Welcome to my tips for cat rescues who want to use social media to boost their profile and, hopefully, their adoption rates. If you have not started yet, my post will give you some ideas.
For even the smallest cat rescue social media can maximise adoptions and ensures the local community knows you actually exist. [Revised May 2024]
Social Media A Rescue Essential
It’s easy to become stressed by social media and, even seasoned professionals reach ‘full’ from time to time. So, be positive, this is another marketing tool to add to your adoption and promotion armoury that can get more cats into forever homes.
- If you don’t like working with social media, get a volunteer on board to help. As you become familiar with how they make things things work, you will realise how valuable social media can be for your cat community.
Small Cat Rescues Do Need Social Media!
Even a one tiny woman rescue organisation needs more pet adoption marketing ideas. If she wants to reach her target audience for her cat rrescue and save cat lives.
The idea is that Facebook, Twitter, TokTok or Instagram are looked at as a friend you want to know better. People want genuine engagement not fancy corporate speak. Your cats, and your pride in them, shines through a good post.
Recruit a social media savvy person to your rescue
It could be the silver surfer flaunting her iPad, or a school kid, texting like crazy between emptying litter trays; or your rescue rabbit expert. Use their knowledge to help you set up a page on Facebook, or a blog page, and make sure the Rescue provides pictures. We live in a world of images – they don’t have to be perfect, they have to be there online.
Do some homework in ‘how a page is set up‘.
Animal Rescue Social Media Ideas
If your rescue is not online at all but you think it should be, start by introducing those who head your rescue to main players like ‘free’ social media channels like Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram or TikTok.
Present a case for a basic presence on the main channels. Describe simply and clearly the potential to encourage adoptions and spread news through, say, a Facebook page or Twitter shares. You may want to experiment and find the best social mediaworks best for cat rescues. This may depend on your location so explore all of your options.
A basic blog would also shows the cats waiting for adoption, but remember rescues often have a limited budget, so you may be asked to see what you can do for ‘free’. A platform like Blogger is free and can be amazing so don’t dismiss it out of hand – can it work for you?
Remember too that your local newspaper may have an online as well as a printed presence and might welcome a short sweet press release about a touching story.
Social Media Channels
Each channel reaches a different audience. See where your followers or ‘tribe’ hang out most.
- TikTok (video)
- Tumblr
- YouTube (video)
- Snapchat
Avoid Telegram as this hosts animal harming videos. The encryption is so strong that offenders cannot be tracked and prosecuted.
Encourage every single member who visits Facebook to share your rescue’s posts
Post each day if you can – at least regularly.
Update on adoptions, introduce new arrivals, or report the progress of an appeal; get members talking and emotionally engaged. Share posting duties with two or three regular members so no-one feels overburdened.
Balance your output too – be honest, rescues have good and bad times. You can also use your social media to share tips on important subjects like :
- living with a cat for the first time
- bringing a new kitten home to another cat
- telling a first time cat owner what to buy
- or moving cats to a new home
- or helping a worried owner when a cat is not eating and hiding under a bed
- bringing home a foster cat
Cat care and welfare engagement can encourage people to make sure their cat gets proper vet care and a cat isn’t dumped after adoption. This happens and it is wrong so being approachable though your social media might form a bridge to a desperate owner can get in touch about coping (or not) with a cat issue.
You challenge will be finding a dedicated team for daily updates
How you handle updates is absolutely critical. Even a sketched out social media calendar on a whiteboard or smartphone (to circulate to the social media team).
You will need two or more volunteers willing to train and maintain a web presence on your social media (Instagram/Twitter/Tumblr/TikTok etc.,). The tasks will not be hard work if several volunteers work a single day with one general ‘admin’ to keep an overall eye on postings.
Budget a small amount of time each day for social media and you will find it super helpful for your own cat rescue or foster network.
Wonderful post! And, your suggestions can also be for dog, or any rescues, too. Social media is a such a help for them, and it’s a great to show volunteers there are many different ways they can help rescues! And these days, rescues are so maxed out that they sure can use all the help they can get to get these darling homeless pets visible and hopefully into forever loving homes.
Yes, we need ALL pets to be remembered!
This post is Fantastic!! So many important points and great tips for getting started and maintaining an online presence. Pet rescues Must be on social media, if not they’ll get passed over all the time. People need to get to know, like, and trust a pet rescue before they’ll trust you to adopt a pet to them. Social media can really help you gain that, if you do it correctly.
Fantastic advice especially when you see how rescues are struggling and social media messes with them today, it is really sad. we need to speak out to help clear the shelters
Great advice for a rescue! I LOVE the idea of having a volunteer do social posts. Some people thoroughly love social media and that would be an absolutely wonderful way to help these little furballs in need. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone say they don’t know how to help, or don’t have the skills, yet they’re posting on social media all the time. Great, no EXCELLENT idea, Marjorie! I hope all rescues take your tips and ideas to heart. I’m certainly spreading the word.
Great information and great advice ! Social medias may sound like a big thing, but it’s so useful for shelters and rescues. Purrs
This is an awesome post. Much needed and comprehensive advice! Thanks for sharing, and we have shared it too….
Such helpful information! We have three volunteer blogs about the animals at PAWS (2 cat blogs, 1 for dogs), a Facebook page and a Twitter account. It really is about getting your name and message “out there,” and we are certainly trying. 🙂
So very true! Our mom and Sebastian’s and Harvey Monster’s mom volunteer in social media for our shelter.
We’d add youtube to your list, too. We’ve found that if we add a video of a cat up for adoption, that helps potential adopters “see” the cat’s personality and helps to sell them – sometimes even better than when in person!
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. TW wanted to set up FB for A Call 4 Paws almost 2 years ago but couldn’t get Linda to send her pictures. I notice she has one now but it’s really not about the sanctuary or her adoptable pets. Sigh. We can’t do it without their cooperation.
That was absolutely wonderful and most useful too!
These are wonderful tips. The smaller the shelter the more help they need. Sometimes those larger shelters can drown out the smaller ones on a social media platform like Facebook or Twitter.
Wonderful post and the tips are great Miranda!
Miranda , this is sooooo impawtant! My little rescue doesn’t us their FB effectively at all…sigh. Several of is have offered, but the director refuses to give any of us admin rights…she holds posting for her and the adoption director. Very poor planning
This is an excellent post, Miranda (and YOU are gorgeous!) I will see if I can share it too. xox
Thanks for the great tips. We are motivated to reach out to our local rescue again with offers to do social media for them.
This is great and I passed it on!
Such great information. So many rescues are focused on the welfare of animals but miss out on this critical way of reaching potential adopters.
This is such a good post with such good advice which I need to follow. I really need to get going on Twitter. I have a bunch of animals that need homes. Thanks for this little push to get me going. Take care.
What a great post! Great information for rescues to get the word out!!
This is a really informative post! And it IS so important for small rescues to be social media savvy. It really helps their animals get noticed – and adopted.