The Best Pet Care Brands on Social Media
As a leading Belgium marketing agency, we love to watch brand behaviour on social media. Recently we looked at alcoholic drinks brands leading the way, even throughout global lockdowns. The Moondust team is excited about today’s topic because we’re looking at the best pet care brands on social media. We love our furry friends and so do most of you. With pet owners spending more than ever, this is a lucrative market. But which pet care brands are winning in the content and social media space?
Say hi to Snowy, Chief Cat Officer at Moondust
An Overview of The Pet Care Market
Before we get in the marketing zone, let’s look at the pet care market. When we reference pet care, we are including food, supplements, grooming, treats, toys, beds, accessories and even pet technology. We are not including the sale of live animals in our article.
The pet care market is fierce (grrrrrr) with brands like Mars, Colgate-Palmolive, Nestle S.A (Purina) and General Mills Inc (Bluebuffalo) competing aggressively for those pet dollars. Here’s the stats:
· The world pet care market value is expected to hit $269 billion by 2025. A rise in the adoption of pets and growing demand for premium care products are expected to drive market growth.
· Dogs are the most popular pet globally. 50 million households in the USA alone own at least one.
· 40% of pet industry customers are between the ages of 30 and 49.
· 60% of millennials say they buy jackets, sweaters, costumes, and other fashion products for their beloved pets.
· According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, an estimated 55% of dogs and cats in the United States are obese. This has spawned numerous diet products aimed at pets.
The Latest Pet Industry Trends
1. Proactive, healthy ingredients in pet food have become a massive trend in the pet industry. Think balanced athlete style nutrition for your furry friend.
2. Considering pets are perceived as members of the family, there’s a high demand for hotels and restaurants that allow pets through their doors.
3. The pet insurance industry is getting big. Owners are increasingly insuring their pets against injury to prevent large, unexpected vet bills.
4. Pet related technology. According to research, 69% of millennials use technology to keep track of their pets. Apps are allowing owners to monitor health habits, nutritional intake, and playtime.
5. New services and products for pets like taxis, kindergartens, hotels, theme parks and funeral services are constantly appearing on the market. And invariably they’re a success with pet owners willing to spend.
So, in this fiercely competitive space, who’s winning the battle on social media? Here are our top picks.
#1 Petco
With more than 50 years of service to pet parents, (their wording) Petco is a leading pet specialty retailer that sells a wide range of products for a wide range of pets. With an online store that’s neatly separated by pet type, this brand is firing on all marketing cylinders.
Petco has a strong presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. Around 50% of its Insta Stories include a “Swipe-Up” CTA and associated link. Key themes include influencer content, adoption events, contests and giveaways.
Marketing Takeaways
· Petco’s social media channels are feel-good spaces. With tons of photos and videos of their furry consumers, they really hit the spot.
· Huge kudos to Petco for emphasising the benefits of rescuing animals. #adoptdontshop is a huge movement on social media and we love the recognition it’s getting. Featuring owners and their pets is a great example of curated content. Pet owners love to show off their furbabies so it’s also a sure-fire win on engagement.
· We love the focus on pet care. Notice too, that Petco has its own veterinarians, something it is keen to showcase. If you have a pet care brand it’s a great idea to show off your scientific knowledge and provide care tips.
· On YouTube, Petco’s CEO is on a featured video addressing pet owners facing covid-19 challenges. This authentic and direct approach demonstrates that the company is listening and wants to be helpful
In fact, Petco’s focus on YouTube is on being helpful, with dog training videos and advice for new pet owners. Of course, they also sell the products mentioned in the videos, but it isn’t the focus.
· Petco is keen to get visitors to subscribe and incentivises that with tips, offers and resources. Email marketing is still a great way to retain customers and prompt spend. For every $1 you spend on emails marketing, you can expect an average return of $42.
· Instagram photo contests are huge. Something Petco knows only too well. They also understand the need for proper rules, terms and conditions and prizes. And with a top prize of $10,000, they’re not messing about. Petco has just launched its 2020 Halloween "Bootique" collection, offering on-trend costumes, toys and treats, and is sharing tips for a safe, fun and memorable Halloween with pets.
#2 Chewy
Chewy is a pet care brand offering a huge range of pet foods, medicines, toys, treats and accessories. The first thing we noticed is the emphasis on customer support with a 24/7 chat facility available. Important as 42% of consumers expect a response on social media within 60 minutes. As far as selected channels such as Facebook, 85% of consumers expect an answer to their questions within six hours, while 64% of Twitter users expect an answer within an hour!
Actually, employee advocacy is something the brand works hard at with a focus on great employee conditions designed to inspire great customer service.
Chewy is highly active on social media showcasing creativity, fun and excellent support.
Marketing Takeaways
· Chewy on Pinterest is completely absorbing. Entering a colourful world of dog boards, pet recipes, holistic pet health, cat toys and so much more.
By having specialised boards you can really dig into niche topics like pet stress and anxiety. This is such a valuable topic and the brand packs in so many great tips for pet owners.
· We love the gentle feel-good influencer marketing used by Chewy in tweets like this one. Gentle it may be but the call to action to visit the site and read the rest of the story is powerful. A huge takeaway is Chewy’s ability to drive traffic back to its site and products.
· Chewy uses hashtag #PetsBringUSTogether to share heart-warming, funny and unique pet and human interactions. We love this pinned video on Twitter which actually made us LOL.
· Social media is a two-way street and Chewy nails interaction with fun replies, gifs and emojis. Notice how fans are welcomed to the Chewy family… big love for this!
· Having an online pharmacy with information about ailments, symptoms and medicines makes perfect sense. With lockdowns in place and the spiralling cost of vet visits, many pet owners would choose to search and buy online with the right information. Of course, the ailments are minor and do not usually require a trip to the vets.
Descriptions are just as detailed as you would expect for human pharmaceuticals. A clear indication of the importance of professional pet care.
· Be timely with your promos. Pet owners are willing to spend budget on Halloween treats, costumes, and accessories but you need to give them time to purchase. Most Halloween purchases for example, take place 2-3 weeks before the actual date.
The beautifully segregated content makes it easy for pet owners to find what they want and purchase it. Today’s website visitors don’t want to waste time searching. In fact, your bounce rate is likely to be high if you don’t provide easily accessible information.
· Chewy are also running a Halloween (Howloween) contest on Insta, only this is a video one. The grand prize is a $1,000 Chewy eGift Card, plus a donation of 200 Halloween Chewy Goody Boxes to a shelter of the winner's choice. Awesome to see shelter donations being given as part of the prize!
· Chewy asks lots of questions and sparks interactive discussions with fans. This is great for engagement but more importantly for learning about audience behaviour. This is marketing gold because you can tailor future posts accordingly.
#3 Billy + Margot
Earlier we mentioned how pet food is becoming more elaborate. We’re talking organic, nutritionally balanced, and free from preservatives and additives. Enter Billy + Margot. Billy + Margot is a range of high-quality dog foods created by renowned canine nutritionist, Marie Jones. ‘Made in Britain’, the brand advertises their products to be made with wholesome ingredients, no preservatives, colourants or taste enhancers and wheat and dairy free.
The brand has a great “about us” page with a short video explaining what they’re about.
You could be forgiven for thinking you’d entered an organic farm shop or luxury wine site. But that’s the whole point. Billy + Margot is an exclusive brand aimed directly at discerning pet owners. Did we mention they have pet ice cream?
Marketing Takeaways
· Still on the dog ice cream, just look at how the content supports the healthy pet concept. In fact the brand is also transparent about its ingredients with entire sections dedicated to the product source.
And pet pics like this one make owners want to treat their own pets with an ice cream on a hot summer day! Tagging pet owners and asking for photos of pets enjoying your products is a winner!
· Active on Instagram, Billy + Margot provides pet care tips and nutritional advice. “Treating not tricking” is a smart Halloween twist.
· The company’s association with leading dog show Crufts is powerful. It shows that this is a quality brand that’s favoured by serious dog owners. We love the use of Insta Stories for going behind the scenes at the event! And talking of Insta stories, look at this live cookery demo from founder Marie Jones.
· Hyping new arrivals in your product line is important but so is explaining them. Posts like this explain, incentivise, and add a little FOMO to encourage fans to purchase. It’s also good to note the beautiful photography on all the page posts.
· Offering online discounts and promos is a great way to spark sales. Here’s one the brand posted on Facebook with a link to their online shop.
Special Mentions
Whilst not pet care brands as such, we can’t help but mention animal charities that have successfully utilised social media to help their cause. Rescue centres have tapped into social media, understanding that it’s key to rehoming abandoned animals and raising much needed funds.
Insta Posts like this from the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
Or this one from Battersea Dogs and Cats are vital for raising awareness, funds and new homes. Kudos to them all!
Top Pet Hashtags on Instagram
Want to get your pet brand seen on social media? Make sure you use the right hashtags. Here are the most popular ones.
#petcare #dogsofinstagram #pets #dogs #dog #pet #petsitter #cats #doglovers #petsofinstagram #dogwalker #doglover #cat #petlovers #catsofinstagram #petsitting #doggrooming #dogstagram #petcareservices #petstagram #dogwalking #animals #petgrooming #puppy #pethealth #dogoftheday #dogtraining #instadog #catlover #pethotel #dogcare #doggydaycare #dogfood #petlover #doggo #catlovers #animal #petphotography