As a proud owner of a dog, you’re bound to have considered giving your fur kid his or her own Facebook or Instagram page and build them up to become social media celebrities. But even though your dog might be incredibly cute and love posing for photos, you’re going to need to put in a lot of work to get your dog and his adorable daily antics seen by the masses of animal lovers out there.
Dogs with their own social media profiles have become increasingly popular in recent years. Many dogs have even become major “influencers”, partnering with various brands, especially in the USA and the UK, but South Africa is starting to catch up. But how do you get started?
Be consistent
Consistency is key, and you’ll need to post a photo or video at least once a day with a great caption and tags on Instagram. Twice a day also works, but you don’t want to overwhelm people with your content.
Know your audience
South Africa is still a bit behind when it comes to having our own social media celebrities and influencers, so you might pick up more followers overseas. Using hashtags on IG is important. Perhaps use general hashtags related to your dog’s breed, then relate the others to the rest of your image. You can also use tags such as #throwbackthursday to share puppy pictures, and a lot of dog accounts use #tongueouttuesday.
Be social
To build your own following, you have to follow similar accounts. The key to success on social media is to make connections with other people and their dogs on the social media platforms of your choice. In addition to following, you also want to regularly comment and connect with their content. You don’t have to follow everyone back, but it’s helpful to engage with the comments that your dog gets.
Caption it well
Good-quality photos always do well, but the caption and the picture have to work together to get people engaged and make them want to share the post.
Personality counts
Create great content around your dog’s personality, and don’t ever force your dog to do things that they don’t want to. If your dog is shy, build your page around that theme. If your dog is very energetic, keep your followers up to date on his or her activities. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new content to see what resonates with your dog’s followers.
Choosing A Platform
When you’re planning to make social media profiles for your dog, you’ll need to think about which platforms you’re interested in pursuing. The main platforms where dogs are becoming famous and building careers are Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. If you want to start building your dog’s presence online in general, it’s best to start with one platform and grow your presence there.
Hashtags
Hashtags are a searchable way to both connect with other platforms like yours and also allow people to find your dog’s posts. A great way to start experimenting with hashtags is to look at the ones that other dog accounts are using and the hashtags that you enjoy following.
Talking business
As your dog’s social media profiles start to grow and you begin thinking about partnering with companies, make sure you’ve read and understand the terms and conditions of whatever deal you’re offered. One example of this is if your dog is receiving products for free – you need to disclose that it’s a brand partnership when you post about those products. Additionally, when you’re negotiating with companies, make sure that you understand what’s being asked of you in terms of the kind of posts, how many, and when those posts need to happen.
Becoming a doggy superhero
The best part about dogs on social media is that they can be a voice for shelter dogs and educate people about how to take care of and respect dogs.