Pet influencers have become an internet phenomenon, with popular Instagram dogs like Jiffpom and Doug the Pug racking up millions of followers. But simply posting cute pet photos is no longer enough to stand out in today's crowded social media landscape.
To build an engaged audience and go viral as a pet influencer in 2023, you need strategic, high-quality, and emotionally compelling content tailored to your target audiences.
This definitive guide reveals the top 10 tactics, examples, and insider tips for crafting viral pet influencer content optimized for today's platforms.
1. Know Your Target Audience and Their Interests
The first key step according to Influencer Marketing Hub is identifying and understanding your target audience. You need to create pet content specifically crafted to resonate with the right people.
Some common pet influencer target audiences include:
Pet Owners
Pet owners obviously make up a significant chunk of many pet influencers' followers. Cater your content strategy to pet owner interests, struggles, goals and demographics.
Key data points from Petpedia and Influencer Marketing Hub:
- 67% are female
- Most are ages 26-35
- 73% live in suburban or urban areas
- 34% have household incomes over $100k
Pet owners love engaging content like:
- Pet care tips, advice and how-tos
- Funny pet moments and bloopers
- Pet product reviews and recommendations
- Pet parenting challenges and solutions
- Pet and human bonding moments
Potential Customers
Feature and recommend products while showcasing pets enjoying them. This appeals to potential shoppers like pet owners, brands, retailers, and shelters.
Businesses
Partner with brands across industries like Purina, BarkBox, PetSmart, ASPCA, BringFido and more. This raises awareness, sentiment, sales, traffic, and engagement for them.
2. Leverage The Top Pet Influencer Platforms
Focus your efforts on the most popular and effective platforms for pet influencers:
Instagram is ideal for visual pet content like cute, funny or touching photos and videos.
Top performing post formats according to Influencer Marketing Hub:
- Reels - playful, entertaining
- Carousels - multiple images, angles
- IGTV Series - longer form storytelling
TikTok
TikTok enables pet influencers to produce highly sharable short videos showcasing funny reactions, challenges, and pet + human moments.
YouTube
In-depth vlogs and videos on YouTube allow pet influencers to highlight their pet's personality over longer periods. Reviews, unboxings, routines and more build bonds.
Connect directly with pet owners and animal lovers through Facebook posts, groups, discussions, and live videos.
Share funny observations, snackable thoughts, and commentary around pets and animals with followers.
3. Focus On Emotional Storytelling
Content that elicits strong emotional reactions like joy, laughter, or tears from your audience tends to be highly shareable.
Touching stories of rescue, recovery, bonding, love, and pets overcoming adversity or finding unlikely animal friendships make for powerful viral content.
As Wharton researchers found, "Content that elicits high-arousal emotions like awe is more viral."
4. Capture Funny or Cute Pet Moments
Humans are naturally inclined to positively react to cute, hilarious animals. Authentic content showcasing your pets being silly or adorable is prime for going viral.
Show funny facial expressions, fails and bloopers, cute reactions, pets in costumes or "outfits", and more.
Pro Tip: Frequently capture your pet's naturally entertaining or cute moments so you build up a library of viral content.
5. Create Educational How-To Content
How-to guides like pet care tutorials, training videos, grooming tips, and pet product demos establish your expertise while providing value to pet owners.
Helpful educational content includes:
- Pet training guides
- DIY pet projects
- Grooming and health tips
- Pet tech product tutorials
6. Collaborate With Other Influencers and Brands
Partner with other pet influencers for co-created content that taps into each other's audiences.
Also team up with pet brands like Chewy or animal organizations for mutually beneficial sponsorships and campaigns.
7. Optimize Content Across Platforms
Repurpose your top performing content across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube through creative edits tailored to each platform's algorithm.
Shorten for Instagram Reels and TikTok. Pull out highlights for YouTube shorts. Make vertical versions. Add captions.
8. Show Pet and Human Bonding
Content showcasing heartwarming interactions and moments between pets and humans tugs at followers' heartstrings.
Show relatable pet parenting challenges, emotional reunion videos, and joyful family moments.
9. Use Attention-Grabbing Formats
Beyond your standard photos and videos, leverage unique formats that grab viewer attention and engagement:
- Pet product unboxings and reviews
- Pet retail hauls and shopping vlogs
- Pet routines and day in the life vlogs
- Pet + human challenges like twinning outfits
- Pet advice question and answer sessions
- Pet polls, would you rather questions, and quizzes
10. Post Consistently With A Clear Strategy
Consistency and persistence are key. Regularly publish an ongoing variety of engaging, high-quality pet content.
Have a strategic plan for content formats, platforms, targets, and goals. Analyze what performs best and continually refine your approach.
How to Become a Successful Pet Influencer
Want to grow your pet's influencer career in 2024? Here are pro tips from Influencer Marketing Hub:
- Build an audience by regularly posting great pet content
- Engage followers through comments, questions, and polls
- Use relevant hashtags for discoverability
- Partner with brands for sponsored content
- Diversify your pet content formats and topics
- Analyze performance metrics to inform your strategy
Top pet influencers can charge around $100 per 10k followers for sponsored posts according to MediaKix, earning $1000+ for 100k followers.
Final Thoughts: Creating Viral Pet Influencer Content
Successfully creating viral pet influencer content requires an understanding of your audience, knowledge of top platforms, an emotional appeal, captivating formats, and a strategic approach.
By tapping into storytelling, producing engaging pet content showcasing your pet's unique personality, collaborating with others, and optimizing across platforms - pet influencers can expand their reach and brand impact.
The key is consistently delighting followers with creative, high-quality, and relevant content tailored to what makes them laugh, smile, cry, or share. Keep experimenting with formats and get to know your community. Then watch your pet's influence take off!
Frequently Asked Questions About Creating Viral Pet Influencer Content
Here are some common questions around optimizing content as a pet influencer:
Q: What is the best platform for pet influencers?
A: Instagram is ideal for pet influencers due to its highly visual nature and wide reach. But having an effective multi-platform presence across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter is recommended.
Q: How often should pet influencers post?
A: Ideally at least 1-2 times per day, and up to 8 times max according to Sometags. Consistency is key. Analyze when your followers are most active.
Q: What makes pet content go viral?
A: Emotional storytelling, funny or cute moments, educational value, collaborations, and creative formats optimized for different platforms help pet content go viral through shares and engagement.
Q: How much do top pet influencers make?
A: Top pet influencers can make over $40,000 per sponsored post and over $1 million per year according to Forbes.
Q: What should you not do as a pet influencer?
A: Don't just constantly self-promote. Provide value to your audience. Avoid overusing hashtags or engagement bait. Stay authentic to your pet's personality.
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