MORE WAYS CARING PET OWNERS CAN SPREAD THE WORD ONLINE (PART 2 OF 2)
March 12th, 2009 by Guest BloggerThis post comes to us from Alana Taylor, a social media marketing consultant for Halo. She is currently living in the East Village and double-majoring in Journalism and History at New York University. She also writes for Mashable.com and PBS.org. Alana will post here on occasion to teach us all how to use social media to help pets!
Our first blog post on using social media highlighted Facebook groups and fan pages as well as ways to use blogs. This time around, I’m going to give you a heads up on Twitter, DIY (do it yourself) social networks and social bookmarking — all ways you can spread the word about holistic pet care!
Create Your Own Social Network
If you are more of a leader and organizer than a participant, then do your part by creating your own social network where other like-minded pet owners can join and start discussions.
Ever heard of the site Ning.com? The popular and fast-growing DIY social network site is easy to navigate and set up. Anyone can do it. All you need is a positive attitude, a niche interest, and a reason for people to join. Before you know it, you’ll be running your own social network!
Some examples that are popular are Pet Lover’s Paradise, The Million Pet Network, and Kitty Happy.
Talk on Twitter!
If you don’t have a Twitter account yet, then you’re certainly out of the loop when it comes to virality and word-of-mouth marketing online! Twitter is a micro-blogging site that acts as a never-ending chatroom where people hold conversations, share links, and follow interesting people or brands.
Twitter has proven to be one of the most effective ways of sharing information with people online having news spread fast. Really fast. Once you get your account started, you can begin by following pet-lovers, pet companies (like @HaloPets!), and other interesting people in the community.
Some pet-loving Twitter users I like include:
@HelpAnimals
@AboutExoticPets
@WeAreTheCure
@Paw_Naturaw
@AlleyCatAllies
@PetHabitats
@HealthyPet
@ASPCA
@Kat5Rescue
@Action4Animals
@Liberty4Animals
@EcoPup
@SSPets
@AnimalActivism
@WoofWellness
@BFNetwork
@DogQuality
@PetReLocation
@Bideawee
@HolisticHealing
Begin by listening to what they have to say, and then be useful by contributing to the conversation, re-tweeting their messages and links, and getting people to follow you back. One tweet, much like the wings of a single butterfly, can create a great wind that can make a difference.
Subscribe and Share
Lastly, one of the most simple but extremely effective ways of helping to spread the word online is by subscribing to RSS feeds and e-mail newsletters of important pet sites, companies or organizations so that: a) You can stay aware, and b) You can forward the information to your friends, family and online network.
Even something as simple as sharing a blog post from your Google Reader feed or sharing it on a site like FriendFeed can make a difference. Start to build up your credibility as a person who is up-to-date with the latest news by consistently sharing important links and people will slowly start turning to you as their source. That’s how you become important on the web, by filtering information for people and sharing only the most important things.
So, there you have it! These tips should be a starting point for you to get the ball rolling and be more active online.
Have tips of your own? Success stories? Share them in the comments! (Don’t forget to use the social bookmarking tools below to share this post and your other favorite posts with friends!)
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June 11th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Freddie, my three and a half year old Maltese, is a very finicky eater and has been since he was a pup. I have tried every enticement to get him to eat his dog food. I would cook chicken, beef, turkey, eggs, anything to add to his dog food to get him to eat and finish his food. He likes the Innova dog food I feed him, however, he would still look for morsels of homemade food. He never seemed to eat with enjoyment or complete the meal. plus if I added “people food” to his dish, he would selectively pick it out before he took a few bites of his dog food.
I had two Pugs before Freddie and they lived to eat and would eat anything I put down for them. Needless to say, they were both over-weight and being a typical Mother; I was thrilled to see them eat. I grew up in a household where cleaning your plate was the norm. Even though Freddie likes my cooking, he still needs to eat more dog food and I would try anything to get him to eat.
Recently my local pet store owner introduced me to a protein supplement by Halo, Purely for Pets, dog and cat food, which improves the taste and nutritional value of any meal. It’s called Dinner Party and it contains 75% protein mixed with herbal seasonings. The main ingredient is freeze dried chicken, freeze dried salmon, or freeze dried beef and only a small amount needs to be sprinkled on any meal for your dog or your cat to give their food a tasty incentive to eat nourishing and healthy food.
Halo foods supplies natural dog and cat food as well as natural supplements, treats and grooming supplies. I think your pet will be very pleased with their products and you will be happy to see how well-nourished and healthy your pet will be with the use of Halo natural products. Ellen Degeneres, the well-known comedian and talk show hostess, has used Halo products for years and is an ardent animal lover. She loved their line so much that she became a co-owner of the company and actively promotes their products.
Freddie loves Dinner Party chicken sprinkled on his food and now eats all his food in one sitting and leaves a clean dish. Good boy, Freddie!