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Pet Influencer Marketing in Singapore: The Next Big Thing?

Pet Influencer Marketing in Singapore: The Next Big Thing? 6
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No, you did not misread the title. Pet influencer marketing in Singapore is actually a thing.

Before, we witnessed the growth of influencer and micro-influencer social media marketing. With enough aesthetic appeal and colossal followership on social media, anyone can call himself an ‘influencer’. Today, pet influencer marketing in Singapore has entered the picture.

According to Forbes, the animal kingdom is taking over Instagram. These days, pet influencer marketing in Singapore has surfaced as one of the growing trends in social media marketing. Rabbits, dogs, cats and even pet reptiles have emerged as pet influencers. These pet influencers often obtain endorsements from vets and pet shops simply through sharing content about the relevant pet products.

Cute, fluffy and absolutely adorable, some of these pets even have a larger following than some celebrities and micro-influencers!

Pet Influencers on Instagram

Pet Influencers made their debut a long while ago. Boo, the world’s cutest Pomeranian, might ring some bells. The cute fluff ball made his debut in 2012 and quickly came to be known as the world’s cutest dog. While Boo passed away in January 2019, his legacy still remains.

We’ve listed a couple of local and international pet influencers. Get ready for some cuteness overload!

1. Buncha (@babybuncha)

Buncha is a white Pomeranian owned by local YouTuber-cum-influencer Tan Jian Hao. She has over 85.1 thousand followers to date (that’s 20% of Tan’s followership!) and has published content for The Woof Bakery (@thewoofbakery).

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaVsCazhiuE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

2. Maya (@mayapolarbear)

Maya is a white Samoyed with more than 1 million followers on Instagram. She travels around the world with her owner and entertains her followers with numerous home videos. This cute ball of fur has posted content for Vorwerk Kobold cleaning (@vorwerkuk). She also attends pet conferences regularly with her owner.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsdzsQInp5T/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

3. Teddy (@teddytheshetland)

Teddy is a cream-coloured pony with more than 112 thousand followers. His owner has posted social media content for numerous brands such as Ruff and Tumble (@ruffandtumbledogcoats) and Horseware (@horseware). On average, Teddy has more than 10 thousand likes on each post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsnPLXyBZi9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

4. Nala (@nala_cat)

This siamese-tabby mix has more than 3.8 million followers on Instagram. Her owner has even developed a website for fan merch as well as blogs about pet and cat care. She also has regular meet-and-greets with her owners.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsvfvjQhFwD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

5. Christopher (@christopher_the_pig)

Christopher is a mini pig with a following of 77.3 thousand. He travels the world with his owner and also publishes social media content for Fairmont Royal York (@fairmontroyalyork) and Elf on the Shelf Adventures (@elfontheshelfadventures).

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs1yqPaBswd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The large following and colossal engagement rate prove one point – the pet influencer marketing phenomenon is, in fact, a thing in social media marketing.

3 Crucial Limitations in Pet Influencer Marketing in Singapore

Pet influencer marketing in Singapore might be here to stay, but has the animal kingdom really taken over social media marketing?

Not really.

Before you start looking around for furry friends to endorse your products, here us out first.

Despite the aesthetic appeal of cute pets and their huge followership, venturing into pet influencer marketing in Singapore might not be worth your while or your social media budget. While observations from the digital world seem to imply the progressive dominance of pet influencers in social media marketing, further probing and analysis might suggest otherwise.

We have listed 3 impactful shortcomings of pet influencer marketing in Singapore to support our theory.

1. Applicable Only in Niche Industries

First, social media campaigns involving pet influencers would only be worth the while for a restricted group of industries.

Whereas vets, pet care service providers as well as pet shops might thrive on the pet influencer marketing trend, other industries probably won’t reap the same benefits. For instance, the pet influencer strategy would not be able to give the same amount of benefits to apparel stores, restaurants and makeup brands. There is no relevance, whatsoever!

It might be a tough pill to swallow for advocates of pet influencer marketing in Singapore. But frankly, it is undeniable that only a limited number of industries would be able to make full use of this strategy.

2. Appealing Only to a Narrow Audience

While our resident content producer may be an animal-lover, herself, not everyone enjoys viewing furry creatures. The truth is – preferences are subjective. Some people go gaga over animals, whereas others may not.

Arguably, animal-related content on social media might only appeal to a small-scale spectrum of social media users. You probably won’t be making full use of your budget if you are only going to appeal to a fraction of animal lovers in your followership.

3. Restricted Engagement and Subjectivity

Put simply, your pets can’t talk.

While our writer was blown away by the huge followership of modern pet influencers, closer observations highlighted that most commentators merely expressed their adoration for the cuddly furry creatures instead of inquiring about the products shown in the visuals.

Moreover, the owners are the ones who are replying queries and questions about the products listed. Subjectivity is an issue here – as the pets’ owners are only interpreting their actions and behaviour to give a review of the products shown.

Here to Stay, but Micro-Influencers Still Triumph

With the growth of pet Instagram accounts, it looks like the trend is here to stay. This sneaky but powerful medium of social media marketing has captured the hearts of numerous users. Natural cuteness brings a smile to every animal-lovers’ face as they scroll through Instagram. It gets your account organic engagement and likes!

Should I Venture into Pet Influencer Marketing?

While it appears as though pet influencer marketing in Singapore is here to stay, you might want to think twice if you are thinking of jumping on the bandwagon.

Pets may be cuddly and cute – venturing into pet influencer marketing in Singapore might reap huge benefits if your products are catered towards pet care and pet health. Then again, it is important to consider your audience preferences and behaviour in order to craft more effective social media campaigns.

All in all, while pet influencer marketing in Singapore has emerged as a trend, fundamental limitations of the strategy prove that micro-influencers still win the race as far as social media marketing is concerned in 2019