BY SARAH WALSH
In making purchases for their pets, consumers are more of- ten than not turning to social
media to find recommendations
from friends or bloggers that they
trust. So how can pet products
earn good word-of-mouth on social channels such as Instagram
or Snapchat?
By turning to the latest movement in social media, your pet
product can find a micro-influencer to support your brand.
A micro-influencer is someone
who has a substantial following
across social platforms but hasn’t
reached “celebrity status.” Micro-influencers are still considered to be everyday people but
have had greater success on social
media, whereas celebrities have
reached a level of fame that is perceived as inauthentic.
To really gain endorsement for your brand, consider
searching for an up-and-coming micro-in;uencer;not of the
human variety, but instead a lovable pooch, sassy cat or prickly
hedgehog. Here’s what to keep
in mind during your search.
MATCH YOUR
PRODUCT TO THE
LEVEL OF STARDOM
Depending on your
pre-existing audience, you should
choose your influencer accord-
ingly. If your brand is somewhat
well known in the pet commu-
nity, feel free to reach out to pets
with a large following like Trotter
or Pumpkin. However, if your
product is just starting to gain
momentum, consider finding a
star on the rise. Accounts with a
few thousand followers still re-
cei;e significant attention but will
not have been approached with
too many influencer opportuni-
ties at that point. Try to avoid pets
with their own agents or agencies,
such as Chloe the Frenchie, who
is represented by The Dog Agen-
cy. Pets with this level of fame are
generally no longer considered
in;uencers and ha;e instead be-
come celebrities like Grumpy Cat.
Some possible candidates who are
gaining a following: Panda the
Oreo Frenchie, who has almost
6,000 followers; The Logan Square
Bears, with 11,000 followers; and
Poki the Hedgehog, with nearly
10,000 followers.
CREATE AN
AUTHENTIC BRAND
RELATIONSHIP
Part of what makes
micro-influencer marketing so
successful is that followers tend to
trust the recommendation of the
pet “recommending” the prod-
uct because they’re perceived to
be an average pet with an owner
rather than a pet receiving thou-
sands of dollars to be the face of
a brand. If you try to send your
product to a pet that’s unlikely to
use said product, you’ll either be
rejected by the owner or followers
won’t buy into the pet actually
using said product. If you send a
hedgehog a large toy to play with,
unless there’s video proof, follow-
ers aren’t likely to believe that the
hedgehog uses that toy. Howev-
er, if you’re a pet wipe company
that freshens smelly animals and
is safe for small creatures, you
would be the ideal brand to work
with a hedgehog.
SEND A PRODUCT
THAT’S EASY TO
PHOTOGRAPH
Keep in mind what
your product might look like on
camera. Someone whose main pri-
ority is getting the animal to pose
correctly might not know the best
way to shoot your product. If the
item you send is oddly shaped or
not visually engaging, consider
sending it to the in;uencer with
branded packaging and asking
for the packaging to be included
in the photo. While your pet treats
might not show up easily in an
Instagram photo, a shot of your
packaging and awesome logo are
sure to catch attention, especially
if the pet is anything like Loki and
looks thrilled to dig in.
LOOK OUT FOR
FAMOUS FRIENDS
Could you imagine
your product being
promoted by Taylor Swift? Such a
lucky break would bring you an
untold number of sales and send
your brand’s engagement through
the roof. While it might not be pos-
sible to get Swift to show off your
catnip dispenser with her cats
Meredith Grey and Olivia Benson,
you could wor; with an in;uenc-
er who is seemingly BFFs with her,
such as Marnie, and reap the bene-
fits of your brand being only a few
degrees of separation from one of
the most famous celebrities.
AVOID INFLUENCERS
WHO ALREADY
PROMOTE SEVERAL
PRODUCTS
In order not to get lost in a long
string of brand suitors, make sure
that your prospect isn’t courting
several companies at once. Ruckus the Eskie has a great fan base
on Instagram but receives several
boxes of products each month.
No matter how energetic a dog is,
there is only so much time to play
with the toys sent its way.
INVITE YOUR
INFLUENCER TO
YOUR EVENTS
Take your relation-
ship with your in;uencer of;ine
and invite them to any events
that your business is hosting. This
way, you’ll not only get face time
with your beloved representa-
tive, but you’re also more likely
to draw people to your event to
meet and greet the pet. If you’re
wor;ing with multiple in;uenc-
ers, don’t be afraid to invite them
all for a cute photo op!
No matter what your marketing budget is, with a little searching, you’re sure to find the right
pet to represent your brand, create
engagement and, ultimately, lead
to increased sales.
Sarah Walsh is an online PR specialist
at Web Talent Marketing, a full-service digital marketing agency based in
Lancaster, Pa. She’s passionate about
creating impactful content and using
social media authentically. In her free
time, she likes reading, writing for her
personal blog, and spending time with
her dog and three cats.
How to Find the Right
Micro-Influencer to Grow
Your Pet Brand
BUSINESS BUILDER
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