Animal-friendlyDigital MarketingA Resource Guide to Social Media Marketing for Small-to-Medium Pet-based Service Providers

Ben and Kelly are creating this guide for a class project. Our company, Your Time Social Media Services is an experiment in Social Media Marketing Services. Both Kelly and Ben are experienced media and marketing professionals that wanted to take their skills to the digital realm. Oh, and we both love animals—some more exotic than others.

AUTHOR PAGE:Ben McWhorter and Kelly Dorsey

Purpose………………….….………….……… 5 Resources: Books and Guides ….……. 6 Resources: Web Sites………………….…. 8 Resources: Published Studies……….…. 11

Resources: Events and Training….…… 13

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Over the last decade the United State fascination with pets has continued to rise. Even through the 2008-2010 recession, pet owners continued a steady pace of heaping millions of dollars on to activities and support of our beloved furry friends. As Social Media continues rise as the number one way to reach folks looking for local solutions and services, it behooves animal service agencies of all types to dive deep in to the Social Media waters and reach this target audience ready and willing to spend over $55 million this year. As a class project, we’ve collected numerous resources to help any pet service provider reach their core audience through digital and social media.

CHAPTER 1:Purpose

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This quick-to-read unassuming book is a must have road map for veterinary practices looking to start or enhance their web presence. Brenda Tassava provides excellent insight on the art and skill of engaging with clients and other veterinary professionals using social media. This book also provides concrete step-by-step tips for setting up and managing social media within a practice.

CHAPTER 2:Books and Guides

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From traditional books, to eBooks, to White Papers, there is a plethora of reading material to help educate you on starting your social media marketing practice. Here are just a few.

Pam Foster and CS Wurzberger have compiled a great resource for anyone that is in the business of marketing pet or veterinary products and services. From strategies for understanding your target market, to effectively utilizing social media, to implementing measurements and metrics, this book is an outstanding guide.

Brent Cramp is a marketing expert that specializes in marketing education and training for all small businesses. His passion for seeing pet businesses succeed has led him to write the most powerful, and easy to implement marketing training program specifically for pet businesses. After years of not being able to find a full scale training program suitable for pet business clients, Marketing for Pet Business was written and published in June 2012.

Animal-friendly Social Media Marketing

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CHAPTER 3:Web sitesFrom industry organizations to marketing service companies, there are literally dozens of web sites with valuable content and education available for you.

3 Ways Social Media Benefits Your Veterinary PracticeWhen used properly, social media is a great tool to help expand your veterinary practice’s business. Not only is social media here to stay, it is a rapidly growing medium will constantly emerging marketing strategies. Social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are resources that your current and potential clients utilize to learn about veterinary care and to get to know your practice. Learn more at: http://bit.ly/12cpuLe

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Tools for helping you establish you Social Media PracticeVeterinary Social Media Marketing Frequently Asked Questions Veterinary social media marketing can be confusing. The leader in veterinary communications, helps vet practices master and manage this opportunity.http://bit.ly/13gQ47h

Animal-friendly Social Media Marketing

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Facebook Marketing Ideas for VeterinariansGet ideas for how to market your veterinary practice using Facebook. This site shares specific examples of how veterinarians are successfully using Facebook as part of their marketing

This guide will show you examples of what other vets are doing to better understand what's involved. http://bit.ly/ZG5Jsu

Tapped Out of Marketing Strategies for Your Pet Boarding Business?Now that you have established a new doggie day care or pet boarding business, have you considered a plan to grow your customer base and get them excited about your brand? How do you go beyond one dog at a time to build a great reputation for your facility? http://bit.ly/142HS9B

Animal-friendly Social Media Marketing

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Study shows veterinarians using texting, e-mail and social networkingA new 83 page Veterinarian New Media Usage Study provides comprehensive insight on the use of new and social media among veterinarians--including Internet usage, social networking and mobile phone activities--for business and social purposes. -- 91 percent of small animal veterinarians check websites related to animal health, while 92 percent of large animal veterinarians check animal health-related websites. --20 percent of both groups have accounts on Twitter. For more information go to: http://bit.ly/16fNPE5

CHAPTER 4:Published Studies

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Market data can be critical for decision making and content creation. Here are a few sources we found valuable.

Pet Sitters International Shares Results of its 2013 Pet Sitters and Social Media Use SurveyFebruary 1, 2013Pet Sitters International’s recent Pet Sitters and Social Media Use Survey found that nearly 60 percent of its professional pet-sitter members use at least one social media platform to promote their pet-care services. While seemingly late adopters of social media and online marketing opportunities, professional pet sitters are now increasing their use of social media for business purposes—and sharing a variety of information from clients’ photos to pet-product recommendations—according to the survey’s findings.Go to: http://bit.ly/16fOju4

So for 2012 and beyond, the news continues to be good for all aspects of the pet business. Overall pet industry spending has held up well the last few years, demonstrating solid if not spectacular growth, even despite the Great Recession in 2009.For more information on pet industry trends go to: http://bit.ly/11RvWFG

Animal-friendly Social Media Marketing

Pet Business Trends 2013More than ever, pets are considered a part of the family. Along with that, the share of the family budget allocated to pet-related spending continues to grow at a healthy rate. During the past few years, spending has focused on value for money. However, in 2012, we saw discretionary spending on products and services—from pet Halloween costumes to travel-related services—increase substantially.

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CHAPTER 5:Events and Training

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BarkWorld Expo was established in 2009 and has continued to build strong online support for the cause of sharing and educating pet lovers within social media.http://www.barkworldexpo.com/

BlogPaws' offers educational, networking, and business opportunities for the online pet community. The annual conferences bring together hundreds of pet bloggers, pet enthusiasts, shelters, rescues, and the brands who serve them, for social media education, networking.http://events.blogpaws.com/

For the most up-to-date and personal training, consider attending one of the many Expositions and conferences tailored specifically to address the needs of animal service providers needing training and insight in to social media marketing.

There’s a lot of information out there to get a good start on your Social Media Marketing program. But doing an effective job takes time, tools and manpower. If you want to take advantage of these growing industry trends, contact Your Time Social Media Services.

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