10 Ways to Increase Pet Store Social Media Engagement
If you’ve been in the pet store social media game for a while like we have, then you too have witnessed the downfall of organic reach for business pages. As social media platforms and their algorithms continue to shift based on user preferences, intentions, and wants, many of these platforms have become a “pay to play” space for businesses.
That means that in order to get your content seen by your audience, you either need to apply a budget to boost that content, or your content has to be great. Great content gets engagement, engagement gets more eyeballs, more eyeballs gets more revenue.
When it comes to pet store social media, you’re constantly looking for great content to create and share. At Pet Engine Marketing, we help alleviate that pressure. Interested in learning more on how our pet store social media experts take the marketing tasks off your plate, and do it better? Contact us today to set up an introductory call!
We’re about to dig into our pet store social media playbook with 10 ideas on how to increase your engagement on a platform like Facebook.
How to increase pet store social media engagement: 10 tips to act on today
1. Teach, inform, inspire, or entertain
More and more we have seen that Facebook rewards content that makes people smile, or improves their lives in some way. They’re not looking for a sales pitch and won’t engage with one. As a pet store owner, you have a position of credibility and authority in the space when it comes to nutrition, manufacturers, pet needs, and other information that consumers don’t have.
You can use your position to create and post content like tips on how to fit a dog for a harness, or what to look for in a cat’s behavior that might tell you they need a dietary change. In a video that teaches and entertains, you can also provide a promotional piece on that item. There’s a way to work it all in.
2. Dig into your audience insights
It’s worth keeping in mind that just because you find your content inspiring, entertaining, or helpful, doesn’t necessarily mean that your audience thinks of it the same way.
When you’re looking for engagement, it’s what your audience wants that’s important.
Take a look at your Page Insights to find demographic information about your audience. You can also look at your Google Analytics Demographics and Interests data to make further deductions on what your audience preferences are.
3. Social Media content should be short
Nearly 100% percent of Facebook users visit the platform via their mobile devices. Your posts should be short and sweet and to the point. Get your audience’s attention in a split second, ceasing their scrolling and encouraging engagement.
As a rule, aim for two sentences and your media (photo or video).
4. Quality > quantity, but aim for both
You’re competing for attention with everything else on your audience’s timeline. The competition is steep, from friends and family to other businesses and memes. You can’t half-ass this.
Running out of ideas on what to post? Consider curating content from other sources that align with your audience’s needs and interests.
Need more ideas? Take a look at our pet store social media sharing guide, which has 13 ready-made ways for you to create content.
5. Be human
Yes, you run a business, but it’s the humans inside and behind that business that retain your customers. Remember, it’s not what you do, it’s why you do it.
Audiences are hungry for authenticity, and if you have to think too hard about what your audience wants, that’s the exact opposite of being authentic. Post BTS (behind the scenes) content, or your honest emotions and thoughts during a particularly difficult or triumphant time, stand behind your values and what you believe in.
Don’t be afraid to jump into the deep end. Coming off too business-like can diminish your results.
6. Don’t settle for blurry
Smartphone photography has come a long way!
You don’t need an expensive photography setup to get a decent-looking piece of content. You might be surprised at what the modern smartphone can capture these days. Settle for blurry, pixelated imagery sets a tone that, at times, can seem unprofessional. On the other end, stock photography rarely works as well as in-store photography.
In our experience, the pet store social media audience would rather see a dog in the store than a stock photo of a dog in the store. They would rather see the real customer with the real product rather than the manufacturer image or the mockup.
For your website banners, stock photography may work. Here is a list of some of our preferred stock photography sites:
7. Video, video, video
Video will almost guarantee an even higher engagement rate than photos, especially on Facebook’s partner platform, Instagram.
Sometimes, our pet store clients hear video marketing and they start to worry about 5-digit budgets for what seems like a simple campaign.
Your video campaigns don’t have to be high budget, or even built and shot by an agency. Facebook Live videos see the highest engagement of all types of video content, so incorporating a live broadcast (like this Helping Hounds Dog Rescue video) can give you a big boost in engagement and reach.
Two quick tips for posting videos on Facebook:
Vertical videos are the preferred way for media consumption by Facebook users
Facebook prefers videos uploaded directly to Facebook, as opposed to uploaded to another platform (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc.), so make sure you upload and share to Facebook rather than just sharing the link.
8. Polls and questions bring participation
What is engagement if not participation? Creating a poll or posing a thought-provoking question can benefit you in countless ways. It can give you some immediate audience research (you could literally ask them what they would like to see or hear more of), as well as bring some engagement. People love participating in polls, silly or serious.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
What is your go-to [product/service/vendor] for [this need]?
How do you [complete this action/find this thing/get this result]?
Do you agree with [recent event/notable statement/relevant person]?
Why do you like [this product/brand/event/person]?
Give it a try and see what happens.
9. Don’t expect engagement if you aren’t willing to reciprocate
Imagine this: you took the time to reply to one of your favorite small business’s pieces of posted content, and you never get any response. It happens again, and then maybe one more time. What do you do?
You might stop engaging with that business. And when you stop engaging with their content, you don’t see their content anymore as the algorithm adjusts to feed you what your brain likes.
Nobody wants to be ignored, and fans of your pet store appreciate the one-on-one attention both in-person and online. Sometimes all it takes is a comment or a reaction, and in other cases, further action is needed. Social media platforms have become the new frontier for customer service as customers reach out to brands for help, tips, issues, questions, concerns, or
Do you have somebody, or a team, in place to engage with your community? To respond to all comments or queries on your posts and in your inboxes? If not, you are probably losing valuable business. At Pet Engine Marketing, managing your pet store’s social media accounts is one of the core services we offer. Contact us today to see how we help pet stores bring in and retain customers on their social media platforms.
10. What gets measured gets improved
One of our sayings here at Pet Engine Marketing is that “what gets measured gets improved.” Our reporting dashboards track and monitor everything because if we’re not doing that, we’re just blindly putting things into the wind and hoping that we pick up on the learnings. Instead of that, our data-driven approach ensures that we’re looking backward to find out what works and what doesn’t with your audience.
Testing and measuring is a critical piece of any marketing strategy, and understanding the analytics behind is equally important to the optimization and refinement phases. If you’re not measuring and seeking to grow… what’s the point?
Your pet store social media platforms will have insights or analytics aggregators built into them. It’s your job (and ours!) to find the patterns in what makes a post resonate, engage, or convert and what doesn’t!
10 Ways to Increase Pet Store Social Media Engagement
Conclusion
With these 10 tips to increase your pet store’s social media engagement, hopefully, you were able to learn a few ways to get your audience out of their shell! Interested in learning more? Join our free Facebook group: Marketing Help for Pet Businesses to get advice, tips, ideas, and feedback from other pet-industry people looking to improve their marketing.
And if you’re ready for that phone call, give us a holler!
