Increasing Engagement Without Spending Ad Dollars

[Alva / Pawsitively Texas]

I shared this post in the Blog Talk discussion, but realized that it might be beneficial to this Social Media group as well. 

http://community.blogpaws.com/group/blogtalk/forum/topics/the-power-of-a-single-post

[Sharon Seltzer]

It looks like you have mastered the art of social media.  You numbers are amazing.  Maybe you could give a class.  I fully agree that we should post something on our FB page daily to keep interest, but what is your secret to finding people who are passionate about your subject???

Thanks for sharing this.  It gives me hope.

[Alva / Pawsitively Texas]

Hi Sharon, 

Thank you; my strength to date is Facebook. I’m am in process of strengthening my skills with the other power house social media sites. However, Fb, has a constant learning curve as they roll out changes so frequently. I have taught a social media class at a no kill workshop in Texas and do write “Best Practices” tips on PawsitivelyTexas.com I’ll be posting the workshop on http://HomelessPetProject.com (which is a resource site with videos and articles to help increase pet adoptions and build no kill communities) launching soon. I’m happy to try and answer any questions you may have. 

When I first began Pawsitively Texas, it was to advocate for pets, and also post fun stories about our pets. I still do the latter, but when I began, there was very little on Facebook to advocate for Texas shelter pets, and the need was so great. So my Fb page became more of a hub for people posting pets in great danger and established Pawsitively Texas as a key influencer since the posts can reach so many people. We have saved thousands of pets’ lives. Some of the pets when posted, have only hours left to live – and it takes someone that can look past their own emotional feelings (despair, devastation, etc.) and focus on saving the dogs. In the beginning, I found not all pet lovers could handle seeing the beautiful faces and knowing they only had hours left to live. The first year, I advertised a little on Fb; after it hit the 10,000 mark, I didn’t advertise any more, it just grew organically – which is the power of the Fb share button. That said, when I did advertise, I had to use very targeted marketing so as to reach the right audience and not waste money recruiting people who would leave the page once they saw the urgent posts.

As people see my posts, tag and share, the page grows as people discover it. Oddly enough, even though my page has a Texas focus, people from all over the U.S. follow it. We see a lot of out-of-state adoptions and contributions for a pet in need coming in from across state lines too. People just care about pets! 

A few tips I can offer are …

1. Post Consistency

2. Integrity and professionalism (I dont’ get sucked into drama that can sometimes erupt online and I only allow certain kinds of pet need fundraisers on the page so people have more confidence in who they donate too)

3. Be personal (when I first began, I kept the focus on the pets and people just referred to me as Paws or Pawsitively Texas; now I sign each post as “Alva” and many people now feel more connected with the person behind the posts)

4. Post Relevancy – I don’t steer far from the page mission; my posts tend to resonate with the passion of the people who follow

5. Always include a photo with each post (Fb is visual and it also gives a ‘share button’ when a photo is included)

One of the challenges I’ve been working to overcome is that the because of the success of the Fb page (microblog), it steals my time from my actual blog. I believe it’s better to make our blogs the ‘main thing’ and use social media as a tool to help reach our goals and audience. However,  it’s a constant emotional struggle as those pets in danger need exposure, so I’ve been implementing strategies (such as scheduling posts) in order to allocate time for all priorities. Even though the social media numbers look good and can help significantly, I think nothing beats writing a good blog that gets found organically in a web search. The reason is, in social media, we’re at the mercy of whatever changes the platform makes, but with a self-hosted blog, we have the power to build our own ‘media dynasty’ without limitations. 

I wish you the best with your blog and social media strategy. 

[Sharon Seltzer]

Alva, I can’t thank you enough for this wealth of information.  I post for my rescue group as well as for my blog.  I’m going to apply ALL of your suggestions.  I’m definitely going to start posting my name.

-Sharon

[Alva / Pawsitively Texas]

Hi Sharon, I’m glad you found the info helpful! I consult with a lot of pet rescue pages and groups, so if you have any questions, let me know and I’ll be happy to help if I can. I see myself as a pebble in the ‘be the change’ pond, and if I can create a ripple effect in any way that helps a pet in need, and/or the people who help them, it’s a huge honor! Do you mind sharing your blog and animal rescue page? I’m not yet familiar with everyone’s work and their real name. 

[Sharon Seltzer]

I would love for you to look at the pages I manage.  The rescue group is Heaven Can Wait Animal Society.  The link to the FB fan page is: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Heaven-Can-Wait-Animal-Society-Fan-Page/134760779893731 

Our website is: http://www.hcws.org

My blog is: Lessons From A Paralyzed Dog http://lessonsfromaparalyzeddog.com  and the FB link is: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lessons-From-A-Paralyzed-Dog/144569545752249

Thanks so much.

[Kimberly Freeman]

I just found this thread. Thank you so much for your post.

Do you use an auto post service such as Hootsuite or post maunally every day?

Also, on average how many posts do you post a day?

Thanks so much

I am trying to get more social savvy 

[Author]

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