A picture of a dog wins every time

A white and black dog with speckled fur and a bandana lies on a mat outdoors in a shaded area.

Made you look, didn’t I?

 

I have a humbling, yet entertaining, story to share with you this week. I am sharing because we can all learn from my experience.

I was going about my business when…

Last week, I wrote a post about “all things marketing” and gave you, my wonderful reader, some tips and tricks for conquering small business marketing. If you missed it, check it out here.

After I wrote it, I felt pretty good about the content. I felt it could be a helpful post that would support my small business network. I accompanied the post with a hip-looking picture that gave it some shine.

I got a few likes on my business Facebook page (thank you!). I even received an email from a former colleague on the content. She wanted to know more about what I offer small businesses (thank you Sara!). I experienced reasonable engagement from my followers- always a good thing!

And then it happened

After finishing my business post, I went over to my personal Facebook page and changed the cover photo on my profile. I chose a picture of my dog, Bodhi, running along a trail in the sunshine. He has a big grin on his face and is one darn cute pup.

Within minutes, the picture had 15 likes. Then 20. Then 25. Then 30. As of this morning, it has 59 likes and 5 comments. It is mind blowing (thank you Facebook mind hive!) how much my network LOVES this dog.

A picture is worth a thousand…views and clicks

The point is this: Posting a picture of my adorable canine appealed to so many people in my sphere. I was sharing something my tribe already loves. I was humbled to be reminded of a simple, yet critical, marketing move: Know your audience. Know what they love and appeal to them through that.

Make sure your content is compelling, sure, but make sure the visual accompanying it is clickable and appeals to your target audiences.

Dog lovers are everywhere, so if you’re a canine-focused business, you better be putting the goofy grins of your pups all over your blog posts, your social media and any type of outreach you are doing to your people.

If you’re a marketing coach, it’s a good reminder of what works.

That’s all for today. I’m taking Bodhi for a well-deserved walk!

sherrables