16 Feb How To Turn Your Dog or Cat Into a Pet Influencer
You know those dogs and cats who have thousands of Insta followers?
Quite a few of them are pretty much celebs on the Interwebz. They get free food, trips, clothes and toys from brands who want to partner with them.
Welcome to the world of the pet influencer!
And you can do it too.
We get it, you’ll have questions. How do you create good content? How can you get lots of followers?
So, we thought, why not let the experts speak for themselves?
BAXTA sat down with some of our all-time favourite pet influencers to hear all the tips, the tricks and the benefits of being a petfluencer.
Get your notepads out and start jotting down these tips!!
Jorden Trott who runs the Instagram account @donutandmia spills the secrets to having a successful pet influencer account:
“Taking quality photos, being consistent with posting and having a lot of personality in the captions makes your account stand out! Being consistent with your posting, engaging with other influencers and using hash tags is also a huge part of being successful.
I’ve found it easier to have “content days” where you can take a bunch of different photos with different props and costumes to be able to post over a few days.”
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Alicia Egilda who runs the Instagram account @louie.toycavoodle tells us about the tips and challenges she has faced as a pet influencer:
“Some tips that I would suggest is to post as frequently as possible, try to make sure that the quality of the photo is good and tag brands where you can to get noticed. Also comment on other people’s posts and give other’s a shout out (particularly when it is other pet influencers’ birthdays) – If you start to get noticed even by other pet influencers, you are on track!
Some of the challenges I have faced at times, is knowing what to post. It can be hard to get inspired. During these times I’ll go on other influencers pages to get some inspiration or I will just go out and simply film Louie and I going for a walk and having a bit of a play. Try not to stress too much if you don’t get as many likes on a post as you’d like. These things take time and the whole process should be enjoyable, not stress provoking.”
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“I use some pre-sets to keep his photos looking similar – I tend to stick with blues and greens to create a theme. In the beginning, I was editing the photos too much so it’s about finding the happy medium of editing them to bring out his cuteness, but not letting the editing take over and become too cartoony. It’s about getting the rhythm down and making it all look uniform, so that it all goes together well.
In terms of content, be personable in the captions, give updates and information about your dog, like milestones, how much they weigh at certain ages and how old they were when they got their first groomer. A lot of people come to the page for that kind of thoughtful information, because they’re curious and looking for advice for their own dogs.”
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Candice Patterson, the pet parent of @howardandnedthegriffons discusses the importance of creating a personality for your pet:
“Our account is different to most, as the ‘personalities’ of the dogs are very sassy, naughty, and they aren’t afraid to use expletives to get their point across. I find a lot of followers love the account because they get a good laugh daily.
Definitely create a strong ‘personality’ for your followers to fall in love with! I’ve also found that posting daily has been important, a lot of followers look forward to seeing what mischief the boys are up to every day.”
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Michelle Wong reveals her love of being a pet influencer for @benji.theminipoodle’s account:
“I love the dog community and helping other dog pawrents by sharing my life with Benji – how I care for and train him, etc. Like raising a child, it’s not always easy having a fur baby and having the support of the pet influencing community means you’re not alone!
Benji’s account is definitely not one of those that grew by thousands overnight but through the process of friendship. Make connections, enjoy what you’re doing! Engagement on social media is key when you want to build your following.”
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In short, if you’re looking to kick start your pet influencing career, follow these tips:
1. Post regularly – this means try to post daily!
2. Engage with other accounts (particularly other pet influencer accounts) by commenting and liking their posts
3. Take good quality photos, that means finding the right background and lighting for your photo
4. Choose a style and theme for your account and stick to it – consistency is key!
5. Post informative facts about your pet – people are curious and want to know what is going on in your pet’s life
6. Use hashtags and location tagging so that your pet comes up when people are searching for places like “Darlinghurst”
7. Create a unique personality for your pet – this will make people engage more with your content
8. Just have fun! Don’t stress out too much if you are not gaining as many followers as you’d like – building followers takes time
9. Once you’ve built a good following and engagement, reach out to brands on Instagram and ask for their PR department’s email. Send a pitch email with your pet’s details, followers and average engagements online and then propose a partnership
So, there you have it, the hottest tips from some of the most adorable accounts out there! We hope you’re all seriously considering pet influencing as a career choice now because let’s be honest, getting paid to take photos of your pets sounds like a dream.
While you’re at it, share your pet’s best photos on Baxta, so we can see them. Download our app today!
