If you have created a social media account for your pet business or vet practice and dipped your toe in the water by creating some branded content, you might be feeling a little frustrated or disheartened if you’re not seeing results. If your analytics aren’t showing growth in terms of post reach, audience engagement, or number of followers, or if you’re just not seeing the impact you expected on your sales, website visits, or registered clients, you might feel like social media isn’t worth the effort. Don’t give up, though; trust in the process, be patient, and make sure you follow these tips to grow your pet business social media followers.
Tips for increasing your pet business social media followers:
1. Optimise your posts and website with SEO
You might think successful social media for businesses is just about posting great quality content, but most social media accounts won’t take off without good search engine optimisation (SEO), even if their content is amazing. SEO involves drilling down to the keywords that are associated with your business, the ones that people will use when talking about your brand and searching for you online. Once identified, it’s important to use these keywords and phrases on your website, in your social media posts, and on any other business profiles that you use. Google will recognise these keywords and associate them with your brand, helping you to rank higher and higher in their search results. Want to know more about how SEO can work for your business? Read Creating a pet brand: SEO and Your Website.
2. Give value with your content
When planning social media content for your business account, try to ensure it’s valuable. Showcasing your products and services and sharing positive client feedback have their place, but your audience needs to see that your posts hold value for them, rather than just being a means to promote your business. Determine the unique value that your business delivers, be that knowledge and experience or a physical product, and ensure that you are sharing this with your audience in your posts. A great way to do this is to include tips, deal with misinformation, or solve common pet owner problems.
3. Choose key topics that matter
By now, you’ll have thought about your ideal follower and what matters to them. When designing your content plan, take this a step further by identifying two or three important topics or ‘pain points’ that will resonate with your audience. Try to post about these topics regularly, ideally in a series. Then, even when you pad out your social media schedule with other content, your audience will keep returning for the next instalment.
4. Know your target follower (and revisit this regularly)
So, you know your target follower and you’ve created a profile of them in your mind, but now it’s been six months and things have changed. Remember, social media is dynamic because people are dynamic, and a lot can change. Make sure that you revisit the concept of your target follower regularly and with curiosity, find out what might have changed for them, and work that into your plan going forward.
5. Monitor your analytics (and learn from them!)
Each business social media platform has an insights or analytics section. While this might initially seem like a meaningless bunch of green and red numbers and arrows, it’s a really valuable tool. Check-in on your stats regularly and see how your content is performing in terms of reach, engagement, and new followers. It’s not enough to have a look at the information and give yourself a pat on the back (or place your head in your hands in despair), you should also keep a record of topics and post types that are performing well and vice versa. If you’ve also got a website, you can use an analytics tool to see which posts caused people to click your link or even make a purchase. So, set aside time every month or so to visit your analytics page and plan ahead.
6. Balance sales with information and entertainment
Social media is all about balance – your audience wants value rather than sales, but it’s still important to be bold and tell them what you want them to do. Including links to your products and a call to action that encourages them to find out more or visit your website is a crucial part of using social media to grow your business. However, when planning your social posts, find a pattern that works for your audience and is true to you. You’ll want to include a variety of posts, from those intending to make sales, to light-hearted ones intending to unite your followers and spark their brand loyalty.
7. Post regularly and consistently
To ensure that your business’s social media profile appears on as many newsfeeds as possible, you need to post regularly and consistently. This is why it’s usually a good idea to focus on one or two social media platforms at first. Predictable and reliable posting is rewarded with better visibility to both followers and non-followers and is a surefire way to increase your audience. Aim to post at least three times a week, but five to seven times is optimal. If you’re struggling to keep up, consider our social media post subscription service.
8. Interact with your audience
Posting regularly is important, but responding to your followers in the comments and rewarding their engagement will encourage a feeling of community, as well as showing more of your business’s personality. Make sure you check in at least daily to respond to any comments and messages you might have received.
Summary
Social media for pet businesses isn’t an exact science, but there are definite methods for improving the results you see. By following the steps above, you can form the foundation for growing a social media following to be proud of!
