How to Make Your Dog Instagram Famous in 2021

Today it seems as though everyone is working to become “Instagram famous” or a “social media influencer”. In a world of social media, posting your life to the internet can earn you millions of followers and a large chunk of change. Everyone from fitness gurus to style bloggers are making a living off of their social media status. But the influencer life isn’t strictly for humans. Dogs are quickly making a name for themselves on social media and taking over the Instagram world as some of the biggest influencers. If you’re looking to become the manager for a famous pup, you’re in the right place. Today I’m sharing my tips on how to make your dog Instagram famous in 2021.

1. Create Your Account

Creating an Instagram account is simple. Simply open up the Instagram account and click “create account”. You’ll then be prompted to choose a username before adding your profile picture and bio.

Choosing a Username

When choosing a username for your pets account, adding their name, breed, or both is an easy and simple start. When I created my dogs account, I put both her name and breed in the username, this way people coming across the account would know it belonged to a dog right off the bat. 

The more simple the name, the better. If your pets username is long or uses more difficult words, it’ll be harder for people to remember and come back to. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point.

Bio

In the bio you’ll want to describe what your pets account is about! This is a great place to list their breed, age, and any fun personality traits your pet might have. 

You also have the option to add one link in your Instagram bio. This is completely optional, but a great idea if you have another social media account or website you want to promote.

Profile Picture

Make sure your dogs profile picture is a clear picture of them. This is not the place to put a picture of your pet with any furry or human friends. Your followers want to see your dog, so make sure the profile picture shows them just that.

Convert to a business account

Instagram gives you the option to make your account a business account which is great for people (or pets) who want to gain a following.

The Instagram business account feature allows you to see analytics that will help you grow your account. It also gives you the option to connect your email, so that brands and other influencers can easily reach out for collaborations. 

2. Post High Quality Photos, Often

If you want your dog to be Instagram famous you’re going to have to post high quality photos and you’re going to have to post them frequently. Nobody wants to see blurry, out of focus, pixelated photos. Luckily, smartphone cameras have come a long way, so you shouldn’t have to purchase a DSLR camera to get those perfect shots.

Be Creative

Nobody wants to see the same exact picture of your dog every day. Yes they’re cute, but we don’t need to see them sitting in the same spot over and over. Be creative with your pets pictures. Bring them to different locations, try different camera angles, or set up different backdrops for your photos.

Switch between posed shots and candid shots for a variety of cute dog content.

Consider Your Feed

Many social media influencers work to have a consistent Instagram feed. This means that when you click on their account, all of their pictures coordinate with each other for an aesthetically pleasing look. 

Consider editing your pups pictures the same way every time, to create a consistent and concise looking feed.

Post Frequently

If you aren’t posting to your pets feed frequently, your followers are going to lose interest. Aim to post daily or at least every other day on your feed and make sure to post on your story multiple times a day as well. 

3. Use Hashtags

Hashtags are the key to success when it comes to social media fame. Instagram groups all pictures using the same hashtag together, allowing people searching that hashtag to find your posts.

For your dogs account use hashtags that pertain to dogs, such as #dog, #dogsofinstagram, and #instadog. Also use hashtags related to your dogs breed. My dog is a Siberian Husky so I use the hashtags, #siberianhusky, #huskiesofinstagram, and #snowdog on all of her Instagram posts. 

You can also use hashtags that relate to the picture you post. If you post a picture of your dog napping on a Sunday use hashtags like #sundayfunday and #snooze.

In the Instagram dog world, there are a couple hashtags that people use throughout the week that will be beneficial for you to utilize. On Tuesdays people like to post pictures of their dogs with their tongue out and use #tongueouttuesday and on Thursdays you’ll frequently see throwback puppy pictures with #throwbackthursday. 

4. Engage with Your Followers

Gaining a following isn’t enough to make your dog Instagram famous. Having followers doesn’t mean much if those followers aren’t liking, commenting, and sharing your content! In order to encourage your followers to interact with your posts, you’ll want to do the same to them.

Dedicate an hour or so each day to scroll through your dogs Instagram feed and like and comment on the posts you see. People are much more likely to engage with your posts if you’re returning the favor.

Instagram promotes accounts that have a lot of engagement, so it is key to making your dog Instagram famous.

5. How to Monetize Your Account

If you’re looking to make your dog Instagram famous, you’re likely hoping to make some cash from it as well. You can make money through Instagram a couple different ways.

Affiliate Links

One way to make money through Instagram is through affiliate links. Affiliate links are links to products that you’ll make a commission from if people purchase through that link.

Instagram allows business accounts to post swipe up links to their stories once you reach 10k followers. Once you grow your account to that amount, sign up for affiliate programs through companies such as Chewy or Amazon. Then, when you or your pet uses a product, post it to your story with a link. You’ll make a percentage of the money from every purchase made through that link.

Sponsored Posts

The most common way to make money through Instagram is through sponsored posts. This is when a brand pays you directly to promote their product. These sponsored posts can be done through a picture on your feed or a story.
The more followers you have, the more you can charge for these sponsored posts. Some Insta-famous pups are making over $20k per sponsored post!

Merchandise

Who doesn’t want a hoodie, mug, or phone case with a picture of a cute pup on it? Creating and selling your own personalized merchandise is another way to make an income through your dogs Instagram account. 

Now that you have all the information on how to make your dog Instagram famous, it’s time to get started! Once you create your pups account, drop the link in the comments! And be sure to follow my dog on Instagram @lunathe.husky 🙂