It happens all the time. You come across a photo of a pet on Facebook who’s looking for a home, and you want to help. What can you do besides adopting him yourself? If you’re thinking, “Share the post!”, you’re right. But despite your best intentions, you might not know the most effective way to spread that pet’s message to your Facebook connections.
Here are three things to remember when sharing a pet online that will increase her chance of getting adopted:
- Include the shelter or rescue group’s contact information and location in your post. After a photo is shared many times, the original post can get lost along the way. Your good deed won’t do the pet (or potential adopter) any good if no one knows where the pet is located, or how to contact the adoption group. See if you can do a little digging, find the original post, and then be sure to include the information so it’s easy for people to see.
- Think outside of your town. Don’t let the fact that a dog or cat is located in another part of the country discourage you from sharing the post. The majority of people on social media have friends all over the country. Even if you don’t have any friends in a particular area of the country, your friends might, or theirs will. That’s part of the power of social media.
- Be specific about what you want people to do. Ask your friends and followers if they know anyone in the area where the pet is located. Add that even if they don’t, could they share anyway, in case someone they know does? Asking people for exactly what you want them to do is very effective! If you share it without a clear “ask,” they often don’t know what to do, or figure it won’t matter because the pet is far away.
Do you have any tips for helping pets get adopted on social media? Share them with us on our Facebook page!
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