Branding your Facebook Page
This is something you want to spend time getting right. Don’t just rush into throwing up any old picture you have on your phone. They should be well thought out and professionally written/branded to your company.
Starting with the essentials for awesome Facebook page
Images
Every image you post on your Facebook page that you have created should be branded with your company logo and where possible should follow the colours and theme of your brand. So if your logo is blue and red then try and incorporate blue and red on the text overlay of your images. Make sure that when someone sees a piece of content that is yours they immediately recognise the ‘brand’.
This does take time, as you probably have content you have already created and used, but that’s okay. Just start taking the time now to create you brand image.
What to Post on Facebook
When you think about what you want to post on Facebook, try to follow the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of posts should entertain, inform, and make your followers smile. Twenty percent can be talking about your business and what you have to offer.
The following 10 post types should be shared at different times on your page. Try to mix up your content to keep your followers interested in what you are posting.
Blog Posts
You need to create your own content to post on social media. By creating your own blog posts, you can actually drive traffic back to your website and get people to see and read more about you and your business.
Please see the Blogging For Beginners e-book to find out more about blogging for your pet business.
A dog’s ears, like our own, must be maintained regularly to protect against infection and other potential problems....
Posted by Pet Sitters Ireland on Sunday, July 26, 2015
News Stories
Popular news stories can be a great way to increase your organic reach. If Facebook sees that this article was popular elsewhere it will show it to more of your followers.
I would be careful about the type of articles you share –often the most popular stories may not be the most cheerful. Whilst you want to inform and to educate, you also want your Facebook to be a place where people enjoy being.
I wouldn't feel happy leaving my dogs outside Ikea unless it was supervised ...someone might take your dog! What do you think? ~Kate
Posted by Pet Sitters Ireland on Sunday, July 19, 2015
Questions
Asking questions is a great way to generate interaction. You can ask your followers anything relating to their pets. Where do you like to take your dog for a walk? What’s your cat’s favourite place to nap? Dogs in the bed? Yes or No?
If you are going to ask your followers a question then you need to reply to every comment. Not just like them, but actually reply with a personalised written comment.
Did your dog ever eat your homework #school
Posted by Pet Sitters Ireland on Monday, August 10, 2015
Does your cat or dog follow you around the house?
Posted by Pet Sitters Ireland on Monday, August 3, 2015
A step further to success with some extra content!
These are one of the most shared types of posts on Facebook. For a pet business, there are so many inspirational cat and dog quotes that you can share as text or image updates. I would recommend creating Facebook size images with the quotes overlaid on them for maximum results. If the images are striking, the quote something people can relate to and they are branded then they will be a huge hit. People will share them with their friends and family – meaning your company name gets in front of more pet parents!
Note – if you want to purchase branded images for your Facebook page, visit Shop .
Pet Pictures
I would keep this to a minimum. The only people who really are interested in these are the owners of the pets. Why not create a weekly Facebook gallery of pictures that you can share? Like a Fun Photo Friday? Or you could use Canva to create a collage of images to post as a status update. It’s nice to show pictures of the pets you care for, but keep it as one part of your social media strategy.
Tip: Always get permission from Pet Parents to post pictures of their pets. You could have a release form as part of your sign up process.
Infographics
Done well these can get a lot of shares on social media. Think about Infographics that will interest your ideal customers. For example, 10 Foods You Should Never Feed Your Dog or 5 Games You Can Play With Your Cat. People love lists and tips and will share them with friends. You can also use them in your blog posts.
They need to be clear and professional looking though. You could hire someone from Fiverr to create one for you or you can now use Canva to create them yourself. There are a few templates on there that you can pick from.
Make sure they are clear and simple, not cluttered and branded with your company colours.
NoseOfTralle***Watch our 2015 Nose Of Tralee Entries*** Have you voted for your favourite yet? Visit www.NoseOfTralee.com
Posted by Pet Sitters Ireland on Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Video
Uploading short videos direct to your Facebook page can be great for engagement. Keep them short though. Most people are on Facebook on their mobile and won’t sit to watch a 10 minute video.
They need to serve a purpose or be funny. You should be informing, educating or entertaining people.
For example, if you had a short video of a dog playing in the pool then you could add text overlay saying we can play pool games with your dog. Or maybe you were answering a question about what we do at a meet and greet, which includes footage of you doing those things. Try to make sure that people can get the message from the video without sound – as often people won’t be in the position to have sound on.
Make sure at the end of the video there is a CTA. What do you want people to do? Do you want them to contact you to find out more? Then you need to tell them that at the end of the video. Seems obvious, huh? But people often forget that bit!
Curated Content
This is basically other people’s content that you think your followers would enjoy. I know you are probably thinking why would I share other people’s content on my page? Well, the reason you do this is because it makes people see you as an authority in your area of expertise.
People will see you as the go to person with the latest news on what is happening in the pet industry.
- You can share the other content directly to your Facebook page and use the status update to give your thoughts on the content.
- You can write your own blog post and reference the other content and opinions.
There are benefits of doing both. Obviously we want to drive people back to our own site, but sometimes you just don’t have time to jump on a news story and write about it so just share the article someone else has written. If you think though that the story is going to have longevity then you should take time to create something of your own that people will share.
Surely this should be jail time? I'm shocked.
Posted by Pet Sitters Ireland on Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Fun Facts
These can be done as status updates or as text overlay on images. I like them on images as I think they are more striking and more likely to get shared.
Please make them fun though! No one wants to read a long boring fact – they want something that’s funny, cute, or unusual. And don’t over-post them – one a week is more than enough, it’s just another type of social media post not your entire strategy. Also try to make them timely. For example, a fact about dogs and chocolate is very good to post around Easter.
Example of a Good Fun Fact:
When a cat winks (blinks) at you it means he trusts and love you.
This will get people talking as when you post it you can say –Does your cat do this to you? Mine does!
Dogs don’t like rain because the sound is amplified and hurts their very sensitive ears.
Does the rain bother your dog? Or do they love it?
This, however, is not a fun fact:
The lion is the king of the cats. It stands out from the other cats, not just in its distinctive appearance but also in being the only feline that lives in organized social groups. Adult male lions weigh up to 225kg (500 lb) and grow up to 3m (10 ft) in body length.
It’s too long. It’s not really that interesting unless you have an interest in lions and it doesn’t start a conversation.
Check out some interesting Fun Cat and Dog Facts below and if you are not sure if they are Good Fun Facts or Bad Fun Facts then comment in my private Facebook group and I will let you know!
Pet Care Tips
Remember, we want to be useful to our ideal clients. We want to be their go to source for information about their pets. Pet Care Tips could be about looking after your pets; for example, 5 Tips to Groom Your Dog At Home or 5 Foods Your Cat Will Love.
You could do them over a series of five days to create some anticipation of the next tip coming or you could do them all in one image as an infographic.
I wouldn’t overwhelm people with too much information on a Facebook sized image post as the image can end up looking very cluttered. However, an infographic is perfect for 5 tips at once.
As with the fun facts, make sure your pet care tips are interesting. Everything you create you should stop and think “Would I take time to read this?” And if the answer is “no” then don’t create/post it.
Your dog just doesn’t want to take his medication. And, who can blame him? Maybe it tastes bad. Or, maybe he just doesn’...
Posted by Pet Sitters Ireland on Wednesday, 26 August 2015
One of our Facebook ad images.
Why Hire You
These are promotional posts about your business and, as I mentioned before, should not account for more than 20% of your overall posts.
They should also not be too promotional. Instead, think about your services and make a list things that your service offers your customers – the “What’s In It For Them Factor.”
So instead of saying we check your house and bring in your mail and close and open your curtains, etc. Why not say that you give them peace of mind with your range of home security checks?
I care more about home security as a whole than knowing everything you do – do you want your home to be secure? YES!
Are you interested in a post all about how you gather the mail and where you leave it, and how great you are for doing that? Not really!