How To Turn Your Pet Into a Social Media Star 🐶

Issue #97

September 3rd, 2024

Quick Hits:

💰 Givaudan a Swiss multinational manufacturer of flavors & fragrances is entering the pet space, most likely via acquisitions

🧪 Purina opens applications for their Unleashed 2025 accelerator - if you are an early pet care startup, you can now apply. 

🏂 With ski season being around the corner, here are the most dog-friendly ski destinations in the US

🧠 This agency delivered! A genius marketing campaign for International Dog Day

🍃 Your dog ate some weed, now what do you do?

This week we spoke with 3 popular content creators who have built a large online following - you may have heard of them, or already be following their accounts. Read on to hear more about the stories behind Bad Boy Bru, Matty and Kaido, and Cats with Jobs - and what they each suggest as keys to being a successful creator in the pet space.

Bad Boy Bru is one of the funniest accounts on Instagram! How did you come up with this fun character and the tagline - sup b*tches it’s bru?

I’ll keep it a secret from Bru that you think he's the funniest on IG—his ego’s big enough already. The idea for Bru started when I was scrolling through TikTok and came across a video of a cussing baby. It cracked me up. We had just gotten Bru, and on a whim, I made a video of him saying, 'What's up b*tches, it's Bru' and narrated his day, not expecting much. The next morning, we woke up to Bru going viral, and from there, we kept posting his dog blogs. The audience loved it, and it’s been growing ever since!

A great story is all that matters. How are you able to not only tell a story (in 45 seconds or less) but make it compelling and fun?

People’s attention spans are super short these days, so it’s all about grabbing their attention right from the start. When you’re scrolling and suddenly an adorably handsome puppy calls you a b*tch, it’s hard not to pause and watch.

How do you consistently come up with new content and what metrics do you use to measure if it resonates with your audience?

Luckily, Bru is just a naturally quirky dog. His funny mannerisms and constant mischief give me plenty of material to work with. We measure success through shares and comments—these metrics are key because the more engagement a video gets, the more it gets pushed by TikTok and Instagram algorithms.

You opened this account less than a year ago. You already surpassed 500k followers on IG - is there a replicable model here that someone can take and use to grow their account?

Absolutely! The key is to be entertaining, which has been the driving force behind Bru’s rapid growth. Aside from the voiceovers, consistency is crucial—I’ve noticed the fastest growth happens when we post at least 4-5 times a week. And, of course, that initial hook to stop people from scrolling is essential.

What is the range of $$ that an account of your size can earn per month? What are some popular ways to monetize? (affiliate, collaborations, sponsorships, merch, something else?) what have you found to be more successful/less successful?

There are plenty of ways to monetize! We’ve found brand partnerships to be the most lucrative (shoutout to Brittney with SocialxTalent, Bru’s fabulous agent). TikTok also pays well if your videos are over a minute and get good engagement. We’ve ventured into merch with Bru’s funny sayings and always listen to what his fans want next. With all these channels combined, you can expect to make $5-10k+ per month, which still blows my mind.

Walk us through the creative process involved in producing a video. From idea to pressing post.  

I’m constantly filming Bru—whenever he does something cute or funny, my phone’s ready. Each day, I review the footage and start editing it in TikTok. As I piece the clips together, I think about what Bru might be saying. Then I record the voiceover—90% of it is improv, just having fun with whatever comes to mind.

Overall, the best advice I can give is to not take things too seriously. The best videos are the ones where I don’t try too hard. And don’t get discouraged if a video flops or growth feels slow—social media is full of ups and downs. Stay consistent, and you’ll keep trending upward!

You got Kaido after a break-up, did you ever in your wildest dreams imagine not only the type of relationship you would have with him but the type of attention you would get from documenting your relationship?

It was never my intention to make a social media account, well become a dog influencer - lmao. I just wanted to make silly cute videos that I can look back on when he got older. A video journal of sorts. One video went viral and the rest is history

What's Kaido's "special talent"?

A-W-O-O-O-O-O-S, haha he loves to howl along with fire trucks and ambulances

You went from 400 followers to 40k followers in 2 weeks, what do you attribute this 100x growth to? 

Consistency, one video went viral but I already had a good amount of other videos on my pages. So made the account look more professional and easier for people to connect with.

You’re currently at 325k on Instagram & 9.5m likes on TikTok. Do you view it more as a full-time job now (to create content) vs what it was in the beginning which was perhaps posting more for fun?

It's definitely work, but I do love it. Spending all day hanging with my dog, thinking of video ideas, and making people smile... seems like a great life to me.

How do you consistently come up with new content and what metrics do you use to measure if it resonates with your audience?

Honestly, some videos will be hits, and some will be flops. I try to diversify what I post while keeping the overall theme of the channel the same. Lots of dog accounts make videos indoors... I wanted a more authentic NYC vibe to it. Hence why most of my videos are us out and about.

What are some popular ways to monetize? (affiliate, collaborations, sponsorships, merch, something else?) what have you found to be more successful/less successful? 

Brand deals are the biggest profit for me at the moment, but have been focused on growth and less on financials/monetization. Have some personal financial milestones I am hoping to achieve with the channel but my goal will always be to make fun silly content with my dog and hopefully make one person's day just a little bit better along the way

You run a few successful and fun cat-loving communities but your main and most successful one is - Cats with Jobs. 2.1m on X, 127k on Meta. Why do you think you've seen the most success on X when most similar accounts seem to find success on Instagram & TikTok?

I think a lot of it came down to luck and timing. I don't really use the other platforms regularly, or at least I didn't in the early days of the page, whereas I've been around on Twitter in some shape or form since 2011. I am gradually shifting to the other platforms, however, and the growth has been really impressive. My Threads account has gone up over 10k followers this week alone!

What inspired you to create a community around cats, and how did you initially attract your first 10k followers?

My first cat page was 'Translated Cats' which took a good year to reach 10,000 followers. Then I launched Cats with Jobs and it reached 150k pretty much overnight. I guess a lot of its success came from the idea of sending your cat off to work a paid job, which if you think about it, it’s just really funny. It's something a lot of cat followers can relate to.

Have you explored monetizing your community? If so, what approaches have worked best for you?

I have two fantastic merch partners, The Cat Hive and Rawpaw. The Cat Hive provides me with pin badges, dice (for the gaming types), and stickers. Rawpaw are a Texas-based indie print shop that make top quality apparel - a lot of which is hand-printed. On top of this, I was fortunate enough to have been made a Twitter/X advertising partner, so I get paid a rate based on my overall tweet impressions every two weeks. This alone isn't enough to live on, but combined with the merch sales I'm just about making it. If, going back a few years, somebody told me I would be making a living by posting images of cats, I'd probably have laughed.

Why is the internet obsessed with cats?

I have a confession to make, I'm actually (only slightly) more of a dog lover, and don't own any cats - although I'd like to someday. I think cats are the kings of the internet because of the sheer randomness and variety of their behavior. Perhaps the 'independent' nature of most cats also sets them up to be nature's jesters, but that's above my paygrade.

What is the "secret sauce" when building a massive online community?

Sadly, I wouldn't say I have much of a community, although I'm trying my best to build one. I think these days, if you have a large online following you have a responsibility to look after your followers and viewers. I never forget that there may be minors viewing my content, and will moderate my comments and replies accordingly. Sadly as social media companies are cutting back on these basic safeguards, it's down to us content creators to keep an eye out for people acting in harmful ways in the replies: whether it's posting obscene content or links to scams and possible phishing sites.

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Finally, What does a bee sit on?

Its bee-hind.

See you Friday!