Marketing blogs and websites are packed with articles on how to gain thousands of subscribers, become an influencer or simply make yourself famous on Instagram. They feature step-by-step guides and give tips that are actually applicable only to people or businesses. Anyone with a pet must have had the thought cross their mind – shall I create an Instagram account for my pet? Even if, is there a point, and how exactly do they become Instagram famous alongside all the little Instagram celebrity pets?
The procedure is quite similar to the one that people have. You need to set up an Instagram account for your pet, establish a tone of voice of it and create a content strategy that would help you move forward in pursuit of making your precious pet Instagram famous. Although you might be already familiar with some of the tips, there’s still a lot more to it. To help you raise a new petfluencer, we created a list of useful tips.
How to get more followers on pet Instagram? – Follow these guidelines
1. Choose a theme to stand out from billions of other pet Instagram accounts
The latest Instagram statistics show that Instagram has over 1 billion active monthly users, among which over 25 million are business profiles. Some of them are real brands, while others might just be created by those who want to get access to analytics and other perks professional (business or creator) accounts offer.
In 2020, the number of active Instagram users and those who have switched to business or creator profiles might grow even more. What is even more interesting, it concerns not only accounts of people and brands but also pets who already have millions of followers (like @jiffpom or @hamilton_the_hipster_cat). To get noticed among thousands of Instagram accounts, you need to choose a unique theme that will stand out.
Perhaps you have noticed that your pet has a particular character. It is either lazy or hyperactive. It might also be too gloomy or always smiling. You can use your pet’s character as guidance when choosing a theme of their account and have fun establishing a tone of voice (about which will talk further in the article) of it.
Now, concentrate on choosing a theme – a highlight of your pet’s account. Is your pet going to be photographed solely on colorful backgrounds? Or maybe you like the idea of a lifestyle blog more? You can choose to dress up your pet in different costumes or do anything else that from your personal point of view, could work without being too annoying for the little one.
After you have decided on a theme, it will be easier for you to think of a username and description when setting up an Instagram account for your pet.
2. Set up a pet Instagram account and choose a cute name
How to set up pet Instagram accounts
You probably have your personal Instagram account so all you should do is just go to settings and at the very bottom of the dashboard, click “Add account” and “Create new account”.
You will be redirected to a page where you need to fill in the username*, email address, and phone number. Another way to sign up is by using a Facebook account which is the best option for you.
The next step will be switching to business or creator profile so you can get access to analytics and other perks. However, all these things won’t be possible if you don’t link the new account to a Facebook page. To make it simpler, you can create a separate Facebook page for your pet under your main Facebook account. Don’t worry, the Facebook page will be just a dummy and you won’t have to run it as well. Thus, choose to sign up with Facebook and log in to Instagram with Facebook.
* Creating a username for your pet’s profile has a slightly different logic. The advice is in addition to the name, mention a kind of a pet you have. For example, “Cat_Sara” or “Ratatouille.The.Mouse” are pet Instagram names that would work well. This is in order for people to easily find the account when they are searching for profiles of a particular pet.
The importance of a dog Instagram bio and a profile picture
Although there’s a saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, this is exactly what the majority of people do when looking at the pet Instagram highlight cover. This is especially true for Instagram, or our virtual lives when people make quick judgment calls to follow a page based on the look of the feed.
To boost your chances make your pet’s profile picture stand out (a creative portrait could work) and be sure that the cat or dog Instagram bio should be engaging and intriguing like the one @aurorapurr has.
Once you have sorted out these basic things, you can switch your pet’s account to business or creator. Besides, the account shouldn’t be private as you won’t be able to switch at a later stage.
3. Switch to Instagram business or creator account
Recently, Instagram has introduced a creator account that is designed for individuals who’d like to track analytics and analyze the growth of their accounts. Meanwhile, a business profile is for companies and brands that actually sell products or services.
To convert to Instagram business or creator account, go to settings, tap “Switch to professional account” and choose “Creator”. Then, you should select the category that perfectly describes what your pet’s account will be about. You will also need to review contact information and provide at least an email so people could reach out to you as the real account owner.
In general, access to analytics is not the only perk of a creator account. It also allows you to manage messages, use shortcuts for quick responses, and rank pending requests by time or relevance.
4. Create a content strategy for your pet’s account
A content strategy is a plan that helps you define, organize and schedule the content you are going to share. It includes the copy and visuals posted on a frequent basis. A Content strategy helps your account grow and stay ahead of schedule with better planning. However, if you want to see real results, you need to understand for whom you will be creating content.
Defining your pet’s target audience is not an easy task but once you start posting, you will clearly understand what type of content is more appreciated and should be published on your pet’s Instagram page. You can read everything about finding the target audience in this guide.
Moreover, you should understand how the content will be unique. At this point, you should turn to the theme you have already chosen for the account. Also, try to define a goal for your pet’s Instagram profile. It will ease the process of creating a content strategy.
While you’ll be making your very first steps with running your pet’s Instagram account, your content strategy can consist of five basic things:
- a definition of who your target audience is
- a list of goals you’d like to achieve
- an explanation of how the content on your pet’s account is different from hundreds of other profiles
- a round-up of visual content formats (IGTV, Stories, and main feed)
- a calendar with publishing dates
Although having a content strategy and sticking to it is important, you also should be flexible with it. As you’ll be gaining experience and seeing how well the posts are doing, you might want to review the lengths and style of the text and the publishing frequency as well.
5. Become your pet’s ghostwriter
In the first paragraphs of this article, we said that your pet’s character can be used as guidance when choosing a theme but also when establishing a tone of voice for the copy.
If you’re not familiar with the second notion, here’s a short explanation of what tone of voice is. The tone of voice is the way a character communicates with its audience. It transmits the values, mood, and vibes of the messages one wants to deliver. Establishing a tone of voice for your pet might be as necessary as it is for major brands.
How do you establish the tone of voice? With a pet, unlike a brand, this task might be easier. What you can do to understand how your pet will be communicating with its audience is to brainstorm a bit about character traits that make them unique.
You might have noticed that your cat or dog looks so smart that you could share the philosophical thoughts that you suppose they have in mind. Work with highlighting the unique qualities of your pet. At the end of the day, it’s not only your creativity and visual content that will make the account stand out, but also what you say and communicate to the world.
Again, it is very important to establish tone of voice for a couple of reasons. First of all, Instagram is not only about images anymore. Its users equally appreciate decent copy that makes photos or videos even more inspirational and insightful. Besides, a chosen theme along with tone of voice and thoughtful content strategy can work magic when promoting your pet’s Instagram account, gaining new followers, and increasing engagement.
6. Handpick the best pet Instagram hashtags
If you want your pet’s Instagram account to become popular, including thematic hashtags in your copy is one of the simplest ways to do that.
Why is it important? Because according to Instagram, it refers to hashtags in your pet’s profile to classify the particular theme. Hashtags allow your posts to be found by users who are not following you. Also, they give more exposure to the account both locally and internationally.
Instagram hashtags work best if they are changed and mixed from time to time. This approach will ensure that posts are seen by different people every time.
To help you out with selection, here are the best pet hashtags by categories.
General pet hashtags for Instagram
#pet #cutepets #petpics #petvideo #funnypets #petsoftheday #mypet #lovemypet #adorablepets #instafluff #fluffy #petsoftheworld #rescuepet #animalsinfluence #petfluencer #delight_pets #pawsome #pawfect #furfriends #dogsandcats
The best dog hashtags on Instagram
#topdogphoto #dogphotos #dogphotographer #dogmodels #excellent_dogs #dog_features #doglife #cutepuppy #cutepuppiesofinstagram #dogselfie #doggies #funnydog #bestdog #mydog #sweetpuppy #happypuppy
Popular cat Instagram hashtags
#catstagram #catlover #kittens #instakitty #catsofinstagram #cats_of_instagram #catstagram #catpic #kittenlove #sleepycat #kittycat #meaw #catmodel #meow #ilovemycat #caturday #catsofig #kittiesofinstagram #catoftheday
7. Get inspired by these 10 super famous Instagram dogs, cats & other pets
In addition to the inspiration and motivation you’ll find while reviewing these pet Instagram accounts, you will also be able to analyze their content strategies. You will definitely notice some useful hacks they use and later adapt them to your own plan.
-
Geordi La Corgi
-
Jill The Squirrel
-
Cheeto
-
Jiff Pom
-
Juniper Fox
-
Princess Aurora
-
Doug The Pug
-
Pumpkin The Raccoon
-
Hamilton The Hipster Cat
-
Lionel And Lilo The Hedgehogs
Now you have an overview of how to make your pet Instagram famous. In addition to following the advice from this guide and setting up a small photography studio at home, you should also be ready to invest your time in your pet’s account. Try to set a goal with a timeline and every time you want to give up, have a look at what you’ve already done and how much you have achieved. And of course, good luck with bringing a new petfluencer to the Instaworld.
Related Articles
News and events
Spark Your Creativity! Depositphotos Launches AI Generator With Commercially Safe Images
Discover how to create exclusive, high-quality, and commercially safe images from simple prompts. Your imagination is the only limit.
Photography
Video Editing Tips for Instagram
Discover top video editing tips from Instasize that will help you grow your brand on Instagram.
Marketing
Instagram Marketing Strategy Tips: What’s ‘in’ in 2019
Instagram is a powerful and at the same time affordable platform to develop your business, even if you…
Marketing
Watch Out YouTube! Instagram TV is Here
Instagram has recently announced they’ve hit 1 billion active monthly users. To host a louder celebration, they’ve just…
Marketing
11 Tips to Boost Engagement on Your Instagram Account
More engagement on Instagram means a more lively page, one that is far more likely to circulate around…
Marketing
The Secret to Success on Instagram in 5 Simple Tips
The common practice in mastering anything you set your mind to do, is to draw lessons from other…
MarketingPhotography
10 Photography Tips to Step Up Your Instagram Game
You may not always have a DSLR at hand, but you do have your phone on you at all times. This means creative opportunities are everywhere, you just have to learn to look. A few photography tips can also come in handy to inspire your impromptu photo shoots of everyday life.
Read top articles of the month!
Don’t want to miss any tips or industry news? Subscribe to the Depositphotos blog digest.
