style with filters, frame composition and color accents. To learn how to do this, as well as how to create an attractive visual without a designer, read here. nine0003
Among other things, you need to consider how you communicate with your audience.
Decide whether you will call subscribers “you”, joke or give out serious content. If you decide to blog on behalf of your pet, take his character as a basis. The tone of posts and response comments can be whimsical, kind, sad, or cheerful.
Also Read: 10 Personal Instagram Post Ideas
Create Original Content
To generate cool posts, you need to find quality equipment (camera, tripod, lights, lavalier microphone) and props. Carefully consider the location of the shooting: shoot your pet only in an attractive, clean location. Do not forget to prepare the "blogger" himself - your pet must be healthy and well-groomed. Therefore, visit the groomer and veterinarian regularly.
Tips for taking good photos:
- Show your animal at its best . Like any model, your pet has a “working side”. Determine a good angle and try to photograph that way most often. Make sure that the proportions of the body and muzzle of the animal are not distorted in the photographs - for this, do not shoot it from the height of your height.
The camera lens must be clearly level with the pet. nine0117
- Be patient . A great picture may not be the first or even the hundredth time. Catch good moments, and even better, go through an online training in photography. While you are gaining knowledge and experience, order shooting from an animal photographer - this way you will receive not only new content for Instagram, but also a good example of a professional working with an animal.
- Keep content in reserve . Please note that you will have to post at least one post and several stories per day. This means that you should prepare photos and short videos in advance to avoid downtime. You should always have content ready one to two weeks in advance. nine0117
- Find helper . The assistant will help to attract the attention of your ward with a toy or a treat while you take a picture of him. If you yourself do not mind getting into the frame, play or train a pet - let an assistant shoot you.
With interesting high quality content, your blog will quickly attract the first viewers. In addition to copyright materials, add relevant hashtags to promote your account, use mass following, mutual PR and targeting. nine0003
Article in the topic: How to become popular on Instagram from scratch and start earning
Monetizing a pet account
Your mentee's blog is closest to the category of influencers with their own audience of a certain type. The methods of earning are similar.
Advertising publications
After you gain a large base of subscribers, advertisers will pay attention to your account. Be selective: promote only quality products that you and your pet like. It can be premium pet food, expensive textiles or cutting-edge gadgets - it all depends on the features of the blog. nine0003
Your task is to fit the advertisement into the feed as organically as possible. This way you will benefit advertisers and not alienate your followers.
Important: 5 schemes for selling Instagram posts
Cameo
Cameo is an episodic role of a famous person (in our case, an animal). Your four-legged friend can become an invited guest of someone else's live broadcast or promotional video. You can also record to order congratulations on your birthday and other holidays. nine0003
Merch
This category includes various items with a "quote" or a portrait of a publicized pet. Usually these are mugs, stickers, t-shirts, calendars.
When developing your merchandise idea, consider your pet's characteristics. If he is a glutton, sell branded large bowls for food, if he is a dormouse, pajamas and sleep masks. Fans of your four-legged star will surely want such goods for themselves. And you can sell them directly through Instagram.
This is interesting: How to increase the engagement of your Instagram profile
Conclusion
With the right approach, a pet blog on Instagram will bring him popularity, and you - additional income.
