My experience at the SPCA!

I have worked with the SPCA as a volunteer for many years and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences! I have always had a love for animals, so when I was in middle school I decided to foster puppies because I wasn’t able to adopt my own at the time. From then on I have worked in multiple departments including foster care, kitten nursery and adoption floors. The process to become a volunteer is quite brief! You simply have to sign up for a training session and get your shirt, keys and name tag and you’re set. Once initiated into the program, there are many different opportunities available. In the kitten nursery, I would feed weeks old kittens with little syringes. Oftentimes, kittens that we took care of were flown in from the east coast due to hurricanes. Once the kittens were relocated to our facility, it was our responsibility to observe their weight before every feeding period to ensure they were maintaining a healthy weight. We also were in charge of preparing the kittens for tests regarding diseases they may carry. Once they received all their vaccinations and were healthy, the kittens would move to the adoption floor.

Once at the adoption floor, I would assist families in meeting with various animals (kittens, cats, dogs, bunnies). This volunteer job was an incredible experience and I loved being able to help the animals as well as find them homes. While doing these tasks at the SPCA, I would help assist with the social media for the branch I worked for. This experience really shaped my interest in marketing! Volunteering with the organization opened many doors of opportunity that fit my interests very well. I hope to spread awareness of this opportunity because it is very rewarding to be a volunteer as well as gain experience in other fields within the organization. Contact me for more information!

Tips for Effective Social Media Marketing

How does one develop a successful and influential social media marketing strategy? Starting off, let's dive into what exactly social media marketing is! In the new digital age, social media has become the prime subject of marketing for companies, utilizing platforms such as Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram and more recently, Tiktok. Social media marketing aids companies primarily in connecting them with their consumers in a more intimate way. Receiving real time feedback through comment sections as well as allowing companies to be more involved in the community has been vital in increasing brand awareness and brand persona. Social media marketing not only allows for more access to advertisements, but provides a casual and comfortable form of customer service and customer interaction with brands. This form of marketing is also imperative in staying on trend with what consumers want and need, while also providing a look into your competition and how they interact with their customers. With the rise of social media influencers, there is a whole new world of potential marketing strategies and opportunities.

A successful social media marketing strategy lies in understanding your audience and target market. It is also vital to understand what within your business needs tweaking and to adjust accordingly. Firstly, a brand must have specific and attainable goals within an audience that is not too broad in order to more effectively reach their target market. Social media platforms allow brands to track their influence through metrics such as: how long viewers watch their advertisements, as well as how many viewers clicked, skipped or shared their posts. These metrics are essential in understanding if your strategy is effective in spreading brand awareness. A great tactic to use is surveys! Get to know your audience and ask frequently if they are satisfied with what they are seeing on social media. What is the message your brand wants to portray, and is it being communicated? 

Another important tip when beginning to advertise on social media is to keep your posts short, sweet and to the point. In the age of social media, attention spans of your audience are key and you must be able to catch their attention between scrolling. As we know, social media is utilized to connect with your community, so why should your brand make me take a second look? Brands must have engagement with their community because at the end of the day it is not simply about selling products, it is about keeping your business sustainable and maintaining customer loyalty. It is difficult to stand out as a new brand and that is why it is essential to build your brand persona according to the specific message you want to illustrate.

Check back in for more tips on social media marketing!