The marketing techniques you use for your pet business are very similar to those you would use to market any business successfully, but there are ways that you can specialize these tactics to fit the unique industry of your pet business for optimal results. Here are the 8 best ways to market your pet business that we at Signature W Studio have seen bring brand awareness, customers and increased sales to our pet services clients again and again.
1. Your Website
In today’s digitally-focused world, it’s not a big surprise that your website is a key piece of your marketing strategy. It’s not enough to just have any old website-your site provides the first impression that many of your prospective customers will see of your brand, and skimping on quality can have a majorly negative impact to your sales and reputation.
The first thing you do when starting to market your pet services business is to invest in a website that will build trust with your customer base. A high quality site communicates that you are a professional organization that will provide high quality services.
How to get the most out of your website:
In addition to presenting a professional and polished face to your online audience, your site should also clearly describe your services and their unique benefits to browsers and established customers alike. We recommend that you create individualized landing pages for each service. This will allow you to optimize for SEO and cultivate higher conversion rates for PPC, both of which we will discuss in more detail below, more easily.
2. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the practice of updating your site so it will show up more favorably in search engine results. It is crucial to regularly cultivate your SEO because pet ownership has increased dramatically in the past year-and so has the volume of pet services business searches.
When optimizing your site, you should focus on more detailed search phrases that will direct potential customers in your area to your website. For example, don’t just optimize your site for “doggy daycare,” but also for “doggy daycare in your city.” While many people are searching for doggy daycare right now, by optimizing your site for local search phrases, you will attract customers within driving distance to your site and increase sales more quickly.
How to get the most out of your SEO:
First, do some keyword research to understand what the most searched phrases are for the services you offer. You can easily perform keyword research by typing a service you provide into Google and looking at the questions and related terms that pop up when you search.
Also, you should create a free Google My Business Page. This will allow your business and contact information to show up on Google Maps and in Google searches for services you offer. When you sign up for a My Business Page, Google will also provide you with a free marketing kit and some analytic data that demonstrates how customers are interacting with your site as added perks.
3. PPC (Pay-Per-Click Advertising)
The Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising model allows you to place ads but not pay for them until people click on them. There is a high search volume for pet services across the board, so Pay-Per-Click advertising is very competitive for pet businesses. Therefore, it is important to be strategic and invest time into your PPC campaign to stand out from the crowd and stay on top of the competition.
With PPC advertising, ads with a higher “quality score” appear first-and you want your ads to appear as close to the top of search engine results as possible. You can increase your quality score by improving the quality and relevance of the keywords you pick for your ad and increasing your bids, or the amount that you are willing to spend per click.
How to get the most out of your PPC Campaign:
Investing a little extra time setting a PPC advertising strategy will pay off in the long run. Start by setting up different ad groups for every service you provide. This will help people find ads relevant to their searches-you wouldn’t want someone searching for dog boarding to find your ad for dog daycare. Setting up separate groups will also make sure you have higher quality scores, making your ads more visible to potential customers.
Also, make sure that when people click on your ads, you are sending your traffic to specific landing pages related to each ad to improve conversion rates. Finally, continuously monitor your conversions and success rates and update your keywords regularly so you aren’t wasting your time and money on an outdated strategy.
4. Blogging
Blogging is an essential piece of your SEO and content marketing campaign. Dog owners typically have a ton of questions regarding the services a dog daycare or other pet services providers offer. You can use your blog to answer these questions if they aren’t answered on your primary service page. Once you build up your blog effectively and fill it with useful and relevant information, pet owners will begin to see your company and brand as an authority, which can greatly improve the visibility and strength of your brand. Blogging is also super important because it can help build SEO by implementing long tail keywords, links and more, and can also convert visitors who are browsing your blog posts for other purposes.
How to get the most out of your blog:
In addition to blogging about content related directly to your services, consider adding blog posts about fun and unique informational topics that will attract pet owners to your site through organic web browsing. These posts will help create brand awareness and allow you to build trust with potential customers as they use your site as a resource to help them take care of their pets.
5. Social Media
You should use social media both to place ads and create unique content. Purchasing social media ads on Facebook and Instagram allows you to choose audience targeting options so you can deliver your ads to people with certain demographics or that live in specific areas. Most demographics for dog owners are established on social media, so it’s very easy to segment out and target this group who would be interested in your services.
In addition to purchasing advertisements, creating and publishing posts on social media outlets such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and TikTok is also important. This content will allow you to develop a unique voice, build a following and engage with your audience in a more personal way. You can show your followers what goes on behind closed doors of your business and share entertaining stories that make your followers feel like they are a part of the fun. You can also directly respond to your audience by responding to comments that they leave you on your social media pages.
How to get the most out of your social media:
First of all, similar to PPC, make sure your ads and your landing pages are service specific so you can bring interested potential customers directly to the information they need about services they want. You also should run “remarking” so that when someone visits your site, your ads will be delivered to them via social media so they will be reminded to check back. Finally, create a content calendar filled with unique content to help you stay on track with posting consistently and often.
6. Location and Display
Location and display advertising is a strategy where you place image and video-based advertisements on third party sites, or target your ads to those who frequent specific locations using geolocation technology. Much like in the social media sphere, there is a significant amount of dog ownership-related activity online, which makes it easier to develop these types of campaigns.
How to get the most out of your location and display advertising:
The more you can hone in on locations or sites to target, the more effective your location and display advertising will be. For example, you can target people who visit sites like chewy.com because those people are willing to spend time and money on their dogs, or those who go to locations of your competitor’s businesses to increase the possibility of conversion.
7. Influencer Outreach
Influencers are individuals or animals who have a large social media following, and therefore have a huge potential to help you increase your online presence and grow your audience. Influencer culture is huge right now and dog accounts are everywhere, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a location specific influencer or two to help promote your business or services. Working with an influencer is also a great way to keep your costs low, as you can often exchange services for exposure on their social media pages.
How to get the most out of your influencer outreach:
Only reach out to influencers that make sense. Using food related accounts for your dog services business doesn’t make sense, but reaching out to the local Golden Retriever with 15 thousand followers would work. You want your influencer partnerships to have a common audience, this will allow you to be more authentic.
8. Strategic Partnerships
You can also build meaningful and productive relationships with like-minded businesses that are also in the pet industry, such as vet offices, pet supply stores or those that offer complementary services. For example, if you offer dog training services, you can reach out to local groomers, dog boarders or dog bars in your area. You can leave business cards, ask them to refer their customers to you and link to your content on their pages or offer to reciprocate recommendations.
