dog marketing
DESCRIPTION
Presented at the American Pets Alive No-Kill Conference 2014.TRANSCRIPT
Introduce yourself and give a brief overview of the Dog Marketing team:
The Austin Pets Alive! Dog Marketing team is responsible for making sure the animals get in front of as many potential adopters as possible! We do this through a number of channels, and each one is extremely valuable to our efforts.
Our volunteers spend countless hours getting to know all of the dogs in the program, writing their bios, taking their photographs and videos, and making sure that they get maximum exposure.
The Dog Marketing Leadership structure includes: • Dog Marketing Manager • Writing Coordinator • 2 Photo/Video Coordinators • Database Coordinator • RescueGroups Coordinator • Craigslist Coordinator
The Dog Marketing volunteer team includes: • Biographers • Dog Interviewers • Photographers • Videographers • RescueGroups Posters • Craigslist Posters
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Explain that we believe that every dog deserves the best marke7ng available and we do our best to give it to them!
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Explain that bios are one of our main marke7ng components and if wri<en correctly gives a poten7al adopter a chance to truly feel connected to a dog – without even mee7ng them!
Note that we work with bios in two ways: interviewing on-‐site dogs and working with fosters to get the informa7on we need.
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Interviewing On-‐site Dogs We always encourage our big brothers/big sisters, adop7on counselors, behavior team members, etc. to send informa7on to Dog Marke7ng as they learn more about a par7cular dog, but we have a team of people that are specifically work on gathering informa7on about the dogs that we have at site.
Our dog interviewers will visit par7cular dogs that need a bio and spend some 7me with them. We encourage them to speak with the dog counselors at site to find out any background informa7on they may know about (Were they owner surrenders? Do we know if they are housebroken? Do they like kids/cats/dogs?). The dog interviewers then take their compiled informa7on and fill out an online form that contains a series of ques7ons. Once submi<ed, this form and all of the informa7on is automa7cally sent out to our wri7ng team. Note that a copy of this ques7onnaire is included in the marke7ng sec7on of the guide they were provided with.
AOer the informa7on is distributed to our wri7ng team, we ask that a writer claim the bio by signing up on our Bio sign-‐up spreadsheet. This keeps our team from duplica7ng efforts and ensures that we can easily track who is working on what. Writers are asked not to claim more than two bios at a 7me in order to give everyone on the team a chance to write and we ask that bios are submi<ed within 48 hours of being claimed.
Explain that our wri7ng team is also encouraged to u7lize a database kept by our Big Brothers/Big Sisters program called Dog Diaries. The Big Brothers/Big Sisters are asked to rou7nely enter informa7on about their li<les. Entries can include great details like whether a dog loves to play fetch or frisbee, or poten7al dietary needs, or special behaviors that will need to be addressed in a home. These details can help give a bio that extra person edge that would bring a poten7al adopter in to meet the dog.
Working with Fosters As soon as a foster gets a good feel for the dog they are fostering, they are also asked to fill out the online form. We ask fosters to focus on specific behaviors that they have no7ced about how a dog acts in a home and any special needs that the dog may have (to be in a home with another dog, that they will need help with po<y training, etc.).
The online form also provides fosters with a place to a<ach up to three photos and a video. Essen7ally, it is a one-‐stop shop for fosters, which helps streamline the submission process.
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Great photographs and videos can mean the difference between an animal that gets no7ced and one that gets passed on by. We've had animals on our website for weeks with no inquiries that have go<en interest as soon as a great photo and/or video was posted!
Never discount the power of videos and photographs in increasing adop7ons!
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Who can take photos Explain that anybody can take photos! The digital age has put cameras in the hands of just about everyone and you never know who is going to be in the right place at the right time to capture that perfect moment. A balance of photographers and regular volunteers with their cameras is the key to having a well-rounded collection of profile photos. Good photographers play a very important role in getting good shelter photos, but it’s important to use the resources that they have available. Never discount the impact that a great instagram photo can have.
Encourage attendees to recognize that someone is out there experiencing an amazing moment with a shelter dog. It’s about ensuring that people know that they can share those photos with the marketing team.
Getting great photos • The most emotional pictures are the ones where the animal is looking right at you. • Try to get some pictures at eye level with the dog. Don’t be afraid to get down low to their level. (ie, on the floor, etc) • If the animal has some funny, beautiful or unusual aspect, try to get a shot of that. For example, if their tail is really unusual, get it in the picture! • If the dog wants to come too close to you (or runs away from you), use a leash to tie them to something. Often the dog will sit down and look at you funny. • Be patient – just follow them around for a while and let them relax. Eventually you will be able to get a good shot. • If the animal is very active, put your camera on ‘action’ mode. • Outdoors around 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. has the best lighting. • Try not to take pictures outdoors in direct sunlight. • Use a treat or a squeaker toy to get their attention. • Sometimes it helps to have someone stand right behind you or over your shoulder with either a toy or a treat. • For the best pictures, make sure they are looking at you and not at the other person!
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Scroll through the photos one at a time and ask the audience what stands out about each photo to them. Ask them if they feel drawn to the dogs; would the photo make them think about looking at the dog’s profile?
What kind of photos to use Our system allows us to post three photos of every dog, so we try to post a close-up, a full-body shot, and an action shot or something that really shows off the dog’s personality (working agility, playing with a tennis ball, etc.).
How to submit photos Dog Marketing manages a SmugMug gallery that allows volunteers to upload all of their photos. Then we ask that they notify the dog marketing leadership team that they have uploaded photos and we go and upload the photos to the dog’s profile. This allows us to keep a catalog of all of our photographs for use in a variety of marketing efforts.
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Explain that dog videos are extremely important, because they show the dog in ac7on. While bios and photos can paint a picture, a good video brings the dog to life!
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Basic Video Tips
• Let the dog get comfortable before you start shoo7ng. Your video will be more personable, because the dog will be comfortable interac7ng with the camera.
• Try to get some footage at eye level with the dog. Don’t be afraid to get down low to their level. (ie, on the floor, etc)
• If the animal has some funny, beau7ful or unusual aspect, try to get some footage of that. Highlight their most unique features!
• Let the dog run towards the camera if they want to. Dog noses = cuteness!
• Make sure the dog has something to interact with (ie, a tennis ball, squeaky toy, swimming pool, etc).
• Show off what the dog already knows (sit, stay, shake, etc.)! • Don’t worry about external noises when shoo7ng your footage – you can edit that out and add royalty-‐free music over the video.
Explain that it really helps to have someone help handle the dog while shoo7ng video footage (throwing a toy, giving a treat, and showing off the dog’s tricks).
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Extraordinary Videos
• Great videos use voiceovers from the people that know the dog best.
• They show off the dog’s great traits, but also note things that poten7al adopters need to know (no cats, etc.)
• They are essen7ally a visual bio.
Ask a<endees if anything else stood out to them about this video? Did they connect with it?
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APA! Website We market dogs on the website in the following ways:
• Featured Dog: We feature a single dog on the main page of the website to bring special a<en7on to them. We also coordinate other marke7ng efforts to highlight the same dog. • Individual Dog Profiles: Each profile contains 3 photos, a video, and a bio. The bio can include any extra video links • Blog Posts: Occasionally, we write a special blog post that highlights a dog that needs some extra marke7ng a<en7on. These posts give extra informa7on that is not included in the bio, extra photos, and poten7ally extra videos.
Craigslist Most of our dogs get posted to Craigslist. Each dog’s post includes a special catchy headline, their bio informa7on, their photos, and a video (if available). Each post also includes informa7on that directs poten7al adopters back to the Aus7n Pets Alive! website.
RescueGroups RescueGroups uploads each ad to more than 100 adop7on lis7ng websites, including Pefinder and Adopt-‐a-‐Pet.
Foster Billboard at HQ We post special flyers for the dogs in foster at our main adop7on loca7on to ensure that they get publicity with all the foot traffic we get. These flyers include a photo of the dog and bullet points that highlight the dog’s best traits.
Kennel Flyers We decorate each dog’s kennel with a very colorful laminated flyer that include a catchy headline, a photo of the dog, and the dog’s bio.
Social Media Channels • YouTube Channel – We upload all of our dog videos to the organiza7on’s YouTube channel. • Instagram Account – We try to highlight one dog each weekday. • Twi<er Account – While our PR team handles the organiza7on’s twi<er account, the Dog Marke7ng team has the ability to highlight par7cular dogs, and share special photos and/or videos
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Explain that we have specific tools that we use to streamline our marke7ng processes:
Google Groups Each group of volunteers within the Dog Marke7ng team has its own Google group to ease communica7ons. Dog Marke7ng leadership uses these groups to send important informa7on, updates and requests out to the teams. The volunteers use these groups to let other team members know when they are covering specific dogs or if they need help with something.
Dog MarkeLng Wiki Our Dog Marke7ng Wiki is an online resource that Dog Marke7ng volunteers can access to get informa7on on our team, processes, and examples of successful submissions.
Master Dog MarkeLng spreadsheet This spreadsheet tracks every dog in the program, their current status, and specific dates in which bios/photos/videos were posted and/or updated. We use this informa7on in many ways, but it gives us an at-‐a-‐glance way to know which dogs haven’t had their profiles updated in a while.
Bio/Photo/Video Needs spreadsheet This spreadsheet is available to all APA! volunteers and profiles an easy way to determine which dogs need what. We use four statuses to determine needs: Incomplete, Update Needed, Complete, and In Progress. We also provide the top 5 priori7es for each marke7ng area, a list of the 5 longest-‐stay dogs, and a list of resources that will help volunteers help us (SmugMug, Dog Diaries, and Bio Sign-‐up links).
Bio Sign-‐up spreadsheet Ensures that writers don’t duplicate efforts and allows us to track which bios are in progress at all 7mes.
Dog MarkeLng Volunteer Manual Provides direc7ons, 7ps, and tricks for all dog marke7ng photographers and videographers.
Explain that copies of most of these tools can be found in the appendix of the marke7ng sec7on of the materials provided to them.
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