How To Promote Your Pet Care Business

When you start a pet care business, it’s difficult to stand out from the crowd. You’re competing against plenty of other dog walkers, trainers, and pet sitters, so it can sometimes be hard to get your business off the ground.

Providing high-quality pet care is obviously crucial to building your biz, but the other secret to success is promotion. If you’re going to boost your income and spend your days caring for cute and cuddly critters, you need to spread the word about your “pawsome” services. Here’s how.

We live in a digital world, so the best way to get your name out there is through social media. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram make it easy to promote your pet care biz. You can create an account for your business and use it to share info about the services you offer, your pet care experience, and your prices. Of course, sharing plenty of cute pupper pics will also help you build a bigger following.

Alternatively, if you’re a Pet Caregiver with Wag!, it’s easy to share your Wag! profile on social media. All you need to do is:

1. Open the Wag! app.
2. Tap the menu icon in the top left corner of the home screen.
   
3. Tap "My Profile".
4. Tap "Promote".
5. Share your profile on the platforms of your choice.

Related: How to Start a Dog Boarding Business

There are several other ways to boost your business’ online presence. Nextdoor is a social platform designed to connect communities and local neighborhoods, so it’s a very useful platform to help you connect with pet parents near you. When you create a business profile on Nextdoor, your neighbors can find you when they look for pet care services on the platform. 

craigslist is another useful site if you want to advertise your services to people who live in your neighborhood. You don’t need to have an account to post, and many (but not all) craigslist postings are free.

Find out more in our support center guide to promoting your business through Wag!.

Now it’s time to consider your online business listing. You can find your listing on a host of different sites — Google My Business is the best known, but other examples include Yelp, Bing, and the Better Business Bureau. 

When pet Parents search for pet care services where they live, this listing is what they see. That’s why it’s important to claim your listings and make sure all the info they display (like your contact details and hours of operation) are correct.

You can also consider using online advertising to increase the amount of traffic your listing receives. For example, you can use Google Ads to promote the visibility of your Google My Business listing.

If you’d like to take more of an old-school approach, print out flyers advertising your services. You might be surprised how easy it is to create an eye-catching flyer using free online software like Canva. Then you can print out a whole bunch of flyers and distribute them anywhere pet parents are likely to frequent — we’re talking dog parks, pet store community boards, and your vet’s office, just to name a few. 

Related: 5 Things to Do When You Haven’t Gotten a First Walk Request

Business cards are another tried-and-tested way to promote a pet care business. Though they may seem a little old-fashioned, they’re still highly effective. 

So remember to take a few business cards with you wherever you go. This way whenever you meet a fellow pet parent at your dog park, in the vet’s office, or at any sort of social event, it’s easy to slip a mention of your pet care biz into the conversation and hand them a card. Even if they’re not looking for a walker, sitter, or trainer, they might know someone who is.

Got a few clients that absolutely love how you go the extra mile for your pet? Ask them to recommend you to their friends and family. 

Let’s face it, if you’re searching for someone to look after your fur-baby, you feel a whole lot more comfortable leaving them in the capable hands of a Pet Caregiver who comes highly recommended by someone you trust. And while you may feel a little awkward asking, you might be surprised just how much even a couple of referrals can help your business grow.

Finally, you can also ask your repeat clients to leave a “purrfect” review on your Wag! profile or perhaps on Google. Even leaving a couple of sentences about why you’re their pet’s favorite caregiver can be a big help to your burgeoning business.

Following on from the last point, it really is hard to beat word of mouth when making a name for yourself in the pet care world. So ask the people who know you best to sing your praises to the pet parents in their life. 

After all, who better than your friends and family to vouch for your friendliness, professionalism, and love of animals? Use this personal network to help get your name out there.