Locked in our houses with canine coworkers, things have changed quite dramatically in the past few weeks. At Pet Engine Marketing, pet store social media is a huge component of the services we manage for independent pet stores.

For our clients, pet store social media, and social media in general, is so much more than sharing heartwarming animal-related stories, posting about the cute pets in the store, or selling a few extra bags of food or treats. Now more than ever as COVID-19 spreads across the country and businesses are shutting their doors, social media is the primary communication outlet for businesses, agencies, the government, and people. Social platforms have the opportunity to offer information, assistance, speedy responses, engagement, and connection as we isolate.

We’re going to dig into the adapted roles and responsibilities that pet store social media now has in this time of crisis. For more information on what you and your pet store can do to get through this time, check out our COVID-19 Survival Guide for Pet Stores. For further assistance, our team at Pet Engine Marketing is offering 30-minute consultations, free of charge.

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Adapting to Crisis:
Pet Store Social Media

Customers will remember who showed up, who stuck around, what we said, and how we helped them as times get tough. Despite the obvious difficulties, failing to see the opportunity for pet stores at this period is an extreme oversight - especially as many stay open despite shelter-in-place orders.

Here are three ways pet store social media can be used to stay connected and demonstrate leadership in the chaotic months ahead:

Use social to protect and maintain human connection
Use social to mitigate business disruption
Use the disruptive lessons of the present to build for the future

1. Human Connection

Humans are social beings, and a crisis like this threatens to divide us and weaken those bonds in ways that other crises don’t. Despite the not-so-pristine recent history of some social platforms, times like these create a need for them for people and businesses.

The need for one-to-one connection has surged. Mark Zuckerburg recently reported that Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp usage has seen an increase by more than 200% since the start of the crisis as consumers revert to older methods (phone calls) and newer methods (social media outreach) to achieve their goals.

Similarly, Hootsuite Inbox, which our Pet Engine Marketing clients use to manage inbound social media comments, replies, content scheduling, and private messages from their customers, had the highest usage in their history last week.

So, want to build connection? Either do good, or make people feel good. Pet store social media have a great following for just these aims.

Doing Good:
If your pet store is going out of the way to help high-risk customers, partnering with local rescues to help find foster homes, donating to food banks, or doing any type of cause marketing, it’s a good time to use the full force of your social media to distribute the message. Peer-to-peer sharing has become increasingly powerful on Facebook, so enlisting your staff and employees to aid in this is a critical step.

Feel Good:
Not every organization exists to save the world - and that’s okay! So how can you add a little lightness, positivity, and fun to your regular cadence of content and tactics to bring a few more smiles into the world during these times?

2. mitigate business disruption

87% of marketers in North America predict an increase in the use of online services by consumers during the outbreak, and we at Pet Engine are seeing it ourselves (Source: EConsultancy). Consumers are hunting for digital solutions to real-world problems, so your pet store marketing strategy, if it hasn’t already, will need a dramatic shift to digital-first strategies in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

Consider experimenting with increased digital and social customer engagement. We have heard of other pet stores quickly ramping up basic eCommerce efforts (See our Survival Guide), testing out Facetime-ordering, going Live on Facebook to sell products and inform of new shipments, and beyond.

Blending virtual experiences with in-store experiences is, in all likelihood, the future of online shopping. We are just at the foothills right now. We can expect these new digital capabilities and increased demand for online and social interaction by customers will outlast the epidemic and become the new normal in the years to come.

3. build for the future

While short-term tactics are required, quickly, adapt to the new reality we find ourselves in, pet stores need to use the time to critically think long-term. Small businesses are built and maintained on relationships - an undeniable fact. Use the rapid lessons learned during COVID-19 to build lasting relationships with customers, strategic partners, and staff.

Business Insider predicts that the epidemic will introduce millions of people to telemedicine, a new digital offering that will outlast the current panic and provide telemedicine companies with massive growth opportunities in the future (Source: Business Insider). How can you apply this to your pet store?

Go Live every time you get a new shipment in and sell your products, first come first serve. Loyal followers or customers could get exclusive access before others
Utilize your social inboxes and email marketing systems to make things more convenient for customers
Go full eCommerce along with your brick and mortar location
Tighten the business - if sales from these methods require less overhead, then adapt (remote work, less staff, smaller store, etc)

Adapting to Crisis:
Pet Store Social Media
Conclusion

The COVID-19 crisis is demanding change from us all, and change can be difficult. It’s a difficult time. There are ways to use your pet store social media to benefit your business and your customers during these times, and it’s an opportunity to step up and lead. People might forget what you say or do, but they’ll never forget how you make them feel. If you can share some extra positivity, improve your services, and support one another, you’ll have gained customers for life. That’s the light at the end of the tunnel. Hang in there!

As always, we’d love feedback and engagement! Let us know what you think. Give us a follow and join our free community of pet store owners to get this kind of content regularly.

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