Working with Dog

3 Instagram Reel or Carousel Post Ideas for Local, In-Person Pet Businesses

[THESE ARE POST IDEAS, VERSUS COPY/EDIT/PASTE DONE-FOR-YOU POSTS]
Carousel posts on Instagram are great. They encourage your users to engage by swiping. If you’re not quite ready for Reels yet, this is a SUPER easy way to tell a little story (maximum 10 images or videos).
Instagram Reels make it easy to stitch together bits of video (and photos) and they’re getting great organic reach. So, here are 5 ways to promote your local business using bits of video and photos you can easily upload into a Reel (maximum 60 seconds, so you may want to trim each clip)

Be sure to use a geo-location by tapping “Add Location” in the caption box (if applicable for your biz) and include a few local hashtags, like #denverdoodles or #westseattledogs, to get extra targeted reach. Do some quick research to see which local hashtags are being used by other local businesses and influencers.

Don’t forget to share the Reel or post in your Stories too!

THREE IDEAS TO USE:
1 . The Weekly Roundup  
Make a habit of taking short (2-4 second) clips of the pets you care for (on walks, eating, grooming, doing tricks or visiting the shop). Then at the end of the week do a ‘weekly roundup.’ You can even create your own hashtag for this as an ongoing feature and add a Highlight for them so people can see them long after their 24-hr expiration on Instagram.
2. Behind the Scenes  
Take a handful of short (like 2-4 second) clips of things happening in your business - unpacking products, walking dogs, caring for your equipment or vehicles, goofing around with your team, cleaning, working at the computer, stacking shelves…whatever the menial daily tasks are that go on behinds the scenes. If you have the option on your phone’s camera, play around with doing a few slow-motion or time-lapse videos by simply placing your camera onto something stable. Then, just stitch a bunch of them together to tell a ‘behind the scenes’ story of life in your business.
3. Local Small Business Spotlight  
Pop into another local, non-competing business (possibly another pet business) and do some short video clips or lovely phone snaps (hello portrait mode) to tell the visual story of what you love about their business. Write a nice thoughtful caption, tag them in the post and again when you share it in Stories - and they’ll probably share it with their audience. It’s a great way to pave the way for future collabs!  

This is also a great opportunity to use #shoplocal hashtags to help support other small businesses near you. For extra credit, grab a brochure, peek at their social or their website and make sure you include the key points they’re communicating there (this increases the likelihood that they’ll share your post!)
These done for you Social Media posts are available to members prior to June 2023 only.