Do you think your pet Fluffy is the most adorable thing on the planet? Do you wish to share the joy he brings to you with the rest of the world? Well, look no further! Here are some industry secrets of how to make your pet Instagram famous.

1. Craft a personality

One important aspect of making your pet Instagram famous is to showcase your pet’s personality on your feed. Your pet has to leave an impression on your followers and be relatable and interesting. Undoubtedly, one of the most famous pets in the world is Grumpy Cat and the reason behind this is that she is full of personality and has developed a special, original grumpy image for herself.

Try to look for what’s unique about your pet and use it to carve a special image for him. Using personification on your pet will make him, and thus his Instagram page very relatable and humorous. Here’s an example!

2. Traffic

Take note of the human traffic on Instagram and be consistent in your posting.

It has been shown that in Singapore, the time when human traffic is highest on Instagram is at 8pm and thus, that is when pet accounts like @yodacutiepie post their pictures. Traffic at this time is also high in America, allowing accounts to further gain a substantial following from American Instagram users.

Also, try not to have dry spells on your feed.

It is important to give your followers what they want – cute photos of your pet. So plan your photoshoots and posts well to keep your followers consistently updated and satisfied.

3. Hashtags

Hashtags are extremely crucial in getting your posts out there, especially for new accounts with small followings. Some things you can hashtag include #petstagram, your animal related hashtags like #sgdogs, #dogs, your pet’s breed, for example #chihuahua or #britishshorthair and community hashtags like #corgicommunity. Just do some simple research on hashtags relevant to your pet and use them to reach out to other pet accounts or other communities.

Furthermore, you can create your own hashtags for your pets. For example, the famous little hedgehog Biddy has its own hashtag on Instagram #biddythehedgehog

4. Respond to comments

People enjoy social media engagement. Responding to others’ comments on your posts will show your followers that you do indeed take the time to read through their comments and take the effort to show your appreciation for their kind words and questions. This builds a friendly and amicable community which in turn encourages even more comments. Communication makes your followers feel closer to you and fosters follower loyalty.

5. Quality feed

Like any popular Instagram page, your pet’s Instagram feed will have to be aesthetically pleasing and your pictures have to be of good quality. You cannot be lazy when it comes to maintaining your page. Your pictures must be clear and if necessary, well-edited. Pictures of your pets at the same places or doing the same things will not cut it; you need to be creative, original and effort has to be put in.

6. Captions

Try coming up with cute and relatable captions for your posts and always exude positivity when doing so. Many people do follow animal accounts for some light-heartedness and cuteness on their feed, so a positive or adorable caption adds that extra touch to bring a smile to followers’ faces. Never underestimate the power of captions for the pen is mightier than the sword.

One way in which popular accounts word their captions include writing from the point of view of their pet.

7. Theme

Try to have an overarching theme to your page to tie all your posts together neatly. This will tend to draw the right kind of crowd to your page. For example, some pages feature their pets with props and clothes and these pictures might look professionally shot in a studio. On the other hand, some pages might always feature their pets in a natural setting, with none or minimal clothing. Different crowds enjoy different things; for example, some animal activists who may be against dressing pets up in clothes may tend to prefer the latter. Furthermore, human beings are creature of habit and thus, randomly switching up themes might jeopardize the reason your followers followed your page for in the first place

8. Patience

To photograph quality pictures of your pets, you need a ton of patience. Animals are very active and it is almost impossible to get them to stay still for your ideal picture. You need to take many almost-identical shots of your pets in order to get the perfect one and you need to try and try again in order to get the best pictures you can. For a good feed, patience is thee greatest virtue that you can have.

9. Collaborations

Something which many pet accounts do is collaborate with other pet accounts. This is especially important for accounts that are less well known. Collaborations with other accounts help to expose yours to your partners’ followers; you will get attention from communities related to your own pet, for example other accounts who own a similar pet or fans of your pet’s breed. With more exposure comes more attentions, and you know what follows shortly after!

Watch out red carpets, there are going to be some new paws walking all over you!