Category: Creator’s Academy

Tips & Tricks on how to create great content, negotiating with brands and pricing your account

Categories
Creator's Academy

How to Improve Videos and Views on TikTok

Continuing from our Tip-Top TikTok Tips, Part 4 of our TikTok introduction will touch on three more tips that will improve your videos. Make your videos that much more polished and — by extension — more likely to be viewed by others on TikTok with these tips.

Plan Your Videos First

While some viral TikToks are born from absolute spontaneity, not everyone will have such an incredible stroke of luck. The most consistent way to make a good TikTok video is to first plan what you’re going to say and do. 

Long, unnecessary pauses and stammering in a video are huge turn-offs for viewers. And if you don’t have a clear image of what your sketch is about, you will end up doing retakes and end up feeling like “it’s not what I’m looking for” without knowing what your video is supposed to look like. Instead, show that you know what you’re doing; plan how your sketch will look from scene to scene. Not only will it help you, but it’ll also help your pawpal too. Pets may not have as much attention span to do repeated takes for a photo (let alone a video) and are likely to lose interest. Cats are especially temperamental, and won’t be as willing to entertain you if you test their patience for too long.

Practise, Practise, Practise

If you see a pawsome #PetTok out there and think, “No way my pawpal can do that, it’s too complicated!”, don’t beat yourself up about it. Chances are this Pet TikTok did not record their video in one take anyway. Especially where our furry friends are concerned, no video is perfect on the first take. Rehearse with yourself first how you will be carrying it out, then train your pawpal to do the thing.

@scottyhubs

WAP Dance but with a Dog 😂 #MeTime #wap #dog #fyp

♬ WAP（feat. Megan Thee Stallion） – Cardi B
@scottyhubs

On the other hand, candid TikTok challenges that you do with your pawpal do just as well when it’s not rehearsed. That’s because candid TikToks are supposed to show off their honest reactions. So bloopers and bad takes won’t seem like such a bad thing now, do they?

@betty_and_bean

Betty & Bean:TikTok vs. Reality #bettyandbean #tiktokvsreality #behindthescenes #bts #dogmeme #funnydogvideo #dogsoftiktok #fyp #keepitreal #dogsfunny

♬ original sound – Matty Chymbor
@betty_and bean

Your Pet Isn’t Mute, They Just Can’t Speak Hooman

But wouldn’t it be neat if they did? Save for maybe pet whisperers, pet owners all over the world scratch heads at the age-old question: What is on your pawpal’s mind? Make your pet relatable not only to other furry friends, but also to humans! Capture their emotions with human vocabulary and caption them in the video. On TikTok you can go even further and give your pawpal and audible voice with the Voiceover function. Alternatively, you can use the text-to-speech feature to have a computer-generated narration for your captions.

@hammyandolivia

In the popcorn line of fire #dogsoftiktok #funny #war #fyp

♬ original sound – Hammy & Olivia Corgi
@hammyandolivia

Now that you know…

It’s important to stress that TikTok is wildly experimental. However, it also means you will be seeing content of all levels of polished, organic or otherwise. As a pet influencer, it is recommended to produce content that is more put-together, and spend more time rehearsing to minimise retakes. Look forward to seeing your videos on our For You page!

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

Follow Pawjourr on TikTok to catch our whacky shenanigans!

Categories
Creator's Academy

Tip-Top TikTok Tips

Pictures with my sweet little puppies

Welcome back to Part 3 of our TikTok introduction! Learning TikTok’s functions have given you more confidence to make new videos, and you have probably recorded a few videos of your pawpals. So now is the best time to polish your content so you can reach more viewers on TikTok. Here are three tips that may sound simple, but will really go a long way!

Hashtag Etiquette

Hashtags are an important part of getting your TikTok noticed by others on their For You Page. Some TikToks as you might have noticed have even used #fyp (For You Page) and #ForYou. Before you go ahead with any of that, you should first use the hashtags that are relevant to your content. Popular hashtags to get you started would be:

  • #PetsOfTikTok ( 32.1B views) 
  • #DogsOfTikTok (86.7B views)
  • #Cat (132.4B views)
@unfinishedtailss

🥺 #catsoftiktok #cat #fyp #foryou #fypシ #britishshorthair

♬ Cutest Pet on the Internet – Alto Key
@unfinishedtailss

Mind The Time

TikTok may have the upper hand against Instagram in terms of video duration, but a long video is a double-edged sword. On one hand, the one minute limit allows you to show more of your pawpal being an absolute cinnamon roll (or troublemaker). On the other hand, TikTok users might not want to sit through a full 60 seconds without a good payoff. 

With that in mind, a *better* TikTok needs two things:

  1. A hook to keep them wanting to know what’s about to happen. The easiest way to make a hook is to time it with a song’s chorus or beat drops. 
  2. Quick transitions. An introduction scene should not last longer than 3 seconds.

The best TikToks have a good sense of timing and are short enough for people to want to watch it again immediately.

@muccu888

柴犬ってなんでこんな可愛いのかな？🥺#柴犬 #ペットのいる暮らし #犬といる暮らし

♬ オリジナル楽曲 – J – ﾃﾞｨﾙﾄﾞ18号
@muccu888

Be Content With Your Content

While it is always good to experiment…

Fortune favours the brave. Likewise, TikTok favours the bold. Keep exploring new formats to play with your pawpal. Because the app also shows you TikToks that you might resonate with at the For You Page, you’re likely to find a video you like and would want to replicate. Not sure what kind of content you want to do? TikTok showcases new trends as Hashtag Challenges. While the only challenge is making the hashtag relatable to your pawpals, the only reward is more views and more content for your profile. The featurette does not limit itself to hashtags, it also shows trending music and trending stickers effects!

Weekly Hashtag Challenge

…Having a niche is okay too.

Did you find a type of content that your pawpal is really good at? Stick to it! If you’ve found a format that works for your pawpal, you can use it as a base and make content centered around it. A popular doggo on TikTok, @harlso, is really good at balancing things on his head. He is so adept at it, that users flock to his account just to see what else he can balance!

@harlso

I cant believe I didnt take off! #helicopter #dog #dachshund #fyp

♬ Helikopter – Fazlija
@harlso

Now that you know…

Always remember that TikTok is a wildly experimental platform. The sky’s the limit to what you can do! Keep looking through the Discover page to find ideas, and the For You page to find out what pawpals you like are doing. Have a look at our TikTok account to see how we tackle new trends in content creation!

People photo created by gpointstudio 

Categories
Creator's Academy

Exploring TikTok Functions

For our second instalment of introducing TikTok, we will be going through the core functions in content creation when using the app. For those inexperienced and nervous about breaking into a new app, TikTok works a slightly different niche — community videos with strong collaborative potential. Videos created on TikTok are made with the idea that everyone can attempt to replicate or put their own spin on it, thus creating endless chances to become popular. So let’s look at the modes that you can use to make your videos more interesting.

Discover

First off is the Discover tab. This is the one-stop spot for finding new ideas for content to create with your pawpal. TikTok’s Discover feature sorts out all TikTok videos according to hashtags, filters and sounds. A sound that’s been used a lot will appear as its own category on the Discover page so that you can see what kind of content the sound pairs well with. Likewise, a filter that’s been used a lot will appear as its own category as well.

The Discover tab

One of these said effects is GIF Customiser, which runs a timer to take four shots and display them as a gif video. The appeal in it lies in the effect’s other function — recording the behind-the-scenes process of the gif. Pawpals in this video get the spotlight, of course. Just look at how clueless they are during the whole process!

@kageihina

少し痛い👃✒️

♬ Witch Doctor – kingcupbkk
@kageihina
@lucasandlunarcutecats

Lolll not that easy for my cat 🤣🥲 #cat #fyp #catsoftiktok

♬ Witch Doctor – kingcupbkk
@lucasandlunarcutecats

“Use this sound”

Combining audio samples with a particular video style for a shoot is also a good way to get noticed, especially so when the trend was started by hoomans. A recent trend was “Infinity” by James Young, where TikTokers would hold a ring light behind them to create a halo and silhouette, outlining their body contours. Among the many parodies and alternative takes, pet TikTokers managed to fit in just fine and use the ring light in their own ways.

@steveioe

Had to hop on the trend 😆. MuFKR crew necks are on sale now! Link in Bio #MuFKR

♬ Infinity – Jaymes Young
@steveioe
@inkstaboy

😇😇😇 ig – inkstaboy 🐱 #catsoftiktok #foryoupage #fyp

♬ Infinity – Jaymes Young
@inkstaboy

Duet

Record a video of yourself while another video is playing on the side/top/bottom/behind you. That’s all it is. While deceptively simple, the Duet function allows a lot of room for creativity. A Duet can be used to present images like you would a presentation, to do pet ownership or pet health TikToks. Alternatively, you can create a narrative from someone else’s TikTok. A normal video like your pawpal sitting at the dinner table with wine could look unassuming, but leave it to TikTok to find a way to make a story out of it.

@annaolala

♬ original sound – ICONIC AUDIO
@annaolala
@yoleendadong

#duet with @annaolala can’t trust these stray cats 🐈 #catbar #atthebar #weddingsinger

♬ original sound – ICONIC AUDIO
@yoleendadong

Stitch

If you’re making TikTok content to answer someone else’s video, then stitching would be an easy method to do so. Stitching allows you to use a clip from the video (or just the entire video) to start, then follow up with your own clip immediately after. Pawrents like you can share pet ownership stories using this method of prompt and response.

@mree63

#stitch with @thebudgieacademy this sounds made up but I swear to you it’s true. #dogsofttiktok #dog #animalconditioning #pettok

♬ original sound – Mree63
@mree63

Now that you know…

To be honest, the best way to learn about TikTok is through trial and error. Keep looking at people’s TikToks to see what’s interesting and think about how you can incorporate your pawpal into it. Have fun with the functions and maybe, just maybe, we’ll see your Pawpal trending in the Discover tab!

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels

Categories
Creator's Academy

Getting started on TikTok

It needs no explanation that Tiktok is a staple for content creation in the digital age: it is the 4th most downloaded app in Singapore and has 689 million active users worldwide. Most people prefer short clips over static photos, and TikTok is the perfect platform for such content. Videos on TikTok can be made much more easily compared to fully 16-minute Youtube videos and can be completely edited on the go. 

So here’s what you’ll need:

  1. Camera phone
  2. The TikTok App

Content creation in TikTok takes advantage of the new, mobile-first generation. Like Twitter and Instagram, the app is driven by discovery and self-expression. Done right, your content can reach a wide audience. Done better, it can leave a positive impact on your viewers and inspire them to make a difference. 

Making TikTok work for your pawpals

Keep it simple!

As short as TikTok already is, try to keep your content between 15-30 seconds long to hold your viewers’ attention without it feeling too long. Your video will be one of tens or hundreds that your audience will be seeing in one sitting. Keep your message simple and they’re more likely to remember it.

Shoot vertically

Take advantage of the full-screen experience! TikTok is one place where you don’t want to be rotating your phone for every next video (also because their app layout is fixed vertically). The recommended aspect ratio is 9:16. Shooting 16:9 just makes the video very small since you can’t zoom-in a video the way you would an Instagram post.

Use effects and texts

One thing that you might underestimate is the variety of effects and modes TikTok offers (we’ll cover this in another article). It helps if your video feels like something that can only be made with TikTok and not Instagram Stories or YouTube Shorts, so try to utilise all the tools at your disposal.

Use a good cover photo

A tried and tested formula from Youtube’s development: Choose your cover photo. A cover video serves as a glimpse of the video and the viewers should expect. If you don’t choose it, TikTok’s A.I. picks it for you.

TikTok is wildly experimental, so don’t be afraid of making new content. You can also follow us on tiktok @pawjourr to see how we make our content. Next week, we’ll be covering various TikTok functions, so stay tuned!

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Categories
Creator's Academy

Understanding Instagram’s Algorithm

If you’ve been on Instagram long enough, you’ll have heard that the best way to get ahead of the curve is to post at ‘peak hours’. Timings where traffic is highest so users will see your posts immediately a.k.a The Chronological Feed. Sadly, that no longer works. In a new update, Instagram rolled out the new Instagram Algorithm 2021, which is designed to decide what content you get to see when you open the app.

The algorithm at its core

Instagram’s new algorithm basically ensures that the posts and stories you see right away are the ones you want to see. Your followers all have their own habits and browsing routines, so the algorithm is summed up in four factors:

  1. Information about the post — Is that post a photo, a carousel, or a video? Where was it published from? How long is the video?
  2. Information about the poster —How interesting are you to them? How often do people engage with your content? 
  3. Browsing activity — Do they tend to watch a lot of videos? What type of content do they typically engage with? 
  4. Interaction history — Do they typically like or comment on your posts?

The algorithm in Instagram Stories is similar and more obvious — Stories of accounts you interact with most often get pushed to the front, regardless of whom posted most recently. However, since Stories are shorter and can be binge-watched, your followers are more likely to swipe to your content.

Interactions that affect the algorithm

When prioritising content for each of followers, the Instagram algorithm puts into consideration five forms of interaction that supplement the factors we just mentioned. These are:

  1. Time spent — Will they bother to spend time on the post?
  2. Likes — Will they like the post?
  3. Comments  — How likely are they to comment on the post?
  4. Saves — How likely are they to save the post?
  5. Taps on Profile — How likely are they to tap on the profile after seeing the post?

Do you want people to spend more time on your content?

The advent of the new algorithm provides us with the opportunity to explore video formats as well. If your followers are shown to like more dynamic content like videos and gifs, but you do not want to crowd your feed with too many types of posts, you can use Instagram Stories (which only lasts 24 hours but can be saved as highlights), or Instagram Reels (which has a longer duration limit and appears permanently on a separate tab).

Is this post likely to be liked or commented on?

If the content you are posting is supposed to drive engagement, it would be good to draw Insights from your followers as to what kind of posts do better on your profile. If polished, well taken photos of your pawpal get more likes and comments than your casual pictures of them, then you can consider steering your profile to a more polished feed.

Is this a post someone would save and come back to?

This is especially true for educational posts, like tips & tricks. Think about whether your post will leave your followers coming back to it for repeated views.  Loopable videos like Jade Taylor Ryan’s TikTok of her cat Ed dancing to Mr. Sandman are comfortable to watch over. And over. And over again.

Does this post include a CTA (for example, “Click the link in my bio”) that will prompt someone to tap on your profile?

If you have campaigns, promotions, or events happening on your profile, your posts should include a CTA so that your followers know there’s more in store when they go to your profile.

Now that you know…

It’s always important to remember that Instagram is always upgrading its algorithm. What works now may not work next year. So while this guide is still relevant, please take this opportunity to experiment with the content you are making and most importantly, to have fun with your pawpal while doing so

Photo by Oleg Magni from Pexels

Categories
Creator's Academy

Exploring Instagram’s Functions

Instagram has been constantly evolving since its debut in 2010. What used to be just a platform to share images has now become a network for conversations, content creation, and e-commerce. Let’s walk through some of the latest game-changers to the app this year.

Map Search

To make the app a hub for businesses, Instagram rolled out ‘Map Search’, a function found on the top right corner of the discovery tab. The map search function makes it convenient for users to find details and tagged posts of people in a particular area.Map Search also outlines popular stores, hotels, and restaurants. This feature will show the businesses’ working hours, price details, profile links, and related posts within that area. If used properly, it could be a treasure trove of hidden gems for you and your furkids to eat, play, or just hang out at!

Reels

Instagram Reels was introduced as a new way to create and discover short, entertaining videos on the platform. Users can make minute-long videos with an array of effects such including:

  • Audio – Use a song from the Instagram music library, or use your own original audio
  • AR Effects – Created by both Instagram and creators around the world, these effects can be stacked on a single reel
  • Timer and Countdown – The timer allows you to record your clips hands-free.
  • Align – Line up objects from previous clips to create seamless transitions.
  • Speed – Speed up or slow down part of the video or audio in your reel.

Remix Reels

Similar to TikTok’s Duet Feature, Remix Reels was added to Instagram to film split-screen reaction videos. This format is good for reaction videos, collab performances, and creative challenges

Image from Instagram

IG Stories

While not new, Instagram has continued to make its stories more relevant, innovative, and versatile. The function brings to the table the ability to send fleeting, casual content that only lasts 24 hours. Because Instagram Stories are more engagement-driven, they come with many tools like polls, questions, and quizzes.

Stories Captions

With the captions sticker, Instagram Stories are more accessible to everyone. The feature transcribes the things you say so that you can understand the clip even without audio.

Image from Instagram

“Add Yours” Sticker

“Add Yours” allows you to create a public thread in the form of a Stories sticker. Following a prompt or a topic, users on the Instagram Story will be prompted to respond with their own rendition of the topic. The stories of every user who reacted to the prompt are then stored as a collection, turning the sticker into a content chain really quickly. The “Add Yours” sticker is great for creating engagement well past your usual circle of followers due to how easy to spread it is, allowing you to find other like-minded furfriends.

Image from Instagram

Sharing links

Replacing the swipe-up feature in Instagram Stories is the Instagram Link Sticker. As the name suggests, you can add this sticker to your Stories to link people to an external website! This works especially well if you’re running a campaign on Instagram and want to direct your followers to a website!

Instagram Guides

Bringing blog posts to Instagram, Guides can be created using pre-published posts, places, or product listings from your or public accounts. This feature creates a dedicated post in your post that serves as a way to more easily share recommendations and tips with your followers.

Image from Instagram

Instagram Live 

Instagram Live brought streaming to its platform five years ago. We were able to share content in real-time and have a dialogue with their followers — one guest at a time. Creators could use Instagram Live to engage with their audience easily and with significantly less preparation required. This year, Instagram updated Instagram Live with Live Rooms.

Live room

A fairly simple update, Instagram Live Rooms allows hosts to include up to three guests. This small increase can open a world of possibilities for creators — collaborative classes, webinars, Ask Me Anything’s (AMAs), and live performances!

Image from Instagram

Featured photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Categories
Creator's Academy

Boosting your posts on Instagram

Now that you have an Instagram Creator Account, you will have noticed a new button below your posts: “Boost Post”. What does it do? Can you really boost a post? We’ll give you a quick tour of this new function for your pet influencing journey.

What does it mean to boost posts?

When you boost a post on Instagram, you’re making it more visible to a targeted group of people on Instagram. By paying social media platforms, you can amplify your reach to your followers, a recommended audience, or a targeted audience. Your boosted post will then show up as a sponsored post on your audience’s feed.

How to boost your posts

1. Click the “Promote” button at the bottom of your post.

2. Pick a goal.

To boost your post, you need to first know what the boost does for it — that is your goal. Do you want more people to visit your profile? Do you want them to click a link to another website? Or do you want them to message you more? Whatever your goal is for the specific post you want to boost, make sure you choose the option that best aligns with it.

3. Choose an audience.

After choosing your goal, you can pick from three different targeting options: Special requirements, Automatic, and Create your own. 

Special Requirements lets you target based on very niche categories.

Automatic tells Instagram to target people who have similar demographics and browsing trends as your followers.

Create Your Own lets you target specific people, based on their age, location and interests.

4. Set your budget and duration.

Based on the budget and duration you set, Instagram will estimate the expected reach and clicks that your post will attract after you set your post’s budget and ad duration.

Expected reach refers to the estimated number of users who might see your post.

Budget refers to how much money you’re willing to spend to reach your target audience.

Duration refers to how long your boost will last. It can be as short as one day, and as long as one month.

5. Review

Check that your settings are all in order before confirming your boost!

Now that you know how to boost your posts, you can reach out to more audiences!

To find out more about pet influencing, click here.

Ready to kickstart your pet-fluencing journey? Join our community of pet influencers and explore opportunities here.

Categories
Creator's Academy

Writing a good caption

Instagram is a platform that focuses on visuals, but to really make your post shine, it needs to be supported by a good caption. In four steps, we will guide you through the process of writing a good caption for your Instagram posts.

Step-by-Step

  1. The message
  2. Hook, line, and sinker
  3. Sensory words
  4. Strike a conversation

Step 1: The message

Think of the story you want to tell. Who are you telling it to? What is this post about? What is the point of this post? A picture can tell a thousand words, but why let it do all the talking? An Instagram caption can hold up to 2,200 characters (that’s anywhere between 310 words to 550 words). That means you don’t have to exhaust the limit, but you will have a lot of space to share how you feel.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
Poor Caption:Good Caption:
Maxie lying down next to me when I’m sickMaxie came to my side to nurse me, I feel better already!

Step 2: Hook, line, and sinker

First impressions count. Not just for your photo, but also for your captions. Instagram has a really nifty automatic function that truncates your captions if they’re too long — 125 characters (up to 20 words) to be exact. Your opening line needs to have a hook, something that makes your audience want to read more. In that regard, you can opt for a short sentence, then separate your caption with a line-break (the return key on your keyboard). Grab your audience’s attention in those first 125 characters to draw them in.

Photo by Zen Chung from Pexels
Poor Caption:Good Caption:
The interview at the cafe was a success and Snuffles told me I was just the man he was looking for. I will be starting work in his hooman cafe, run entirely by dogs, starting Monday.I’m going to work at a Hooman Cafe run by dogs! Snuffles said I was “just the man [he] was looking for”. 

Anyway, I’m starting Monday, thanks Snuffles!
Poor Caption (truncated):Good Caption (truncated):
The interview at the cafe was a success and Snuffles told me I was just the man he was looking for… moreDid a dog just hire me?… more

Step 3: Sensory words

If there’s one thing people underestimate about photos in social media, it’s that your audience really appreciates it when you describe your experience as vividly as possible. Eating something new and novel? Describe its flavours and complexities. Travelling to a new location? Describe its sceneries and moods. Utilise the senses of touch, taste, smell, sound, sight, emotion, and thought to convey your story.

You can also use emojis to your caption to add value and make it less wordy!

Photo by Dids from Pexels
Poor Caption:Good Caption:
She wants ice creamJust as the tiger stalks a deer, so too does Mocha’s eyes gleam on her prey…??

Step 4: Strike a conversation

When it comes to content creation, it pays to not just tell a story but also start a conversation with the audience. This is especially true for sponsorships, where you’d want to promote a product or brand.

Include a call-to-action (CTA)

A CTA is the simplest way to engage your audience. Having a CTA will direct them in the direction you want them to go. Be it to sign a petition, to visit a brand’s website, or to participate in some pet jobs. CTAs are also useful when there’s too much information to share, so redirecting them to another site would make things easier for you.

Credits and Hashtags

When doing sponsored posts (or simply reposts), remember to credit your sources and partners. For your sponsors, it generates traffic; for your sources, it’s good manners. It also costs nothing to credit and tag them, so it’s a win-win! Similarly, hashtags help to bring new audiences to your post through the explore function. Instagram has a limit of 30 hashtags per post, but if that makes your caption look too chunky, you can always put them in a separate comment.

Ask a question

It’s as simple as that. People are compelled to answer whenever they are posed with a question. This also becomes a prompt for conversations to happen in your comments.

Photo by Korina Stecenko from Pexels
Poor Caption:Good caption:
Cherub’s soft toy. Good for cats.How do your pawpals wind down on lazy Sundays? 

Granger likes to snuggle her favourite toy from @Cherub.


Visit their store for a 10% discount today ? 

#CherubToys #CatsOfInstagram

You don’t need to be a wordsmith to write good captions! Just remember these tips and you’ll be able to better engage your audiences. Stacey McLachlan also experimented with caption lengths to see how length affects engagement (so you don’t have to). You can click here to see how the experiment went.

To find out more about pet influencing, click here.

Ready to kickstart your pet-fluencing journey? Join our community of pet influencers and explore opportunities here.

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels

Categories
Creator's Academy

Content creation pitfalls (and what you can do about them)

Content creation may seem easy at first — snap a photo of your precious furkids and share them with the world. So why aren’t you doing as well as other pawpals on Instagram? Here are some pitfalls you may have made and how you can work around them!

No.1: Feed spamming

We’ve emphasised it a few times in our previous article but we must emphasise — do not flood your Instagram feed with multiple photos. More than anything, you want your audience to remember you for quality content, not excessive content. Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, recommended posting 2-3 times a week, and no more than 1 post a day. If you want to share more pictures and videos of your furkid, you can always consider Instagram Stories.

No.2: Losing that personal touch

When making sponsored posts, it is easy to get lost in the products’ details. Yes, this new brand of pet food is made with high-quality ingredients. You sold the product, but you didn’t sell us the experience. How did your pawpal react to the product? Will they want it more now?  The photos you take and the captions you write must tell a story to engage your audience.

No.3: Making loooooooong captions

On top of being a place for short-form content, Instagram is also an app that puts a lot of emphasis on your pictures. Let your photos do most of the work (see above, “photos must tell a story”), and keep your captions short and easy to read. If you want to hold a follower’s attention, it should not be to read a wall of text. Remember, brevity is the soul of wit!

If you’re adding hashtags, it’s good to know that Instagram limits your posts to a maximum of 30 hashtags. It’s even better to know that using all 30 hashtags makes your post look cluttered. What we recommend is to throw all your hashtags into a single comment so that your caption is neat and emphasises the story itself.

No.4: Ignoring comments (completely)

Now that you’re making content, you’re sure to receive more comments on your posts! You may receive comments from people you may (or may not) know, so be sure to reply to them. This is the best time to engage with your audience, as it shows that communication is two-way, rather than just you sharing information top-down. A pawpal that replies and converses with their followers leaves a longer-lasting impression than a pawpal who only posts pictures and nothing more.

There are many other pitfalls we did not include, but these are probably the most important ones. With this, we hope that you’ll combine these with your insights to create more engaging content.

To find out more about pet influencing, click here.

Ready to kickstart your pet-fluencing journey? Join our community of pet influencers and explore opportunities here.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

Categories
Creator's Academy

Sponsorships vs Exclusivity

Everybody knows what sponsorships are — at least vaguely. We last explored how to get your pet sponsored too. However, there is another category of partnerships. Exclusivity. How are they different? Is one better than the other? Lets know more about exclusivity and understand why it is an equally valid strategy for Pet Influencers.

Definitions

Exclusivity

Working with a brand for a set period of time. During this time, you are not allowed to promote any other brand. “Which brand” will depend on the contract — some exclusivities do allow you to work with other brands, so long as they are not in the same category, or competitors of the brand you are working with..

Because of that, exclusivities may be restrictive in its own way. When you’re promoting a brand as an exclusive ambassador, you won’t be able to promote other brands with us. If you have been offered an exclusive contract, do consider the benefits as well as the contract terms carefully before accepting.

Sponsorship

Promoting or a product, event, or activity to raise brand awareness for the client. Sponsorships are more flexible because of the requirements per sponsor — most tend to be a one-time project. Of course, brands would definitely want some commitment back. A good rule-of-thumb would be to avoid promoting similar products from other brands during your sponsorship.

Benefits

While exclusivity may restrict the number of offers you can take up at any one time, it’s not without its benefits. 

Sponsorships play at versatility. Because sponsorships tend to have a short campaign period, you can use the fast-paced premise of the jobs to get your name out to a wider audience much faster. Your followers and potential partners will see you on media and current events more often, which creates a lasting impression.Exclusivities however, are all about being selective. Having many sponsorships may get your pawpal seen in the early game, but over time you may have to balance your feed with more organic posts or risk losing authenticity. In the case of exclusivities, being selective and deliberate, signals to your potential partners that you are invested in their cause, not just their profits. Your words carry more weight because you chose to endorse these brands.

How to make the most out of each

Sponsorships : Form bonds, create long term connections

Sponsorships come and go really quickly. So one way to maximize your opportunities is to know not just your own audience, but also your partners’ usual audience. If you can engage them, your partners are more likely to  find you again to do more sponsorships.

Exclusivity : Think community-first, be wary of competitors

When speaking for your partner, always keep in mind how your audience will feel about you and the brand when you post something. Think about how your pawpal can stay true to themselves while still representing a brand. Take note of what your partner’s competitors are up to, and avoid working with them when your exclusivity ends.

Keen to have your furkid sponsored?
Join us to begin your journey here.

For more useful articles on pet influencing, click here.

Featured Photo by Ivan Babydov from Pexels