How to start a dog instagram
How to start and maintain an Instagram account for your pet
Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms on the planet – and many of the most popular accounts belong to dogs and cats! Here’s how to make your pet #instafamous.If you’ve ever gotten sucked into row after row of beautiful images on Instagram, you understand the appeal. Scrolling this app has become a common pastime for billions of people around the globe — and many of these users are following at least one dog or cat. In fact, the most followed Instagram cat, @nala_cat, has over 3.8 million followers, while the most followed Instagram dog, @jiffpom, boasts a whopping 8.9 million.
You might not be able to gain that many followers for your own dog or cat – at least not anytime soon. But there’s no reason why you shouldn’t create an Instagram account for him! Taking and posting pictures and videos of your furry friend is a fun pastime that can help you connect with other animal parents out there, and it’s a great way to document memories that’ll last a lifetime. Here’s how to start and grow an Instagram account for your animal companion.
If you haven’t already, visit an app store and download Instagram. It’s free!
Step 2: Come up with a “handle”Your “handle” is the username that will represent you (or in this case, your dog or cat) across Instagram. You’ll have to come up with a name that hasn’t already been taken by another user, so get creative!
Step 3: Create your profileCongratulations, you’re now the proud owner of your dog or cat’s Instagram account! Now that you’ve joined over one billion other users, it’s time to create a profile that’ll help you stand out from the crowd. Hit the “edit profile” button, and input your animal’s name, your website (if applicable), and write a short bio to describe your beloved companion.
Expert tip: Ellen started an Instagram account for her dog, Nelle, to document their life together, and to inspire others.
But to gain 33K followers, she had to create an account that was different than all the others out there. “Be genuine,” she says. “Be yourself. Find something that makes you and your pet unique. There are millions of dogs…what makes yours remarkable?” Ellen must have done something right, because Nelle is the cover dog of this issue of Animal Wellness! Flip to the cover to see one of Ellen’s beautiful photos.
This is also a good time to add your profile photo. This tiny image is one of the first things other users will see, and will help them decide whether or not to follow you – so pick a good one! If you don’t have any photos yet, skip to the next step!
Step 4: Take some photosThis is the fun part! You love your furry friend, so sharing his face with the world can be a very gratifying experience. But taking a good picture of a dog or cat isn’t as easy as it looks. Chances are, he’ll be squirmy and uncooperative, and simply getting him to sit still will be a tedious task! To snap a good shot, use his favorite treat to encourage him to “pose”.
Make sure you’re either outdoors or in a well-lit room, and use the best camera you have at your disposal to make sure the final result is high in quality. Your phone should work just fine.
Expert tip: Thanks to positive reinforcement, Nelle has become an expert doggie model – but it isn’t always easy! “If she doesn’t want to pose, I tell her it’s okay and we walk away,” says Ellen. “I never make her do something she doesn’t want to. Another piece of advice is if you and your dog are out hiking, take photos on the way back so your dog has had some exercise and let off some steam.”
Step 5: Share your first postOnce you’ve managed to get a good shot, it’s time to post it. You can edit the photo in the app, and apply one of the available filters to make it “pop”. If you haven’t already uploaded your profile photo, you can use this one!
Next, write a caption for your photo. You’ve got space for 2,200 characters (approximately 300 words), so use it wisely! This is the time to determine any specific goals you have for your dog or cat’s account.
Do you want to use it as a way to educate others, raise awareness for a cause, or showcase your photography skills? Maybe you’re just hoping to make people laugh, or keep in touch with family and friends. Whatever you decide, use your first post to let others know why you’re there.
Expert tip: Natalie and her dog, Nike, are big believers in using Instagram in a way that best serves you and your animal. “If Instagram is a place for you to keep memories of your pets, then just take and post all the photos and videos you want,” says Natalie. “If you’re using it for photography, then I recommend taking lots of photos to improve.” If you’re hoping to reach more people, she suggests reading articles on the platform, watching YouTube tutorials, and following lots of other Instagram accounts for inspiration. “But most importantly, have fun!” she adds.
Adding hashtags to your post is a great way to be found by other users. To determine which hashtags to use, look at other accounts similar to yours.
You can use up to 30 hashtags in a single post, but most experts recommend anywhere between 5 and 11. Try using #dogsofinstagram or #catsofinstagram, and #petstagram to start.
The key to growth on Instagram is engagement. In a nutshell, engagement refers to your interaction with other users — your likes, comments and shares — and their interaction with your account. Engagement also applies to the number of accounts you follow. Typically, the more accounts you follow that are similar to yours, the more followers you’ll get in return.
Expert tip: Kat’s cats, Leopold and Brigand, boast almost 53K followers on Instagram. Her secret? A combination of having fun, and being dedicated to engagement. “Instagram is a social network, and the focus is being shifted more and more to the social part of it,” says Kat. “Go out and explore your feed and all the hashtags, find some accounts you love and go ‘like’ or comment on their pictures.
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Consistency is another vital ingredient when it comes to gaining followers. Several studies on social media habits have revealed that to encourage “traffic” to your page, you should be posting a photo one to three times each day.
Expert tip: As a photographer, Jane started an account for her cat, Leo, to encourage her to take photos every day. Her dedication has resulted in 95K followers. But to her, it’s important not to focus on the numbers. “Be sure to have a reason other than gaining popularity when you start,” she says. “If you don’t find joy in taking photos and videos of your pets, then Instagram will end up feeling like a chore sooner or later. And of course, be patient! Growth takes time.”
If popularity isn’t your goal, just continue posting pictures and/or videos of your companion whenever you find the time. This way, you’ll have a digital photo album to look back on in years to come!
21 Tips to Make Your Dog Instagram Famous!
Is your canine ready for his closeup? Whether your pooch is a natural entertainer or just doggone adorable, it might be time for your furry friend to go viral.
Thankfully, learning how to make your dog Instagram famous isn’t all that complicated, it simply takes persistence, effort, and a boatload of sweet snaps of your best buddy.
Below, we’ll share some tips and tricks that’ll help you skyrocket Spot into internet stardom. Who knows? Your pup might even graduate to being an official dog model and start bringing in a second income!
If Fido is ready for internet fame, here is a quick guide to jumpstart his canine career as an influencer.
Just remember to make sure the regular photo sessions are an activity your furry friend truly enjoys. Some dogs may not like jumping through the hoops to start a buzz online, and that’s O.K. too.
1. Take Good Photos
In order to stand out on a photo-based platform, you need to put as much effort into your photos as possible. Thankfully, this is a skill that can be cultivated, as there are many ways to improve your dog photography chops over time.
In fact, you can check out our full guide to 31 Dog Photography Tips to brush up on your photo-snapping skills!
Part of taking good photos is actually pretty easy — you just have to take a lot of them! Then, after the shoot has concluded, you’ll have a great selection to choose from.
2. Highlight Your Dog’s Uniqueness
Your buddy’s best assets are undoubtedly his personality coupled with his considerable cuteness. But before sharing Spot on Instagram, brainstorm what makes your dog special — this will really help him stand out from the crowd.
For example, is your furry friend a fetch superstar or more of a couch surfer? Does he have a habit that’s unlike any other dog you know? Be sure to incorporate these aspects into your photos of your pooch so that you can truly capture your canine’s true essence.
You can also consider collaborating with your pup by incorporating some of your own hobbies. For example, you could shoot photos of your dog holding a video game controller in his mouth, snap your dog sniffing your impressive succulent collection, or even get pics of your dog playing with camera-themed dog toys!
3.
Establish a BaseWhen it comes to building your four-footer’s IG presence, taking photos is only half the battle. In between taking selfies with your dog, you’ll want to start establishing a fan base for your furry friend.
This means taking note of your followers that regularly interact with your posts, and trying your best to reply to each comment to boost engagement. Doing so will help create a sense of loyalty, and encourage your followers to come back for more the next time your furry friend displays his dashing smile on the app.
4. Unleash The Power of Hashtags
In order to make your dog’s pictures more discoverable, utilize hashtags. If you’re new to the gram, just understand that hashtags (the pound sign followed by a key phrase) help viewers find the content they’re interested in.
You can find relevant hashtags by searching a generic tag like #dog and seeing what the suggested entries are.
You can also see what other tags similar dog accounts are using for inspiration.
Place these tags at the bottom of your caption or within the comment section of a photo to improve Spot’s searchability.
You can see a few of the most popular dog-related hashtags in the image to the right, but don’t be afraid to get creative.
For example, you may experiment with hashtags featuring words like “canine,” “pooch,” “doggo,” “pupper,” or anything else you can think of.
Just be careful not to overdo it with the hashtags — stick to two or three, and consider five the absolute maximum.
5. Network
One of the best ways to boost your pup’s popularity on Instagram is to share some love with other canine-focused content creators. So, make a habit of commenting, liking, and interacting with other people’s posts. Not only is this a nice way to connect with other furry friends, but it can also help increase your visibility to a dog-loving community.
You can even set up canine collabs with other dogs in your area to help cross-pollinate your audiences.
Don’t forget to reach out and network with pet brands too. You can start off by tagging brands featured in your dog’s photos (for example, your dog holding a Kong toy and tagging @KongCompany). After doing this for a while, you may find that the companies themselves reach out to you!
Alternatively, you can privatly message the brands and ask if they want to collaborate with you. Many will be happy to send you free doggie gear in exchange for promoting them on your account (once you have a decent number of followers, that is).
6. Show Off Spot’s Skills
There are few things more enticing than an adorable doggo showing off a cool ability. So, if your furry friend has skills to share, be sure to showcase them on the platform.
This can also serve as an excellent opportunity for you and your dog to engage in more complex training sessions. Your four-footer will certainly love an extra challenge, as well as all of the quality time that comes with mastering a new trick.
7. Up The Pup Production Quality
Once you start getting the hang of taking pictures of your furry friend, look for small ways you can improve your pooch pictures. This could mean seeking out better lighting, or finding fun dog photography props or enticing backgrounds to add interest to your photos.
It’s also a good idea to find unique dog poses for your pooch that capture his best features. Keep experimenting and find what works best for you and your four-footer!
8. Try Out Different Platforms
Remember to experiment with platforms aside from just Instagram. Even if this just means reposting the same content in multiple places, doing so can rake in a larger, more diverse audience for your four-footer.
It’s a great idea to share your content on Facebook and Tiktok (if video) along with Instagram to maximize your mutt’s potential of going viral.
9. Make Sure Your Dog Looks His Best
You’ll want your dog to put his best paw forward whenever he’s in front of his audience.
Therefore, take care to spruce up your canine companion before his next photoshoot. A quick brushing session, for example, can go a long way to show your dapper dog’s looks (but if you have the time, a bath will ensure his coat is super shiny).
You can also give your pooch accessories to elevate his look, such as a dog bowtie or bandana.
10. Go For Gimmicks
Utilizing gimmicks can be an amazing, lighthearted way to help your best buddy stand out on IG. For example, you could make a separate account for your dog and create posts in his voice (with artful misspellings and all)!
You could also start a fun photo series. For example, maybe your dog rates different dog biscuits and shares his reviews with the internet. Maybe your hound looks amazing in hats and that becomes his “it” factor. Whatever it may be, find an angle for your furry friend.
11. Steer Clear of Controversy
One of the most endearing things about dogs is that they’re unable to share opinions on hot-button issues like politics or religion.
Many people love pups since they’re drama-free and full of unconditional love.
With that in mind, it’s probably best to avoid anything that could be construed as controversial. Keep your furry friend’s feed light and casual for the best results.
12. Think About Your Theme
If you want your pooch to look professional, it’s wise to spend some time thinking about the theme and appearance of your feed. Experienced influencers are experts at this, taking care to incorporate similar themes or even a particular color palette in their photos.
For example, @_biggstagram features Biggie, an adorable Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever in earthy-toned photos throughout the feed:
13. Track Your Engagement
As a wise man once said, “what gets measured, gets managed”. In order to maximize your pups reach on the platform, you’ll want to utilize Instagram’s in-app “insights” feature.
This will let you know how a particular post is performing, along with what specific actions (such as a like, follow, or share) were performed in conjunction with the creation of the post.
You’ll find that this information is extremely useful in helping you to connect on a deeper level with Fido’s fanbase.
For instance, if your highest performing photo was your dog having a fun time playing fetch, maybe it’s time to set out for another playtime photoshoot session!
14. Use Cool Apps
Thankfully, there are a number of free photo editing apps to help spice up your canine’s close-ups. Get creative with how you shoot your dog’s photos, but also strive for innovation throughout the editing process.
So, be sure to seek out fun filters and cool effects to keep things interesting for your followers.
15. Go Adventuring with Your Animal!
Most social media apps prioritize novelty, and like to see users in a variety of different settings. Taking that into consideration, curating your dog’s IG feed is an amazing opportunity to start adventuring with your favorite furry friend.
Just remember to keep your pooch secured while shooting in public places.
Also, it’s a good idea to keep others outside of your shots as much as possible, in case they aren’t comfortable with making a cameo in your canine’s pictures.
16. Compose Catchy Captions
A picture is worth a thousand words but a thoughtful caption doesn’t hurt either! Make sure your captions are approachable, fun, and showcase your dog’s personality. If there’s a story behind the picture, don’t forget to include that too.
You can look to other successful doggie accounts for inspiration if you’re stuck (and don’t forget to add in those hashtags). We even have a list of the very best dog Instagram captions to get you started!
17. Run a Giveaway
If you have some extra cash on your hands, consider running a pet supply giveaway for pooch parents. This is a great way to bring in new followers and it’s also just a neat thing to do for the people who enjoy your dog’s photos. You could round up a couple of your dog’s favorite items and treats, and create a basket full of new goodies for one loyal follower.
Giveaways can be announced in a simple, yet clear caption asking entrants to follow the account and comment for confirmation of their entry.
Also consider reaching out to any pet brands you like or have worked with in the past, as they’ll often be willing to provide the prizes for you and even send them to the winners – then all you have to do is promote the giveaway!
18. Consider Incorporating Video
Recently, the head of Instagram unveiled that the platform is shifting to focus more on video.
This means that organic reach will be awarded more often to users who post videos on the platform or utilize “Reels” (Instagram’s in-app short form video content type, very comparable to Tiktoks).
Therefore, it’s essential to start incorporating video into your feed, particularly if you want to get your pooch in front of new eyes and ears.
Just remember to incorporate some of the other tips here when shooting videos of Spot.
For example, try making videos of your dog showing off his special skills or while he’s wearing an adorable outfit.
Also, be sure to incorporate good lighting and shoot lots and lots of “film.” This way, you’ll have plenty of clips to choose from once you get home.
Keep in mind that short videos are likely best, as people don’t usually want to watch long movies on Instagram.
19. Post Consistently
Posting consistently can help you connect easier with your followers, since they’ll be able to anticipate your next check-in with your best buddy. Having a rough (ruff?) schedule in mind of when you plan to post can also help keep you focused and motivate you and your mutt to seek out new experiences and photo-opts together.
20. Experiment with Other Technologies
Once you get more comfortable with snapping good shots of your canine, you can experiment with mediums other than your phone or digital camera.
For example, a great film photo can stand out on a platform like Instagram where most of the other images are obviously digital. Film is obviously a lot less forgiving than digital devices are, but the payoff can make your efforts worth it.
Plus, with enough practice, you may find yourself with a part-time gig as a pet photographer! Not a bad side hustle.
21. Have Fun!
Don’t forget that at the end of the day, the most important thing is that you and your furry friend have fun. No amount of likes can convey how precious your pooch is. Enjoy the process of bonding with your canine companion in a unique way and connecting with other internet-savvy pet owners.
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While not all dogs will flourish under the spotlight, many mutts have a great time showcasing their dashing good looks and unique personalities for the gram. Hopefully, this guide makes it easier to help your four-footer fulfill his influencer destiny!
Does your pooch have an Instagram account? How do you capture your canine’s spirit? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!
Feel free to share some of your favorite snaps through our photo uploader!
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. nine0003
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! «
“I was trying to make my dog an Instagram star. It turned out to be not so easy.”
Before creating an account, I studied all the necessary materials. I took advice from popular dog owners and bloggers — they recommended finding your edge, posting up-to-date photos, making fun captions, and engaging with your audience. I even consulted with a professional photographer to understand how best I can photograph my dog. nine0003
But four months and 70 posts later, my @cookingwithfatmax account was still far from celebrity. No matter how cute Max looked in the photos and no matter how appetizing my steamed dumplings looked, the number of subscribers did not rise above 300. On average, the photos collected about 60 likes and no one offered me sponsorship.
Then I took advice from dubious marketing blogs that offered to go the easy way - buy fake followers to make my account look more attractive to real people.
I purchased 2500 bots and waited for the likes to pour in and my audience to start growing. nine0003
View this post on Instagram
Posted by Max the Corgi (@cookingwithfatmax)
To my surprise, Max has become even less popular. The number of subscribers, on the contrary, has decreased, perhaps because Instagram has cleaned up the bots. The average number of likes per photo dropped to 45.
Then I turned to the Ahalogy marketing agency so that its experts could figure out what I was doing wrong.
“You can't be a star overnight,” Ahalogy boss Bob Gilbreth told me. “It takes a lot of effort to do this. Keep posting multiple posts a day, come up with different ideas, and build relationships.” “And there is no need to look for easy ways,” he added.
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As I understand it, becoming a successful blogger on Instagram is much more difficult than it seems. Here's what I've learned from my experience.
Instagram is fiercely competitive
Many Instagram marketing blogs advise you to work to get the attention of popular bloggers.
Therefore, at every opportunity, I tried to mention the stars in my posts. For example, when I made a Korean recipe from YouTube blogger Maangchi, I tagged it in the post description. nine0003
Maangchi commented on a picture of Max holding a bowl of kimchi, "What a cute dog! Looks very smart!" Alas, this comment did not help Max become more famous.
View this post on Instagram
Posted by Max the Corgi (@cookingwithfatmax)
Maybe the problem was in the quality of the photo? Then I turned to a professional photographer to appreciate my work.
He advised me to shoot the dog and food from a more unusual angle and process the shots harder. It is also worth using various decorations and costumes for dogs. As a last resort, you can buy a professional camera and contact an SMM specialist who understands how to promote dog accounts. nine0003
I listened to all this advice. He began to put an avocado-shaped pillow and shoot Max with food from different angles. I couldn't afford to hire a social media manager or buy an expensive camera, but I did improve the lighting - I bought a $15 illuminator.
However, all this did not add subscribers to Max.
Bots can play tricks on you
I was often advised to buy fake followers - they said that it is useful for new accounts and that people are more willing to subscribe to those who have a larger audience. nine0003
This advice seemed reasonable to me, so I bought 2500 bots for $19. Max immediately had more subscribers - it was strange, but nice. I checked the profiles of some of them - many of the accounts looked real.
The number of followers increased from 300 to 3000, but the average number of likes dropped significantly. The bots did not put likes - as it turned out, this service needs to be purchased separately.
View this post on Instagram
Post by Max the Corgi (@cookingwithfatmax)
An expert from Ahalogy said that fake followers usually come in two forms. The first includes accounts with content stolen from real people. The second is hosted by real people participating in the subscription exchange program.
Buying followers is prohibited by Instagram rules. In November, the platform began removing likes and comments left by bots. According to the company, every day Instagram blocks millions of fake accounts at the registration stage. nine0003
You can't make people like you
There are also legitimate ways to get followers, like using popular hashtags. For example, if you tag #cutedog, your photo will be found by people looking for pictures of cute dogs.
You can also buy advertising on Instagram, for this you need to click the "Advertise" button, select the age of the target audience and the number of days of display.
I tried both ways. I experimented with a wide variety of hashtags, including popular ones like #chinesefood, #dogsofinstagram and #yummy. Didn't help much. nine0003
I paid $24 for a week-long photo of Max sitting next to a bowl of pasta. The photo was seen by 5165 people, but only 11 subscribed. It turns out that each new subscriber cost me $2.
View this post on Instagram
Posted by Max the Corgi (@cookingwithfatmax)
Gilbreth showed my dog's Instagram profile to his colleagues at Ahalogy and they came up with the following conclusion.
