We all know social media is a powerful tool for spreading information, not only because of the ease of creating content, but due to the sheer number of people online. As of 2023, almost 5 billion people access social media on a global scale, and the most prevalent among those? Facebook. With over 3 billion global users, Facebook is still the leading social media platform to date. Even in the US, despite Millennials and Gen Z claiming Facebook is dead, almost 75% of the over 300 million people on social media are on Facebook!
So how can we leverage this to save more homeless pets?
Use Facebook to build your “brand”
While many organizations don’t prioritize their animal rescue website, almost all of them have some presence on Facebook. In today’s world, it’s just not acceptable to not be online. People want to know who they’re working with, who they’re supporting. This is your “brand”. How you’re perceived by the people coming to your animal rescue looking to adopt your available pets. The more you’re engaging and sharing your message, your mission, the more you’re promoting why someone should care about helping you!
The beauty of the social media age also is that content doesn’t have to be polished. The more real the better. Or should I say, the more reel 😉?
Animals/pets are the #1 most consumed reels content topic in America
Facebook reels (short videos) capture our attention with relatable, short-form entertainment. Recall we talked about avoiding heartbreak and “the shock factor” in our last blog post about enhancing your adoptable pet listings? Keep the same in mind here. Don’t use Facebook as a way to guilt your audience into helping you, encourage their support by showing the fun, beautiful side to animal rescue.
Meta refers to reels as “stop thumbs”, meaning a person who’s just mindlessly scrolling on their phone is more likely to stop and actually engage in the content they’re viewing – provided the content is interesting to them of course.
You’ve already got the upper hand by being able to showcase a cute pet! All you have to do is maintain their attention for just 15-30 seconds either by showing a goofy pup tripping over his own ears, a sleepy cat making biscuits in the air, or even a grumpy bunny stomping their feet. Be sure to use the original audio or even narrate what’s happening. Facebook Reels has a text to audio feature that will overlay the words you’re saying as text on your video and voila! Close it out with a call to action like “click the link to donate to Fifi’s care” or “adoption application link in the description” and you’re actively engaging with your community.
The best part is that you’ll get real time feedback so you can figure out what does and doesn’t work for you. Just know that getting it done is more important than getting it perfect. The more you create, the more you’ll figure out what feels right or what flows better. As an added bonus, the more you create, the more Facebook’s algorithm has to work with to recommend your animal rescue content to more people! The more your community knows about the work you’re doing to save animals, the more they’re likely to help support your mission and promote your animal rescue the next time someone they know is looking to adopt a pet.
Click here to watch the webinar hosted by Petfinder and Meta and learn all their tips and tricks for helping you create your first reel and drive more adoptions through Facebook and Instagram.