Tag: tutorial

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Creator's Academy

Editor Showcase: VSCO

In our previous article, we covered four apps that you can use to edit your content for Instagram and TikTok. So today, I will be showing a quick demonstration of my favourite editing app, VSCO. While the app’s roots were grounded in photo-editing at first, VSCO has been steadily upgrading itself to keep up with Instagram’s new features. As of 2020, the app is now able to record and edit videos — along with various video effects and capture modes — through its “F X” feature.

VSCO is a free-to-download editing app with powerful basic presets for photos. However, by subscribing to the app’s membership (either monthly/annual), you will gain access to its limited-time presets, premium video effects, and more. The app also detracts from the whimsical stickers and animations of other photo-editing apps, instead, doubling down on VSCO’s thematic style: Emulating the look of film and old cameras.

Bright & Clean / S Series

(Left) Filter preview from VSCO; (Right) ZaiZai, a Japanese Spitz I met at a dogpark.

The S series emphasises skin tones and works well with portraits. A favourite of mine, the series balances colour contrasts to give photos a softer, more natural look.

For this photo, I reduced the shadows to take attention away from the background, as well as to highlight ZaiZai’s white fur. I also bumped up the temperature and saturation to give his tongue a healthy pinkish tone.

Analog / A Series

(Left) Filter preview from VSCO; (Right) Momo, a Chihuahua I met at the same dogpark.

The A Series, inspired by analogue film, beautifully enhances the colour of your photos with their bright mid-tones and brighter highlights. I tend to use presets from the A Series (among many others) for outdoor photos.

Momo has a clean white coat with beautiful brown patches. By increasing the contrast and reducing the shadows, his white and golden brown fur is accentuated. On top of that, the silver lining that forms when the sunlight shone behind is further amplified to create a pristine silhouette.

Legacy Collection

(Left) Filter preview from VSCO; (Right) ZaiZai

VSCO’s Legacy collection is a staple for the brand, being the original presets offered on the app. From black-and-white filters to washed-up colours, the Legacy collection has something for every occasion.

Because the floor behind ZaiZai is less detailed, there are fewer elements to take attention away from him. I reduced the shadows and increased the exposure to give his coat a softer appearance, rather than as individual strands of hair. The increased saturation and exposure also revealed ZaiZai’s chestnut-brown eyes, which were dull and hard to spot in the original.

Isle of Dogs

(Left) Filter preview from VSCO; (Right) Unedited photo by @kopi.thedog

Wes Anderson’s iconic art direction in Isle of Dogs gave rise to a unique set of limited-time filters, each bringing out the rusty red-and-yellow world of Megasaki to your photos.

To give Kopi’s summertime fun more energy, I strengthened the blues of the pool and increased the tint to turn the greenish background closer to its original white colour. By overexposing the carpet, the details on the strands are lost so our eyes don’t wander below her leash.

Useful Links

VSCO has many other presets worth exploring, that will definitely help to beautify your already cute pawpals! Not very sure how to begin your pet photography journey? Check out these links below:

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Creator's Academy

Make your pawpals even prettier with these editing apps

TikTok and Instagram may have their own editing features, but we always crave more. Third-party apps have come a long way to make the editing process much easier, and more comprehensive than what the original apps already do. There are many apps out there that can do the job, so let’s narrow down two apps per platform to begin your content creation journey.

VSCO

Free to download (Membership at SGD 11.48 / month)

VSCO is a place where expression matters the most. The app offers a wide range of presents, which can be adjusted to varying looks and finishes similar to classic rolls of film. VSCO also recommends presets based on the photo you select.

Pros

  • Adjustable filter strength
  • Lookbook to preview downloading new filter packs
  • Free to download

Cons

  • No touch-up features
  • No stickers, animations

Lightroom

Free to download (Pro at SGD 6.98 / month)

The industry standard for photographers on their phones everywhere. While Adobe Lightroom does not have presents, its extensive fine adjustment features let you bring out the full potential in your photos. If you’re not sure how to edit your photos, you can use Lightroom’s presets for a one-stop process. Alternatively, if you’ve used it long enough you can save your edits as presets for future photos too!

Pros

  • Detailed adjustment settings
  • Tutorials to guide you through editing process

Cons

  • Extensive features locked by paywall
  • No stickers, animations
  • Comprehensive features might confuse newcomers

CapCut

Free to download (Pro at SGD 5.98 / month)

Capcut Official

Developed by Bytedance, CapCut is a video editor that seems tailored to complement TikTok. CapCut features exclusive copyright songs, trending stickers, and custom TikTok fonts. With these in your kit, you’ll be able to make your TikTok videos stand out!

Pros

  • User-friendly interface
  • Huge library of songs
  • Directly Exports to TikTok

Cons

  • Can only upload one video per project
  • Might lag when editing larger videos

InShot

Free to download (Pro at SGD 5.98 / month)

Inshot Official

InShot is a popular video editing app for quit editing features. For first-time users, its well-categorised library of stickers, tags, music, and sound effects makes the app inviting and easy to understand. If that isn’t enough, InShot also comes with pre-loaded aspect ratios so you can edit your videos to suit the right platform!

Pros

  • Stitch videos together
  • Fast and simple editing features
  • Free to download

Cons

  • No video overlay functionality (e.g. Duet, React, etc. need to be recorded first)

Now that you know…

Editing doesn’t have to be done on Instagram and TikTok. Granted it’s convenient, but there are apps out there with better features. Later this week, we’ll be giving you an editor showcase. See for yourself how your pawpals can look after putting them through VSCO!

Photo by Cup of Couple from Pexels

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Creator's Academy

10 Instagram Accounts You Should Be Following

With our guides on making the most out of Instagram complete, we have shortlisted accounts that we feel make the cut for content creation. These pawpals serve a particular type of content, and they do it well enough that you can take inspiration from them for your own pawpal! From paw vloggers to fashion pawdels, stay-home cats to outdoor doggos, here are 10 Instagram accounts you should be following.

1. spongecake_thescottishfold

What do Sponge Cake, Mocha, and Donut have in common? No, they’re not confectionery, they’re cats! @spongecake_thescottishfold follows Sponge Cake and his two siblings as they travel around the world in their hooman’s arms. In between photos of the felines posing in their new ribbons, they also upload very wholesome Instagram videos of them walking down the bustling streets.

2. tuckerbudzyn

Pet parenting is a topic that all pawrents can relate to. @tuckerbudzyn is a Golden Retriever who wears his heart on his hekkin sleeve for his pawrent (or momager as they would call it) to share with the world. Now with a new son @toddbudzyn, Tucker has to show his journey as a pawrent too!

3. goodboyhuds

@goodboyhuds’ curated Instagram feed invites users to a snow-white landscape made possible by the light tones in his props, furniture, and even his environment. With all the elements out of the way, Hudson’s bronze coat holds your attention, putting the pup centre-stage.

4. _missygigi_

Gigi and her hooman chronicle their daily lives in their detailed photo journal, @_missygigi_. In perhaps an intentional design choice, Gigi’s photos are made dimmer and given the vignette finish to emphasise the memory embedded between the lines of each post caption.

5. myyzephyr

True to his name, Zephyr’s (@myyzephyr) feed shows the doggo having the time of his life with the wind blowing through his fur. While Zephyr’s photos are varied in styles, one thing’s constant — his hooman knows how to catch him at his best angles!

6. polar.woof

Polaris (@polar.woof) guides his followers around the great outdoors in his many adventures on his Instagram. Every photo transports you to another environment with the Samoyed’s sense of wonder pulling you into the thick of it all.

7. didi_the_fluffy_cat

Nothing says ‘classy’ like a furfriend who knows how to dress. Didi (@didi_the_fluffy_cat) fills her feed with OOTDs and costumes. With a wide range of outfits and a swagger to match, Didi shows her viewers who coolest cat on the block really is.

8. kyubi.ninetales

Fall in love with the magic of preparation and creativity when you look through Kyubi’s (@kyubi.ninetales) photos. Kyubi’s hooman takes photo shoots to the next level by making thematic photos out of various props and costumes, even making their own props like ribbons out of lottery tickets.

9. freyastormbreaker

Freya and Burger (@freyastormbreaker) are two tiny guardians with big hearts. The captions in their posts reveal a beautiful narrative (as interpreted by their hooman) and give their followers a peek into what makes these two puppers tick.

10. fuzziepals_

Two paws are better than one; double the trouble and still just as fun. Rigel and Gale (@fuzziepals_) play to their hearts’ content and cuddle with their hooman all day. Their open affection for each other can warm anyone’s heart on a cold day.

Feeling the spark yet?

Once you’ve ironed out the content that works best for your pawpal, get to creating! One day, you’ll be featured as a recommended Pawpal to follow on Instagram too!

Need more help on Instagram? Check out the links below :

5 Tips to up your Instagram game!

Top 5 Petfluencer Photography Tips

Exploring Instagram’s Functions

Cover photo by @kyubi.ninetails

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 

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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

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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

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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

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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