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A recent report by research firm Packaged Facts highlighted pet owners’ increased use of digital devices and how pet retailers are using social media—and online videos in particular—to engage with pet owners. PSI predicts this trend will extend to the professional pet-sitting industry as business owners look for new ways to connect with local pet owners and “humanize” their pet-care businesses.

According to PSI’s 2018 State of the Industry Survey, Facebook and Instagram are the top two platforms currently being used by professional pet sitters for business promotions. 

PSI expects more pet sitters begin to use new features (such as Facebook’s Facebook Live option) and will continue to use platforms such as Instagram—with its focus on photos and videos—to connect with current and potential clients in a more meaningful way.

Whether you are simply looking for any new, free way to market your pet-sitting services or if you are specifically looking for ways to expand your reach to millennials (the majority of Instagram users are under the age of 35), Instagram could be the perfect social-media platform for you to consider for your pet-sitting business.

What is Instagram?

Instagram is a free social-networking app that allows you to easily share photos and videos. Your posts can be shared publicly or privately, and Instagram also integrates with other apps such as Facebook. The app also lets you apply filters to your photos before posting. You can take photos or record short videos directly from the app—or you can upload photos and videos already taken from your smartphone. Because Instagram focuses on pictures and videos (no links), it is the perfect platform to share your photos of your pet clients and daily pet-sitting adventures.

How can you set up an Instagram account?

On your smartphone, search for Instagram in the app store. Once you’ve downloaded it, open the app and you’ll see the option to sign up. While it gives you the option to sign up via your Facebook account, many choose to sign up  with their e-mail address instead (your choice). You’ll then be prompted to enter your name (and since you’ll be using this for your business, use your business name instead of your personal name.)

You’ll also be asked to create your username. Again, your username should relate to your business name.

You’ll see in this example that Pawsh Pet Services used the full business name as the name, and used “pawshpet” as the username. 

This will set up what is considered a personal account (which you have to do first), but then you have the option to convert your account to a business account.

Converting your account to a business account is free, and it has many benefits—it allows users to contact you directly from Instagram and you'll also be able to see insights regarding who views your Instagram stories, etc.

This video provides step-by-step instructions for converting your profile to a business account.

What are hashtags?

Hashtags are very popular—and extremely important on Instagram. For those not familiar with hashtags, they are a word or phrase preceded by the hash or pound sign (#) used with social media sites to help tag, label or categorize a post or image. For social media users, it enables their content to be found by others looking for posts related to a specific topic or in a specific area, and it enables them to find content that would be of interest to them. For example, you may have seen PSI use the hashtag #petsitterlife to tag our posts related to our #petsitterlife campaign. You’ve likely seen other hashtags such as #Tip Tuesday, #FollowFriday or even #MCM (Man Crush Monday) used frequently on sites like Facebook and Instagram. By clicking on the hashtag, you can access others who have posted content with the same hashtag.

How can Instagram benefit your pet-sitting business?

One of the benefits of Instagram is that you can use the platform to find pets and pet owners in your local area. 

Using Instagram hashtags to find local pet owners and potential clients:

For example, if you live in Austin, Texas, start by searching for the hashtag #Austin.  You’ll see in this screenshot then when I searched for this particular hashtag, I was able to see posts by pet owners right away. The users with pets in their photos are likely pet owners, which means they could be potential clients. So, follow these accounts! They’ll likely be interested in seeing who their new follower is and follow you back. This enables you to build an online connection with a potential new client, or at the very least someone who could refer your business to someone else.

Also be sure to take a closer look at the images under your city’s hashtag that include pets to see if there are any other hashtags they use. For example, when searching photos tagged with #Austin, I also found a photo that used the hashtag #caninesofAustin. Searching this hashtag resulted in finding accounts for even more people who were posting photos of their pets—and were from Austin.

UPDATE: As of December 2017, Instagram now allows users to follow hashtags (and not just individual accounts). So, be sure to follow the hashtags that are relevant to your business and area, so it is even easier for you to find accounts of people who are posting pet photos in your area.

Using Instagram's geotagging feature to find local pet owners and potential clients:

In addition to hashtags, Instagram users can also geotag their photos. This simply means that they can indicate their location when the photo is posted—this geotag can be for a city, but even for a specific neighborhood or business location.  You’ll see in this example that the poster included the geotag, so you can see “Austin, Texas” above the image. Instagram allows you to click on that tag (the city, state) to find even more local Instagram users who may not have used a particular hashtag, but have indicated where they are located through the geotag—so search the geotag also and look for photos that include pets.

Again, these Instagram users could be potential clients. So follow them too.

But, don’t just follow them—be sure to like photos they post of their pets—and even comment occasionally, when appropriate. This online interaction allows pet owners to become more familiar with your local business—and increases the likelihood that they will take the next step in learning more about your services when they need pet care.

Using hashtags and geotagging on your Instagram posts

Just as you can find local pet owners through their hashtags and geotagging, you want to make sure that pet owners can find your pet-sitting company’s posts through geotagging and hashtags. So, how can you make sure your company is easy to find on Instagram?

Geotagging your company’s Instagram posts:

When you post on Instagram, be sure to use the geotagging feature to “add location” to your posts. If you happen to have a physical business location (not your home address), you can use this address as your location in your posts. However, if you are like most pet sitters (without a physical building for your business), consider using your city. While Instagram does allow you to geotag specific neighborhoods, make sure that your geotagging is never so specific that it could put your clients’ privacy at risk or possibly alert criminals that clients in specific neighborhoods are out of town. But, simply using your city name enables your posts (and your business) to be found by others in the same city.

While you may not be able to tag your specific business as the location in your Instagram posts, you can take advantage of other businesses you frequent or support that do have physical business locations. If you are at your local veterinarian’s office or local pet store—or even stopping by for lunch at your favorite local diner—geotagging those posts for those specific locations will enable your posts to be found by other local users who may visit the same locations.

Using hashtags with your company’s Instagram posts: 

As we discussed earlier, searching local hashtags for your city and then other pet-specific hashtags for your city (#Austin and #caninesofAustin, as examples) can help you find local pet owners, using these hashtags in your posts can also enable pet owners to find your posts—and you. Be sure to make note of any common location-specific and pet-related posts you find pet owners in your area commonly using, and use these in the captions and comments for your Instagram posts.

You should also consider creating and using a hashtag specific to your pet-sitting business in your posts—such as #ABCPetSitting or #ABCPetSittersofAustin. Regularly using your “custom hashtag” in your posts will help pet owners associate this hashtag with your business and you can even encourage clients to use the hashtag. For example, select a “pet of the week” or select a winner for a free pet-sitting visit from clients who tag their pet photos with your hashtag. Followers of your clients will see your hashtag, which will lead them back to your pet-sitting company’s posts and Instagram account.

Are you already using Instagram for your pet-sitting business? Comment below with your Instagram account links and let us know if Instagram is working for your professional pet-sitting business.