⌚ Estimated reading time: 30 minutes.
Whether you're on Instagram for fun or with sky-high ambitions to make your dog 🌎 world famous 📸; In this dogfluencer guide you will learn everything you need to know about Instagram and growing your dog's account.
Take @reef.thehusky. He now has 24k + followers and is growing fast. How do you go from taking cute snapshots of your dog to an influencer account like Reef's, where you get sponsored products, such as a Christmas present for your dog? 🎁
👉 Check out the profile of Reef
Before you read on; fill your dog's water bowl and grab a ☕ cup of coffee, because this blog post has over 2,500 words to teach you everything you need to know.
To be successful with your account, it is important that you first know more about Instagram, the company, their strategy and how you can use that knowledge to boost your channel. 🚀
Instagram, part of the company Facebook, is a website and free mobile app for exchanging digital photos and videos. The photos and videos can be digitally filtered and exchanged on social networks, such as that of Instagram itself.
People respond very well to images. We prefer to interpret visual information about the processing of written words or audible signals.
This is why visual marketing (and influencer marketing in particular) has soared in recent years. It is also the reason why Instagram is so popular.
Below is a simple breakdown of Instagram's strategy.
🎯 What is the purpose of Instagram?
Creating value for shareholders.
🤔 How do they do that?
Serve as many relevant advertisements as possible to users.
💰 How do they earn more from ads?
When users stay on the website longer and come back more often.
👩 How do they ensure that users stay longer and come back more often?
Immersive content. Currently videos and stories.
🙄 How do you use the above to your advantage?
If you want to maximize the reach of your Instagram dog account, it is wise to bet on content that Instagram likes to see; video and stories. Chances are that Instagram's algorithm will give you more reach, because your approach is in line with the company's overall strategy.
What could be more fun than taking beautiful photos and videos of your dog every day? 🥰 Spending a lot of time with your dog and having adventures together creates a better bond between you together.
If you maintain an Instagram account for your dog, you also document your dog's life at the same time. When your dog dies, you can, for example, make a photo book of all the beautiful adventures you have experienced.
Advertising via social media is getting more expensive for companies every year. Of course, this also applies to companies in the dog industry. That is why there are more and more companies that bet on dogfluencer marketing, sponsoring medium to large Instagram accounts with products and / or services in exchange for promotion.
Which Dutch-speaking companies often sponsor
There are many companies that sponsor Instagrammers to get closer to their target audience.
Snuffelbox (from 5.000 followers)
Sign up for the Instadogs NL & BE Facebook group of Snuffelbox.
Edgar & Cooper (terms unknown)
Usually asks for a nice photo with their brand in the picture but not too conspicuous. Sometimes an entry in a story or a giveaway is discussed.
Hupple(terms unknown)
Hupple is a Belgian brand that makes many other products in addition to dog biscuits.
Smoofl(terms unknown)
Smoofl is a new Belgian brand with tasty and healthy snacks for your loyal dog. They also have nice ice cream mixes.
Beeztees (terms unknown)
Beeztees is a Dutch brand in high-quality toys and accessories for dogs and cats. They mainly have toys and accessories and less snacks.
If you grow a really large account it is also possible to make money from mail. Earnings per mail vary widely between accounts based on the following variables:
Variables that determine your earnings:
The number of followers of the account;
The involvement of the followers of the account (much or little interaction);
The location of the followers;
The product or service being promoted;
The budget of the company that sponsors or advertises;
The favor factor of the influencer towards the advertiser.
Earnings in the US
Aside from these variables, you will hear that American dog fluencers receive the following amounts for sponsored posts:
0 to 100,000 followers: mainly free products and services;
100,000 to 250,000 followers: $ 1,000 to $ 2,500 per post;
250,000 to 500,000 followers: $ 2,500 to $ 5,000 per post;
500,000 to 1 million followers: $ 5,000 to $ 10,000 per post;
1 Million + Followers: Over $ 10,000 per post.
The vast majority of accounts are below 100,000 followers, where competition is fierce and therefore not often paid for posts. Exceptions. As soon as you get over 100,000 followers, you start to stand out more and you see that - relatively speaking - companies are more likely to pay for posts.
It is advisable to process the name of your dog or the breed of your dog in the account name, for the findability and recognisability of your account.
The profile picture of your channel appears in several places. That is why it is important that the profile photo appeals to you to click, so that people visit your profile.
Emoji's for dogs 🐕🐶🦮🐕🦺🐩🐾💩🦴🐺🦊
Link to your website.
What are hashtags?
Hashtags categorize the posts on Instagram. When you click on a hashtag, you will see how many posts are tagged with that hashtag. Conversely, when you use a hashtag in your post, you will be discovered by other Instagram users searching for that hashtag.
For optimal results, post popular dog hashtags that are relevant to your post. #dog is fine, but #love is way too broad and has hardly any effect due to the competition.
Why use hashtags?
When you use hashtags properly, your account will be more visible to other dog lovers on Instagram.
How many hashtags can you use?
At the time of writing up to 30 hashtags per post, but according to research, that does not give the best result. We will go into that in more detail.
How do you use hashtags optimally?
Socialinsider published a large survey in August 2019 in which they examined 649,895 posts from more than 6,700 accounts on Instagram results. These conclusions are relevant to you:
General conclusions (however big the account is)
Post engagement is higher for posts with hidden hashtags * in the caption and visible hashtags in the first comment.
Aside from crafting creative hashtags, try to use hashtags that have at least 5,000 posts.
Posts with 30 hashtags (maximum at time of research) did not have the greatest reach
Up to 5,000 followers
Using hashtags at all has - relatively speaking - the most effect on the reach of your posts in this period;
Hashtags in the caption works better versus hashtags in the first comment below the post;
No more than 6 hashtags in the caption;
Visible hashtags instead of hidden hashtags in the caption seems to give 2% to 5% more reach;
Placing hashtags in the first comment now results in an average of two to three extra comments on your posts. Visible hashtags in the first comment score up to 90% better than hidden hashtags.
5,000 to 10,000 followers
Posts with 5 hashtags in the first comment got the most reach;
Hidden hashtags instead of visible hashtags in the caption seem to give about 20% to 25% more reach;
Placing hashtags in the first comment now results in an average of about two extra comments on your posts. Visible hashtags in the first comment score up to 70% better than hidden hashtags.
10,000 to 50,000 followers
Posts with 2 hashtags in the first comment got the most reach;
Hidden hashtags instead of visible hashtags in the caption seem to give about 2% to 5% more reach;
Placing hashtags in the first comment now results in an average of about two extra comments on your posts. Hidden hashtags in the first comment score up to 55% better than visible hashtags.
50,000 to 100,000 followers
Posts with 8 hashtags in the first comment got the most reach;
Hidden hashtags instead of visible hashtags in the caption seem to give about 20% to 25% more reach;
Placing visible hashtags in the first comment now averages one extra comment on your posts.
100,000+ followers
It is now slightly better to put hashtags in the first comment below the post than in the caption of the post itself;
Post with six hashtags in the first comment got the most reach;
Hidden hashtags instead of visible hashtags in the caption seem to give about 65% more reach.
What are hidden Instagram hashtags?
Hiding hashtags sounds more complicated than it is. It simply comes down to entering "dot + enter" a number of times, right after your caption, before posting. After that, the hashtags are not immediately visible, but only when someone opens the entire caption.
You can see an example below:
Popular dog hashtags - general
Following are the most popular general dog hashtags. You can in fact always use it, but we recommend combining it with highly relevant hashtags such as breed-specific hashtags (#goldenretriever).
#dogsofinstagram #dogs #instadog #dogstagram #pet #doglover #dogoftheday #pets #doglovers #doggo #ilovemydog #doglife #doggy #hund #animals #petstagram #dogsofinsta #doglove #rescuedog #cutedog #cachorro #petsofinstagram #lovedogs #happydog #perro #dogsofinstaworld #dogsofig #dogphotography #instapet #mydog #hundeliebe #whatthefluff #ellenratemydog #snootchallenge #weeklyfluff #dogsofbark #fortheloveofpets #pawz #whatthefluffchallenge #womansbestfriend #9gagcute #mydogismy #petzzrule #todayfanphoto #petoftheday #marthastewartpets #asmreating #asmrfood #viralvideo #icanteven #mydogismy #barked #mydog
Popular hashtags for puppy's
#puppy #puppylove #puppys #puppyoftheday #puppygram #puppygram #puppylover #puppylife #instapuppy #cutepuppy #puppytrip #pupflix #pup #puppies #puppiesofinstagram
There are also dog hashtags that are often used on specific weekdays.
Monday
- #MuttButtMonday
- #MuttCrushMonday
- #MuttMonday
Tuesday
- #TongueOutTuesday (#TOT)
- #TuesdaySnoozeday
Breed specific
- #TerrierTuesday
Wednesday
- #HumpDay
- #WaterDogWednesday
- #WetDogWednesday
- #WayBackWednesday of #WBW
- #WetNoseWednesday
- #WhiskerWednesday
- #WoofCrushWednesday (who is your dog in love with this week?)
- #WoofWednesday, of #WoofWoofWednesday
Breed specific
- #WeimWednesday
- #WestieWednesday
Thursday
- #Fursday
- #ThrowbackThursday of #TBT (herinneringen aan het verleden)
- #ThankfulThursday
Friday
#FlashbackFriday (voor het geval je #WBW of #TBT hebt gemist)
#FurryFriday
Breed specific
#FrenchieFriday
Saturday
We couldn't find any. Suggestions? Pass them on through our chat.
Sunday
We couldn't find any. Suggestions? Pass them on through our chat.
Breed specific
- #SiameseSunday
Increase the visibility of your dog's Instagram account by creating a profile on Dogfluence.com (this website).
Like and respond to posts from others. Platforms like Instagram increasingly value comments, so make sure to respond to posts more than half the time. With this you achieve the following:
When you post comments you stand out better than when you give a heart. It gives people the opportunity to visit your profile and start following you;
When you interact, other users are also more likely to do the same to you. A lot of interaction on your posts means (on average) more visibility for future posts;
In general, Instagram values accounts that show real interaction (comments) more, making your posts visible sooner.
Contact companies and (Etsy) creators to discuss collaborations. To make it easy for you, we have written a standard email to which companies respond well:
Sample email for Dogfluencer sponsorship requests
"Dear [name],
My dog [dog name] ([dog age]) and I are very active on Instagram. Of course we do that because we like it, but we also have the ambition to grow our account.
[your best Instagram photo with your dog]
Our goal is to have at least [number of followers] by the end of [year] and I am looking for partners who - just like us - would also like to grow on Instagram.
We think it would be great fun to recommend your products to our followers. Are you open to a collaboration, where we organize a give-away together that helps us both grow our reach?"
For example, ask people to follow three accounts and tag three friends under the post and include your action in their story so that it gets more exposure.
Apps
- Snapseed (of Lightroom op PC)
There are also special Instagram accounts that organize follow loops.
Followloop accounts
@lewis_golden
@olivethedingodog
@caro.and.me
@reef.thehusky
@jiffpom
@itsdougthepug
@tunameltsmyheart
@marniethedog
@rafaelmantesso
French Bulldog
Pug
Chihuahua
English bulldog
Labrador Retriever
Golden Retriever
Siberian Husky
Dachshund
Pomeranian
Yorkshire terrier
Poodle
Beagle
Shiba Inu
Shih Tzu
Border Collie
To make a rough estimate, we have done the following:
1. Looked up the number of active Instagram accounts per country;
2. Looked at what percentage of the population has a dog per country;
3. Estimated the number of active Instagram accounts that a dog has per country;
4. Estimated number of active Instagram dog accounts per country, based on the assumption that 5% of dog owners create an Instagram account for their dog (based on a survey of 11,000+ dog owners by Snuffelbox).
Dogclaimer: the following list is only an estimate and some countries such as 🇦🇺 Australia, for example, are not included because no figures were available.
🇺🇸 United States - 1.2 million
🇧🇷 Brazil - 315,000
🇷🇺 Russia - 130,000
🇬🇧 United Kingdom - 126,000
🇲🇽 Mexico - 100,000
🇯🇵 Japan - 70,000
🇹🇷 Turkey - 20,000
🇮🇩 Indonesia - 20,000
🇮🇳 India - 15,000
🇮🇷 Iran 14,000
The above countries represent 421 million of the 1 billion monthly active Instagram accounts (42.1%). If you extrapolate this, you come to a total estimate of about 4.8 million dog accounts on Instagram.
Do you want to get products sponsored or earn money with your posts? Companies are always looking for influencers who fit their brand.
Dogfluence is a platform that matches Dogfluencers with Brands. Make sure you can be found and register your dog on Dogfluence.com.
Love to try new products? Join thousands of dogfluencers and get your dog sponsored by the best brands in the industry!
REGISTER MY CHANNEL