This was published 1 year ago
Furry and fishy-breathed. Meet the social media stars earning up to $2500 a post
For many owners of pet influencers, it isn’t about making money, but about having fun or highlighting causes close to their hearts.
By Dilvin Yasa
The pet influencer space has been growing steadily over the years.Credit: STOCKSY
Thinking about creating an Instagram account for your pet cat, dog, gerbil or other? Since the likes of online sensations Grumpy Cat and Doug the Pug showed pet owners it was entirely possible to earn a five- or in some cases six-figure income from taking photos of your four-legged friend’s daily antics, the pet influencer space has been growing steadily.
Sarah Ezzat of Power Pets, an agency which manages up to 40 of Australia’s most in-demand animals, says pet brands in particular are leaning towards furred and feathered influencers to market their products on social media, rather than human influencers who happen to have pets. “Content is key; an engaged audience is what makes a pet influencer successful,” Ezzat explains.
“It is important for accounts to connect with their followers through interactive stories and captions, as well as creating a community within the pet-owner space. Brands like to know their campaigns are reaching the right target market for their products, so audience demographics, engagement rate and past campaign analytics are key factors.”
For many owners of “petfluencers” today, however, landing a book deal or a high-profile collaboration isn’t about making money. Instead, it’s about having fun or using their platform to highlight causes close to their heart. Here, three owners of pet influencers share their stories.
“The greatest highlights have been the friends and connections we’ve made”
Melissa Pietrobuono (and partner Rian Crandon) started an Instagram account for their cat, Nathan, in 2017. The account, @nathan_thebeachcat, has 593,000 followers, with the couple donating a portion of proceeds to animal welfare charities.
Nathan drying off in the sun after having a swim.
“I didn’t know anything about petfluencers when we adopted Nathan from the RSPCA in 2017; we certainly didn’t have plans to put her in the public eye. It was only after a colleague watched a video of Nathan swimming at the beach that she suggested I create an Instagram account for her.
I thought it sounded like a bit of fun, but soon after I began posting videos of Nathan swimming, [animal-focused website] The Dodo did a story on us and Nathan’s followers jumped from 3000 to 100,000 within a fortnight. That’s when everything changed.
Brands soon began contacting us for partnerships and sponsored posts – an overwhelming situation when you’re new to the industry. Representation through Power Pets followed and it managed all the collaborations and deals. Over the years we’ve worked with the Purina and Your Majesty cat food brands, among others.
For those who can devote time to their pet’s online adventures, there’s money to be made and I know some who have been able to leave their jobs to concentrate solely on this. Figures vary, but it’s not unusual for brands to pay petfluencers between $700 and $2500 for a reel and a couple of stories.
There’s a misconception this can be easy money. But to do it well you need to spend a lot of time getting the right content, editing content and engaging with followers. You also need to put the health and happiness of your pet first.
At the start, Rian and I were posting every day and spending an hour or two getting everything just right, but we never filmed Nathan or Winnie [a second cat who joined the family in 2018] for longer than five minutes or pushed them into anything they didn’t want to do. And it’s never been about the money for us; we’re RSPCA ambassadors and use the platform to raise money for animal welfare charities, particularly smaller ones.
Rian and I lead hectic lives [Melissa is a student and part-time nurse, Rian is a doctor], so it can be challenging to find enough time to give the feed and website [nathanthebeachcat.com.au] the time we would like. I don’t think we could walk away, though; the cats have the loveliest followers who care deeply about them and we’ve made great friends through the experience.”
“There’s good money to be made but for me it’s about sharing my love for my pet”
Setting up an Instagram account for her miniature pony, Apollo, was a bit of fun for wildlife educator Adele Bender. The account, @apollominihorse, has 1400 followers and Apollo is one of the country’s first equine influencers.
Apollo is captured being his authentic self – chewing grass, eating fruit and walking around.Credit: @apollominihorse/Instagram
“Apollo came into my life in 2018 after I decided I wanted a miniature pony and found Apollo on Gumtree. It wasn’t completely random: I’d grown up riding horses and at the time I was a zookeeper at Australia Zoo. Our property was too small for the horse I’d been dreaming about but I knew a miniature pony would be perfect.
I started an Instagram account for Apollo right away. There was no great motivation behind it. I knew he was cute and had a fun personality – he’ll often open up the sliding door and walk straight into our house – plus there’s something unusual about taking your miniature pony for a walk.
I posted fun videos of Apollo chewing my husband’s beard, walking down the street and wearing scrunchies in his hair. People loved the videos as much as I did, and before long Power Pets contacted me about representation.
I posted fun videos of Apollo chewing my husband’s beard, walking down the street and wearing scrunchies in his hair.
Brands then started reaching out for collaborations and soon Apollo began creating content for Shark vacuum cleaners and Aussie Grazers.
Once, for a Toyota promotion, Apollo walked up a ramp onto the back of a ute and I posted a photo, mentioning that the ute has a lot of horsepower! I noticed, too, that when I purchased products and posted about them, the companies would then send me their products.
If you devote yourself to this industry, there’s good money to be made. But with my wildlife education business being the core of my focus, it’s never been about that for me. We tend to get sent a lot of products, though – toys, hay bales, enrichment items, discount codes – and combined they do make a difference to your bottom line.
Obviously there are many advantages to having a pet become an influencer, but the biggest challenge for owners is the constant pressure to keep creating content and posting. I don’t post anywhere near as much as I should. But I also make sure that when I do, I’m capturing Apollo being his authentic self – chewing grass, eating fruit and walking around.
Followers don’t really like to see animals being staged or being forced to do tricks. That’s my advice: keep your content natural and don’t take this too seriously. It is all just a bit of fun and an opportunity to show off your much-adored pet.”
“Pikelet’s social media presence is the reason my animal rescue organisation exists”
Calley Gibson, founder and director of Life of Pikelet, created an Instagram account for her dog as a way to advocate for rescue animals. The account, @lifeofpikelet, has 152,000 followers.
Pikelet’s owner says, “There is some negativity about pets on Instagram but provided you use the platform... for the right reasons, it can enable you to do a world of good.”Credit: @lifeofpikelet/Instagram
“I was knee-deep in animal welfare volunteer work and fostering puppies when Pikelet scampered into my world in 2013. I received a call to take on a dog with rickets who was due to be euthanised. I was only meant to foster him until we found his forever home, but I fell in love with his personality and decided to keep him.
People had only just started creating social media accounts for pets when Pikelet joined my family and I noticed none of them featured rescue dogs. With my commercial photography and advertising background, I was taking all these amazing shots, so I thought, ‘Why not start an account advocating for rescue dogs to show people they can be just as great as pedigrees?’
The feed grew quickly as followers delighted in Pikelet’s adventures, as well as the journeys of rescue animals we took in for short periods until they could be adopted; I had so many animal welfare groups approaching me that I ended up fostering 34.
The Life of Pikelet took on a life of its own after we documented some ducklings we were fostering. The US Today show did a segment on Pikelet, after which I had four international publishing houses bidding for the rights for Pikelet’s book. In the end, Penguin did Pikelet’s memoirs and we went on a book tour.
This all sounds glamorous but Life of Pikelet isn’t government-funded and every penny I receive – whether it be through books, merchandise sales or fundraising events – keeps me on top of the cost of feed for our animal rescues and veterinary bills, as well as providing a roof over our heads.
Because this is my full-time job, I also earn income through the $5-a-month subscription service for access to our closed Facebook page.
I know there’s some negativity about pets on Instagram but provided you use the platform correctly and for the right reasons, it can enable you to do a world of good. The Life of Pikelet feed is the reason my rescue exists today and social media keeps the support going.
During COVID-19 lockdowns we used social media to organise the long-distance transport of pets, and it’s also a way of publicising our rescues and fundraising to buy equipment. Mostly, it’s a way of getting across the message that rescue pets are the best pets, and allowing algorithms to get that message in front of many more eyeballs.”
Find out how you can assist Calley Gibson here.
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