Social Media Trends 2024: Pet Trends to Promote a Business

Social media trends in 2024 are constantly evolving, and pet trends are no different. With TikTok expected to reach 1.8 billion users by the end of 2024, Instagram’s ever-changing algorithm, and young audiences increasingly shying away from Facebook, it can be difficult to know where to place your efforts as a business.

Despite all of the changes, the use of social media platforms continues to be one of the most powerful ways to market a business within the pet industry. 

Keep reading to learn how you can leverage current social media trends to grow an audience for your brand and stay relevant in this ever-evolving digital landscape.

How to use social media for small businesses.

When it comes to using social media for your small business, there are a few things to consider if you want to attract the right audience and promote your services effectively.

1. Choose the right platforms: Keeping up with multiple platforms sometimes isn’t a sustainable action plan, so choose 1 or 2 and stick to those rather than trying to dominate them all. In 2024, most pet owners are millennials (33%), so think about the platforms that age group tends to use more (Instagram being one of the big ones). 
2. Develop a content strategy: As much as social media allows you to have fun, you should still have a strategy in place for your content creation. Decide when peak times to post are (where you get the most interaction), use hashtags and trending audio, and vary your posts enough to keep people interested.
3. Interact with your audience: When people comment, take the time to show them their engagement is valued by hitting ‘like’ or responding, which will make them more likely to engage with your content again.
4. Use analytics: Use follower counts and engagement metrics to see which posts perform well and which don’t. This will help you tailor your content to more social media users and see growth on your platform of choice.

Benefits of social media for small businesses.

There are numerous benefits of using social media for a small pet business, including:

• Attract new customers: Attracting pet owners is perhaps the primary reason a pet business should be using social media, as it can draw in local people and their dogs looking for the services your business offers, whether that’s dog training, sitting, pet grooming, or something else entirely. Social media allows you to connect with pet parents and show them how you can appeal to their needs.
• Engage with loyal customers: Keeping customers loyal is just as important as attracting new ones. Social media allows you to keep up with them, respond directly to feedback, and keep them in the loop with any changes to your services or anything new that may crop up. 
• Promote brand awareness: Part of the key to staying ahead of competitors is promoting awareness of your brand by using logos and a personality on your social platform to stick in the minds of pet owners. 77% of businesses use social media to stay ahead of the curve, so cutting it from your content strategy might allow your competitors to get ahead. 

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6 social media trends in 2024 a pet business should bear in mind. 

Part of being successful with your social media strategy in the pet ownership world is keeping up with current trends and knowing how to spot them. 

1. Influencer marketing.

Influencers are people who’ve mastered the social media algorithm and developed large audiences. Businesses often pay them to promote products or services, since they will be seen by a larger audience. 

Utilizing influencers can help your brand reach new audiences. As 69% of consumers trust influencer recommendations, this is a great marketing trend to hop on. 

2. Short-form videos.

Short-form videos have become the most effective way to communicate on social media, capturing the attention of 66% of consumers. TikTok and Instagram in particular currently build their platforms around short-form content with YouTube now offering this feature too. 

For pet businesses, short videos showcasing your cute canine customers or highlighting services can be extremely beneficial in letting other pet owners know about your brand and encouraging them to give you a shot. 

Pet groomers, for example, are seeing huge amounts of success on TikTok by filming their pet grooming process while giving a running commentary of what they are doing. Some dog groomers have gained millions of followers online and are gaining lots of new customers in the process. 

3. Instagrammable experiences.

Providing Instagrammable experiences is another pet industry trend business owners are using to promote their businesses. 

One trick is to provide an aesthetically pleasing backdrop that customers want to take pictures in front of to upload to the ‘Gram. The photos usually contain a ‘tag’ of where it happened which is a link back to the business’s social media page. 

Additionally, capturing picturesque moments where your clients’ dogs are playing, or showcasing your luxury kennel, can do wonders in enticing your customers to take photos to upload to social media and tag your business in. 

4. Interactive content.

Interactive content is another social media trend that is gaining popularity.

Many people browse social media without following, liking, or commenting. Interactive content on social media is digital content that encourages users to engage with it, rather than passively consuming it. It can include any type of material that requires user input and can respond to user actions. 

For example, it could be a poll on X (previously Twitter) or a question that encourages comments and opinions. 

5. Brand personality.

Developing a brand personality is another trend on social media that can help you stay above the competition and at the forefront of the minds of pet owners. Ask yourself how you want to be seen: humorous, playful, serious?

The appropriate response will depend on the nature of your service. A specialty dog trainer or pet insurance professional may want to seem serious, dedicated, and authoritative in the pet ownership space, whereas a doggy daycare might benefit from a humorous and playful approach.

Developing that personality, sticking to it, and emulating it through pictures, videos, and captions will help you stand out in people’s minds and be their go-to recommendation above the competition. 

6. Using AI.

The rise of AI for small businesses is also one of the big social media and pet industry trends in 2024. 

Many content creation tools are gaining popularity in the social media marketing space. AI apps like ChatGPT are being used to craft engaging captions, complete with hashtags to reel in an audience. 

Additionally, AI image-editing apps are being used to remove and replace backgrounds to produce marketing material that has a cleaner finish.

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Social media tips for small businesses.

TikTok tips for small businesses.

TikTok has been downloaded over 4 billion times in 2024, so if you haven’t created a TikTok for your pet business, you’re missing out on a wealth of potential customers.

It was also the first popular platform to focus solely on short-form video content, a model now being followed by other platforms like Instagram and YouTube in an attempt to capitalize on its success. 

If you want to attract an audience on TikTok, here are some tips:

• Use trending audio: Trending audio is sound that lots of people are using at the moment, so videos with the audio attached are generally seen more on the platform. Using this audio and finding a way to create a video that matches means there’s more chance of your video going viral.
• Use hashtags: Using appropriate, relevant, and popular hashtags can help the right people discover your business, for example, #doggrooming and #doggroomer.
• Keep it light: TikTok tends to be a platform for younger people and leans more fun than the others, so keeping the videos light and humorous rather than too educational can help make your account popular.
• Respond to comments: The more comments on your video, the more likely it is to be seen. Involve yourself in customer interactions and encourage a conversation to build up between viewers so it’s more likely your content will be shared.
• Use a good quality camera: Lastly, make sure the videos are good quality. They don’t have to be shot by a professional camera (even your phone camera will work!) but ensuring they’re sharp and well-lit can make all the difference. 

Instagram tips for small businesses.

Instagram has been moving a little more in the direction of TikTok with an emphasis on short-form content, but it still allows pictures and stories to be shared too, and is a valuable tool for businesses. Here are some tips for Instagram success:

• Use hashtags: Like TikTok, using hashtags on Instagram is important, because people search by hashtags to find content and services they’re interested in. 
• Tag your location: Instagram allows you to attach a location to a video or picture, allowing dog and cat owners local to that area to find you more easily. 
• Work with influencers: Instagram is the primary platform for influencers, so if you have any in the local area or who are relevant to your business, offering services in exchange for promotion can lead to new audiences.
• Engage: Just as with TikTok, engaging with potential customers (as well as old ones to retain them) is key. Answer questions in comments, invite productive discussion, and think about adding a contact email and/or phone number to your bio so people can get in touch quickly. 

Facebook tips for small businesses.

While many think of Facebook as a dead platform amongst younger generations, that isn’t the case. 87% of millennials use Facebook at least once a week, meaning it’s still valuable to have a business page there. 

Using it successfully, however, is different from using TikTok and Instagram, so bear these specific Facebook tips in mind:

• Engagement is king: Facebook is more about engagement than even TikTok and Instagram—hashtags don’t matter so much here as comments and likes. Drive up the comments and likes by asking friends, family, and customers to share the post, responding to comments, and making sure the post has as much interaction as possible.
• Answer Facebook messages: While customers can always call businesses with questions, some people aren’t comfortable on the phone or don’t have the time. Answering Facebook messages can help get people the replies they need without them having to call.
• Run Facebook ads: Consider running Facebook ads that will promote your posts to a wider audience. These usually aren’t too expensive and can be done on a budget.
• Optimize your page: Make sure to fill out all your business information and update it if anything changes such as opening hours or contact information. Your Facebook page should serve as a handy hub so a potential or recurring customer can get all of the information they need about your services. 

Use PetExec’s software to take care of the rest.

While social media marketing can be a big undertaking, it’s worth it in the end, and you can use pet care software to take the load off in other areas of your business. 

PetExec’s software can help with many aspects of pet businesses, using up-to-date technology and trends to stay on top of bookings, deposits, inventory management for pet supplies, and more. With over 13 years in the industry, we’ve mastered making your business run smoothly.

Check out a free demo today or contact us and let us know how we can help.

Commonly asked questions.

What is the power of social media for pet brands?

With billions of users and a ton of engagement, social media can be a powerhouse for transforming potential customers into real ones. Pet brands can use various platforms to draw people in, make them aware of services offered, and convert them to customers using a brand personality and clear communication.

What is the best social media platform for pets?

The best social media platform will depend on your pet business and its target audience. If you like creating short-form content, TikTok is best but if you like taking pictures, Instagram will be best for you. Using 1 to 2 platforms that target your audience can help make sure you reach everyone you need to without stretching the resources of the business too thin.