In the world of social media, there is a saying that it doesn’t matter whether you are posting for a business, non-profit or personal page — kittens and puppies generate the most engagement and make for the most popular social media posts. One of our agency’s most popular recent posts proved just that again in mid-April. Is this a good thing for you to do, or not?
The story behind the post
We are a dog-friendly office and one of my colleagues brought her 9-week old puppy “Duke” in for the day. Another colleague regularly brings his mature, Australian shepherd “Chayce” in three days a week. (Chayce is generally regarded as our office mascot.) Needless to say, when older dog met puppy, it made for an entertaining day in the office. I took a photo of the dogs and posted it on our Facebook page and in reviewing our weekly insights, we received 172 likes that day.
And, not to overdo the puppy theme too much, our client Small Dog Electronics received over 700 likes recently for their Easter post of a puppy donning rabbit ears.
More than puppies and kittens
The notion of being heart-warming or quirky seems to hold true as well for unique, funny quotes or cartoons that are not part of the mainstream “thoughts of the day” fodder. This cartoon captivated the attention of our agency team last week and still provides a daily chuckle for me as I pinned it up behind my desk.
(“New Yorker” cartoon by Liam Walsh)
As you can imagine, our marketing and PR world keeps us in front of a screen a lot since that has become the nature of our industry. Even my teenage kids tease me for being on my phone or tablet!
Mix it up
Posts on your social media accounts should primarily be rich in content relevant to your audience(s), consistent in scheduling and authentically represent the serious purpose of your business or organization. However, posting occasional funny events that take place in your office, or a funny cartoon or saying also shows your human side. These posts resonate with readers and help them connect with you on another level. Plus, it makes them smile.
This will help build your brand by showing the essence of what makes you unique. And, hey, if you are a dog-friendly office, you can always post pictures of the dogs. In fact, puppies might even be the best choice.
