How to Make Your Dog Famous on Instagram

We see it all the time, these adorable dogs with thousands upon thousands of followers online. A lot of them even have steady brand deals and sponsorships! So, how do you grow your dog’s account to achieve the same? Here are some helpful tips to up your dog’s follower count!!

First off, and obviously, take good pictures of your dog! You don’t want any dark, grainy photos. Also, take pictures of your dog “posing.” A good sit picture next to a product is a good place to start! Mix in these kinds of photos with your cute candid shots and funny videos! Let your dog’s personality shine through. Be creative! Pay attention to what kind of posts are gaining the most attention. Once you know what style works best with your audience, you can focus on similar posts and pictures.

You can also establish your dog’s “voice.” Some opt to narrate their dog’s life as the human. Tell the audience what you think your dog is thinking! Other’s bring their dog’s personality to life by giving them their own voice. The dog-speak that has taken over the internet can really bring your photo’s a new (and different) life!

Second, use hashtags! You can use 30 tags, use all of them. There are so many dog-related tags to get your photos seen. I suggest a mix of basic ones and dog/breed specific ones. If your dog is a rescue dog, there’s an entire list of specific rescue tags you can use, as well. If your dog is brindle, there are even tags for that! Golden dogs have a whole slew of tags you could use. The possibilities are endless! Find which ones work for you.

Third, you really want to like other’s pictures. This is the best way to get attention, in my opinion and experience. Not only do you want to like the pictures of those you are already following, but you also want to go through the hashtags that you use. Say you often post in #dailyfluff, you’d go to the tag feed, switch it to “recent” and like pictures that have been posted recently. Normally, I’ll like ones that have been posted within to last 20 minutes or so.

The idea here is to get your pet’s name to pop up in other’s notifications. When they see your name, they might check out your profile and decide to follow you, making your followers count go up without increasing the number of accounts you’re following!

Fourth, I highly recommend commenting on posts, too. Engaging with others will make it more likely for them to follow you and comment on your posts! If you’re looking to eventually apply for sponsorships, it is important to have that extra engagement with your audience! Being personable and fun will keep people coming back and draw others to your account.

You can also follow other accounts. This is not something I really recommend, but there are people that swear by it. You can follow others and then unfollow them once they follow you back. To me, this feels disingenuous. But again, others do think this is a good tactic.

After a while, you will start to gain a few followers without really doing much of anything. I would not recommend laying off your tactics at this point. Unless you are happy with your numbers and your engagement, the natural increase will not be enough to really grow your account.

Most importantly, have fun! Enjoy the time with your dog and taking beautiful pictures. You’ll cherish them forever. Follow accounts that interest you. You can make friends and meaningful connections with like-minded people! It’s a crazy world out there: make the most of it! :)