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As a professional pet-sitting business owner you know the importance of laying a strong foundation for your business and having a strong business brand identity. Your local community should recognize your business logo and understand that your pet-sitting company offers the professional qualifications—such as being insured and bonded—that pet owners have come to expect.

But, don’t lose sight of the fact that people do business with people—and not companies. Pet sitting is a very personal business, perhaps more personal than almost any other in the service industry. Clients are giving you access to their homes and their beloved pets, so they want to feel like they know who they are allowing into their lives.

Familiarity breeds trust and fortunately there are quick and easy marketing techniques you can implement to “humanize” your pet-sitting business and build a stronger connection with your current and potential clients.

1. Include a good “About Me/Us” page on your website:

While your clients may be writing their check payments to XYZ Professional Pet Sitting, it’s you—the person—(or your staff sitters) they are entrusting with their most valuable possessions. So, more than likely, they want to at least know a little bit about you (or your staff). While being insured, bonded, background checked, etc. all go a long way in instilling trust, feeling that they know a little more about who will have access to their homes and pets can provide additional peace of mind. In your website’s About section, include a photo of you and photos of staff members, if applicable, along with a brief bio for each.

Be sure to include any relevant educational background or experience, but don’t be afraid to share some fun facts too—like your penchant for collecting miniature dog figurines or your frequent participation in mud runs or obstacle courses. Keep the content light, however—mentions of political affiliation, extremely personal details of your life or controversial topics are typically best left unmentioned on your website.

2. Share photos of you (and your staff):

Just say no to stock photos. Whenever possible, use real photos of you and your staff sitters (as well as the pets you care for, with clients’ permission) on your business website. Keep in mind that for your website, these photos will need to be high quality and are typically best taken by a professional photographer.  Stock photos—while high quality—can give an impersonal feel to your website (unless used very sparingly) and it also increases the chances that your website could be using photos in use by other pet sitters.

Your company’s social media pages offer the perfect opportunity share more photos of you (and your staff) with clients’ pets. Again, remember you have permission from clients before sharing photos of their pets on your website or on social media. Some pet-sitting contracts, such as the one sold in The Pet Sitter Shop, include this question but if your contract doesn’t, be sure to add it. While photos of you with your clients’ pets are a great addition to your social-media pages, consider including other photos that help clients and potential clients know more about your business—from photos of you volunteering for local causes, participating in community events or even staff meetings. Clients love an “inside look” at what you are doing with your business beyond what they see with their personal interactions with you. Posting photos offers a quick, easy way for you to create a connection with local pet owners following your social media accounts.

Copy Cat and Dog Care Pet Sitting does a great job of regular posting photos on social media. You can view their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/copycatdogcarepetsitting.

3. Share more videos:

Marketing studies show that video has become one of the most effective ways to capture and retain attention online. Using video on your site and social media accounts goes a step beyond photos and allows site visitors to feel a more immediate connection with you. Videos can put a face and voice to your business, which goes a long way in humanizing your company’s marketing efforts. Consider recording a video introducing yourself and quickly explaining the benefits of your services to use on your website’s About or homepage. Most smartphones and iPads can record video of high enough quality for website use. Keep the video short and casual—and having a pet with you is a great touch! A brief video introduces potential clients to the person behind your business and helps them feel like they know you, which can help foster trust and encourage them to use your services.

With new features like Facebook Live, it’s now easier than ever to incorporate video into your online marketing efforts. Social media should be used to create and foster relationships (as opposed to being “salesy” or pushy), and videos can help pet owners feel that they “know you” and increase their comfort using their services. You can use online videos to occasionally document dog walks or pet-sitting visits (again, only with clients’ permission), but you can also use video to share quick pet-care tips, business announcements and client reminders (book early for the holidays, etc.).

Photos and videos are beneficial in making a connection with potential clients, but these tools are also very effective in nurturing relationships with current clients. It’s not uncommon to rarely see your (human) client after the initial meet and greet, but videos can help you stay in touch (without reaching out to each client individually) and keep you on the minds of clients—which can encourage repeat business!

To view an example of how you can use video to personalize your website’s homepage, visit the Pet ‘n Nanny Pet Sitting website at www.petnnanny.com/.

These steps will help, but you must have a plan…

Updating your website, posting more photos and using video are marketing tactics you can implement right away, regardless of your business size or length of time in business. And while these efforts to humanize your business can be used with little financial investment, you do need to take time to make a plan. A major part of adding the human touch to your business is consistency—it’s about putting a face (or faces) to your business and building a relationship. Just as you wouldn’t call a friend or family member 10 times one day and then not reach out again for months, you don’t want your marketing efforts to humanize your business to be sporadic. So, set goals.

Just as you wouldn’t call a friend or family member 10 times one day and then not reach out again for months, you don’t want your marketing efforts to humanize your business to be sporadic.

Identify updates you need to make to your website—if you don’t have an About Me page, plan to add one in the next month. Then, identify a spouse, partner, staff member, colleague or friend who could record a video of you to post on your website’s homepage. Allow yourself time to write a brief script, then schedule a time to have it recorded.

For social media posts, decide how frequently you can consistently post. If, realistically, you know you only have time to post a photo or video on your Facebook page once a week, then go with that. Put the task on your calendar or appointment book and commit to posting once a week on the same day. If you enjoy social media and have time to post photos or quick Facebook Live videos daily, make that a goal; but be sure to give thought to what you plan to post and ensure that your photos or videos give followers more insight into your business, without compromising the security of your clients.

Bonus Tip: Have you updated your profile on PSI’s Pet Sitter Locator? When PSI’s new site was launched, the updated functionality provided members with new opportunities to personalize and “humanize” their listings on the Locator. If you haven’t already, be sure to update your profile to include both a profile image, as well as slideshow images.  Because so many online service-provider sites (both in and outside the pet industry) allow service providers to include multiple photos and information about themselves, consumers expect to be able to “get to know you” by your online profile. Your Locator listing offers you a free opportunity to tell pet owners more about you and your business—so don’t miss out on the Locator’s new features.