Mindset Tips that Made Me a Successful Pet Influencer

I never set out to become a “pet influencer”. It started out as a fun hobby. A way to document memories of Farley’s life, share her adorable puppy quirks with friends and family, and spread some positivity to a world that desperately needed it during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. I started Farley’s Instagram account the day she came home with us in April 2020, and by January 2021 her account had already reached the 50k follower milestone. I attribute a lot of my success on social media to mindset, and I want to share some of my top mindset tips with you. If you’re an aspiring dog influencer – or anyone looking to up their social media game – this post is for you!!

I’m Victoria – dog mom and social media manager for @justbeingfarley. In last week’s post, I gave you a tiny bit of background on who I am, why I’m here writing this blog, and why you should care! Well this week, I’m jumping right in and answering one of my most frequently asked questions…

As you can imagine, the answer to that question isn’t a simple one! There are a lot of factors that contribute to success and growth in social media. But the thing I want to talk about here, because it’s an important one, is MINDSET. So if you’re a pet influencer, and Instagram fame is your goal, keep reading to learn my…

Top Three Mindset Tips For Social Media Success

1. Ditch perfectionism

Believe me, I used to be the type of person who would agonize over a single photo for hours, making sure it was absolutely *perfect* before presenting it to the world in that tiny square on Instagram. It’s an admirable thing when a person cares so much about their craft… but if you’re currently in this boat, and social media success is your goal, I urge you to take a step back and evaluate your mindset. How does that saying go? Perfection is the enemy of progress?

• Is the desire to be “perfect” holding you back from your goals?
• Is that extra time spent perfecting that one piece of content actually helping you meet your goals?
• Could that time be better spent in other ways?

Many of us are our own worst critics. So if you catch yourself falling into the trap of “perfectionism”, try to ask yourself… Am I doing this to make the content better for my audience, or am I doing this because of my desire to be *perfect*? Being a successful social media influencer is all about serving your audience, so if that extra effort isn’t going to improve your audience’s experience, then try to let it go!

2. Focus on people, not the “algorithm”

Trying to make content that will appeal to the almighty powerful Instagram algorithm is like… trying to clip your dog’s nails with your left hand and both eyes closed… I don’t know, lol. It’s really hard, and there’s a lot of luck involved! If you catch yourself starting to focus too much on the “algorithm” and “reach”, it might be time to adjust your mindset.

Your goal on Instagram shouldn’t be to serve the “algorithm”, your goal should be to serve people. It’s not robots and computers out there interacting with your content and sharing it with their friends, it’s people! For every follower that you have on Instagram, there is a person behind that number. A person who chose to follow you, to invite your digital presence into their life, and have your little square scroll across their screen every day. They are a person who wants to connect with you! And at the end of the day that’s what social media is all about – connection. So if you find yourself feeling frustrated by the algorithm and the metrics, try to remember this tip!!

The most successful Instagram influencers are the ones who can figure out a way to really connect with their audience. Maybe it’s through being active in DM’s, or replying authentically to comments and questions. It could be through showing vulnerable moments, or giving people the chance to interact with them during Instagram lives. Maybe it’s just listening and learning their audience’s pain points, so they can teach them things that will improve their lives. If you can find a way to shift your focus to people over the algorithm, I’ve found that the whole social media experience becomes much less stressful and much more rewarding. And that can help you to be more consistent with your account and prevent burn-out. I can almost guarantee that the more connected your audience feels with you, the more likely they are to interact with you and help contribute to your success as an influencer. And the best part, building strong connections with people is something that is completely within your control. Unlike that pesky algorithm!

3. Content creation is the goal, follower growth is the result

And while we’re on the topic of things within in our control… Your follower growth is not in your control. Read that again. No matter how amazing your content is, no matter how much effort you put into engaging with your audience, follower growth is completely unpredictable and never guaranteed. If follower growth is your main measure of success on social media, you may be setting yourself up for burn-out and disappointment. But with a slight shift in mindset, you can set yourself up for better success.

Focus your goals around content creation, rather than follower growth. Make it your goal to consistently create content that you love, that serves your audience, that fosters connection – and try to let go of the daily ups and downs of your follower count. By setting goals that are based on things you can control (content creation) rather than things that you can’t (follower count), you will be more likely to enjoy the process and stay consistent with your account – which is such a huge factor when it comes to social media success.

I hope you enjoyed these mindset tips, and found some useful information that you can start putting into practice. If you have any questions for me, or want more details on any of these topics, please let me know in the comments!

For next week’s post, I’m planning to share more details about how I started to make money from my dog’s Instagram account through brand partnerships. I may even share some details on how much money I made from her account 2021. Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to see in that post!