Marketing Your Foster Pet
When you take in a foster pet, your primary job is to keep them safe, healthy, and happy. Foster homes are great places for dogs, cats, kittens, and puppies to destress and enjoy being in a home. And while you are doing these things, your end goal is to get them adopted into a loving forever home. One way to do that is with some great marketing skills. Here are our top ways to successfully market your foster pet.
Be active on social media.
Even if you don’t like to share about yourself, share away with your foster pet! Some people enjoy creating a foster account to showcase their pets and reach their target audience. Posting on Instagram will allow Atlanta Humane to share your content, while posts on Facebook, TikTok, and NextDoor will allow your friends to share your content and extend your foster pet’s reach.
- Written Content
- Tell a story. Some people like to share in their pet’s imagined voice, while others share in their own. Do what feels best for you and sounds the most organic and engaging.
- Touch on all the feels. Evoke that emotion and make your audience see how special this pet is. Share how they got to you and how they’re thriving now. Share quirky habits and sweet moments. Get your audience loving this pet so much they want to bring them home!
- Make sure to include the adoption process and how they can meet the pet.
- Visual Content
- Take tons of photos and share the best ones. Everyone loves a kitten or puppy picture, and the older pets are great in a photo shoot! Let the photos share more information about the pet, whether it’s a dog who loves car rides or a cat who’s keen on bird watching from a perch. Maybe they smell flowers on a walk or love to play with a ball of yarn. Try taking a variety of photos. Our favorites are ones where the pet is looking at the camera, in a selfie with you, or out and about having fun. The key is to showcase their personality and cuteness!
- For videos, short snippets work best. Keep them less than a minute (at most) so people don’t lose attention. Videos are a great way to capture moments and showcase your foster animal’s personality.
Connect with other fosters and rescue groups
One positive thing about social media is the engagement within communities. If you can connect with other rescue groups and share each others adoptable pets, you’ll increase the chances of finding all the animals the right forever home.
Bios and shelter material
An animal’s bio is where you can really highlight their attributes and showcase their personality. You can talk about how they’re growing and thriving in a home environment, what they’ve accomplished with you, and how they behave in certain situations. Provide details and examples like talking about their favorite toys, challenges (such as leash-walking skills), accomplishments (like finally climbing the stairs they were afraid of), motivations (food, belly rubs, etc.), and funny turn-offs (baths, carrots, etc.). Atlanta Humane fosters can share this information with our team at this link. Make sure to update the information on a regular basis so that all of the information is current.
Let the adoption counselors do the tough stuff
When sharing information about your foster pet, your audience will probably fall in love. You’ll talk them up and make them sound so great that everyone will want to meet them! But many pets have challenges, such as being dog reactive, that make it more difficult for them to be adopted. Our Adoptions Team are experts in finding good matches, and they’ll be the best resource for potential adopters to talk to about any issues that may be a barrier to adoption.
Keep info on you and talk up that dog
Get your foster out and about if it’s something they’re comfortable with. While Atlanta Humane does not allow foster dogs to visit dog parks, you can still go to farmer’s markets, a regular park, coffee shops, Lowe’s, and other dog friendly shops and restaurants. Get your foster an “adopt me” bandana or vest and be ready to talk them up. It’s a good idea to keep a little card with their info on it in case anyone is interested. Field trips and outings are also a great way to spread awareness of shelter animals, and who knows–someone might become a foster caregiver because of you!
Continue to get the word out
Post on multiple platforms on a weekly basis, talk to your friends and acquaintances, and take your foster dog out on the town. Continue to market the heck out of your foster pet; their perfect match is out there somewhere!
