How to increase your animal shelter impact with digital marketing
This blog post starts with a recent event. About three weeks ago, a cat crying inside our nine-floor building caught our attention. Thinking it belonged to one of the neighbors, we took her into our apartment, put some flyers in the common areas, and waited for someone to show up. It turns out that no one did and that the cat we thought was from someone else did not have a microchip (required by law in Portugal) and, therefore, was most likely lost or abandoned.
Noori’s complete story — the cat we rescued and decided to foster — will be the subject of another blog post. This experience, however, put us in close contact with local authorities and non-profit organizations with the difficult yet honorable mission of rescuing and sheltering animals. In the process, we faced a hard reality that we knew existed but suddenly became more real.
Recent news from Portugal — where we live — reports that the number of registered and sterilized pets has increased. Despite the higher awareness for animal well-being, local shelters are full, lacking space and conditions for proper minimal animal development. And though the scenario can be different in other nations where more incentives are given to animal protection, leading countries such as the United States also face similar problems. The Washington Post, in a partnership with Purina, reported that “at least 6.5 million dogs and cats enter animal shelters in the U.S. every year, but only about 60% of them are adopted or returned to an owner”, leaving shelters with an “untenable burden”.
Lacking resources and relying on voluntary work for critical activities, shelters and rescuers tend to channel most of their time or budget to animal care and well-being, which is understandable. Due to that, these organizations tend to neglect non-core activities that do not directly impact animal care but might positively affect pet adoption or fundraising.
In our recent adventure of figuring out what to do with a rescued cat, we used mainly online tools to research how we could contact organizations to help. In the process, we found missing and non-working phone numbers, outdated websites, and non-working forms for donatives. Therefore, in this blog post, we present some tips for animal shelters to cover the basics of digital marketing and increase the number of volunteers, adopters, and donors.
Tell a compelling pet hero’s adventure
Nowadays, many shelters and rescuers have Instagram accounts to promote responsible adoption. Having one is a good start, but more than just having one, it is fundamental to consider what to post and how to do it. Rescuers we met recently spoke from experience that the same pet can generate different levels of interest from potential adopters depending on the pictures you choose and the story you tell.
When it comes to pictures, it is recommended to emulate either a natural or home environment, using a professional or semi-professional camera with good light and framing. By doing so, when the potential adopter sees the picture, he will unconsciously imagine how the pet would fit into their home and lifestyle.
Another recommendation is to tell the hero’s story while emphasizing the positive aspects of the journey. Some organizations tend to create a sense of pity and despair, asking for help, which might work for donatives. However, when it comes to adoptions, adopters tend to love knowing more about where the pet came from or what he went through in the past. Even if the story is not as heroic, highlighting the pet’s name and personality traits will create a sense of proximity that will lead to a higher interest.
Be easy to find and contact
Two simple things can be done to understand how easily your organization can be found. The first is to search for it yourself, ignoring that you have context about what the organization does and which contacts are available. The second is to ask a friend who does not know the organization. Usually, in both cases, the most frequent search tools are Google and social media.
For Google Search, if there is a budget available, it is recommended to have a website. If you have one, extend the searching exercise by writing the questions a donor and adopter would have on a paper. Then, see if you can find the answers on the website and how long it takes you to do it. The same exercise can be done for social media by paying attention to descriptions and content available.
Other simple things you can do are make sure the non-profit’s name is standardized across all platforms, create or update a Google My Business account, and pay extra attention to contacts to ensure they are always working and up to date.
Remove hassle from donations and make them regular
Making a donation to shelters is not always straightforward. Outdated banking references and manual notifications can be hard to navigate and sometimes reduce the patrons’ willingness to make regular donations. As with any online experience, reducing hassle is crucial to making a donor happier, helping, and encouraging future interactions.
To avoid payment hassle, shelters can use pre-existing tools such as PayPal or Stripe. Before deciding on the best one, check for potential transaction fees and restrictions for specific countries. The faster and more straightforward the transaction is, the higher the likelihood of a repeated donation.
Besides the user experience, the hassle can be reduced through other means, such as having pre-existing donation tiers of different amounts. This will remove the need for the user to decide on the amount to donate and think of the donation as a valuable transaction. Another option is to translate amounts into products, showing, for instance, how much a specific amount translates into food or other consumables.
To go even further, animal organizations can incorporate automatic donation mechanisms, similar to what Netflix does. Like in the streaming platform, once a plan is subscribed, the price for the plan subscribed will be taken from the bank account every month or every year. A similar model can be implemented for donations.
Give something in return
Shelter and rescue organizations rely on their ability to keep their community engaged. Animal protection, such as AEPGA, created animal sponsorship programs in which anyone can decide to make regular donations to ensure the well-being of a specific animal or species.
To keep donors engaged, some organizations create mechanisms in which they regularly send updates regarding the sponsored animal or the organization itself.
Similar initiatives can be implemented to provide exclusive content for new and previous donors. The updates could be sent by email or letter, adjusting the medium to a budget that better fits the organization.
Foster partnerships with other companies
More than ever, companies invest in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) policies and initiatives. The degree of investment varies from big corporations to smaller companies. However, being open to working with corporations opens space for growth.
Initiatives, such as the pet food bank, when linked to a big brand, can have a significantly higher impact. Continente, one of the main retailers in Portugal, and Animalife, an organization that supports families with pets, partnered to collect food over two days. Both organizations have a considerable dimension, but smaller players, such as local shops, can become important partners, too.
In this case, having an online presentation regarding how a shelter can partner with a company is a first step to speed up the number of companies that might be interested. If that is the case, it is possible to make it clear that only pro-bono projects are accepted.
Lastly, if by chance you work or volunteer in an animal shelter and are interested in the recommendations of this post, reach out to don Gata Studio. We are here to help and will be available, if not more, at least for a quick chat.
