In this article, you’ll discover the latest 2023 paid social media trends for a pet companies’ marketing that will put you ahead of your competition and help expand your pet business.
Pets have become a beloved member of many U.S. households, with 7 in every 10 American households owning at least one pet), and each owner spends an average of $1,332 per year on their furry companion. As a result, the U.S. pet market has ballooned into a 76.8-billion-dollar industry.
If your business is part of this enormous market that’s projected to rake in 143.6 billion in sales this year (2023), you’re faced with some fierce competition. Because of this market’s incredible potential for growth, there’s also an increased need for pet companies to adopt innovative online PET marketing strategies.
For your pet-related business to effectively penetrate this lucrative market, you need to be aware of the latest marketing strategies that deliver great outcomes. One of these is paid social. Paid social is short for paid social media advertising, a highly effective tool for marketing your pet business online and increasing your sales.
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Benefits of Social Media Trends in Marketing Your Pet Business
If you want your business to thrive in the competitive pet market, your pet company should adapt and gain a deep understanding of the latest paid social media trends. Just like other aspects of digital marketing, social media trends are rapidly evolving. Over the years, we’ve seen social media networking sites come and go (do you still remember Friendster, MySpace, Google+, and Vine?). Advertising trends on the latest platforms, sites, and apps change even more rapidly.
In spite of the challenge of keeping up with all of those changes, the task is well worth the effort because these social media platforms serve as powerful mediums for increasing your pet company’s online visibility, boosting engagement, and ultimately, increasing your customer volume and sales. There are billions of active users on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media sites—and many of them own a pet and can become your customer.
Besides its ability to build brand awareness for your pet company, paid social also allows you to begin and sustain meaningful and deep connections with people. Social media ads also provide access to valuable insights about your prospects as well as customers.
Introduction to Powerful Paid Social Media Trends For Pet Marketing
Several major trends have been observed in the pet marketing industry. Sales of online pet products have been growing in the past years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite economies bouncing back this year, the increase in online sales for pet-related supplies is showing no signs of stopping.
In recent years, influencer marketing also emerged as an effective pet marketing strategy. Several pet influencers have become household names (at least, in pet-owning households) and amassed a substantial number of online followers.
In addition, there’s an increase in user-generated content related to pet marketing. This type of content is usually used to provide an authentic experience and display the strong bond between pets and their owners, which is an effective strategy in pet marketing.
Let’s explore these trends further.
Online Pet Marketing - Paid Social Media Trend #1: Growth of Pet E-commerce
Even though most pet-related businesses have had an online presence even before 2020, it’s not surprising that the pandemic significantly shifted the pet industry, leading many pet owners to buy pet supplies online. The closure of pet-related shops and imposed lockdowns forced pet lovers to search for their furry friends’ essentials on the web, spurring the growth of pet care e-commerce.
This adjustment increased the online sales of pet products. An estimated 30% of those sales now originate from digital platforms. For that reason, numerous pet companies have also increased their online marketing efforts. Many discerning pet businesses augmented their paid social media ads spending, and many businesses that used to be clueless about paid social learned this incredible advertising tool and began taking advantage of it to boost their online sales.
For instance, the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brand Chewy, one of the most successful pet brands during the pandemic, used a lot of paid social media ads, with 72% of those ads being conversion-driven and 25% focused on building brand awareness. Paid social media ads have been shown to help pet businesses increase revenues and lower advertising cost of sale (ACoS).
Your pet company, too, can leverage paid social media ads to make your brand stick out and connect with pet owners online. Paid social lets you target specific demographics (for example, chihuahua owners), engage with prospects (such as by encouraging comments on your social media ad), and inspire your desired action (like adding your pet product to their online cart).
Younger generations of pet owners are a special segment because they are quite active on social media when it comes to searching for pet-related content and tips, so this may be a demographic you’d want to consider focusing more on.
Online Pet Marketing - Paid Social Media Trend #2: The Rise of Pet Influencers
Online influencers have been around for years, but more recently, several pets have also gained this title. Many pet brands have recently formed partnerships with popular pets to form genuine connections with pet owners.
Grumpy Cat, Mr. Pokee, Doug The Pug, JiffPom, Nala Cat, Jill The Squirrel, and Tucker The Golden Retriever are just some celebrity pets that pet owners may be familiar with. Pet influencer marketing typically revolves around wholesome content.
Given this trend, your pet brand may collaborate with a pet influencer who can be featured in your ads. However, if you have a limited marketing budget (‘petfluencers’ can command as much as $10,000 to $16,000 per post), one way you can leverage this trend in your paid social media is by featuring a lesser-known pet in your ads. You also have the option to use computer-generated or AI-generated images of pets or even a pet cartoon graphic. With the right strategy, any of them can be an effective online influencer for promoting your pet business.
Online Pet Marketing - Paid Social Media Trend #3: Increase in User-Generated Content (UGC)
Pet companies like yours can use UGC to feature your customers and their pets. It’s a well-known fact that people love stories and social proof—and effective marketers often use those two.
Pet companies have begun utilizing UGC in paid social media by featuring their actual customers and/or their furry friend in their ads. For example, your pet business can use UGC to showcase testimonials from pet owners who are happy with your pet products or services.
To gather UGC, you can organize an online contest, provide giveaways, or run some other type of promotion. Encourage your customers to share their experiences of your pet products or services and ask for their consent to be able to include it in your paid social.
Need Help in Using These Paid Social Media Trends For Your Pet Company?
At Zero Company Performance Marketing we can help you with your Paid Social advertising strategy. Our trusted digital marketing agency has a pawsome track record in managing online advertising campaigns (such as paid social media ads) for a variety of businesses, including pet companies.
Book a free consultation with our paid social media experts to discuss how we can help you harness these top trends in online pet marketing!
