Podcast Episode 191: Pet Influencers Are More Than Cute Dog Photos

In this episode, Charlotte Lehman explains how she got started on Instagram with an account for her dog Starsky. But four years into it, she realized that cute photos and simple captions weren’t fueling her fire. She started to post more about her own life, mental health struggles and her authentic life with adventure dogs. This more in-depth approach got her excited about Instagram again.

Charlotte found another sweet spot with Reels. She’s gained about 15,000 new Instagram followers thanks to her creative dog videos. She explains how her Reels fit into 3 categories for the most part: entertaining, educational or narrative style.

In this interview, we also discuss how to get paid as a pet influencer and why we deserve a fair wage. One of those reasons is our expertise in digital marketing. That’s why it’s so important to keep learning and growing your skills. If you’re looking to step up your game, I’m hosting a free webinar about Pinterest for Pet Pros. Save your spot here!

Being a Pet Influencer is About More Than Dog Photos

Charlotte has been in the Dog Instagram Space for the past 7 years where she educates, embraces, and celebrates being a pet influencer. With her pups – Starsky, Kiki, and Ginsburg – her account has become a leader in the Adventure Dog space. She recently left her career as lawyer to become a full time pet influencer, which has been keeping her busy! Among many things, she advocates for responsible breeding, paying pet influencers a fair wage, and taking more photos with your dog.

She was one of the first to embrace short form video Reels and Tik Tok’s in the pet space. When she hit viral status with her “teaching your dog how to speak with buttons” videos, other pet influencers came to her with questions on how to beat the algorithm. She constructed a formula that focuses on strategy, an element of surprise, and having some just plain fun with your audience. You can catch Charlotte with her pups at their new home in Denver where they play all day every day!

Overview of this Episode:

  • Why Charlotte quit her law career to start her pet influencer business
  • What led Charlotte to change the type and tone of her content
  • Using the element of surprise to increase user engagement
  • What different styles of Reels are sustainable
  • Advice for influencers that are looking to get paid
  • Setting boundaries when brands don’t want to pay for your time
  • Tips for approaching brand partnerships

Resources Mentioned:

Where to Find Charlotte:

 

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Tori Mistick

Tori Mistick

Tori Mistick is a certified Canine Enrichment Specialist and the founder of Wear Wag Repeat, where she helps dog lovers bring more joy and purpose to everyday life with their pups. Inspired by her late Labrador Lucy, Tori believes that enrichment is bonding, not babysitting. You might have seen her sharing a DIY enrichment tutorial on TV or social media. Her approachable tips have reached millions through features in Good Morning America, the Wall Street Journal, and more. Tori has over 15 years of digital marketing experience and a top-rated podcast with over a quarter million downloads! She's also a professor of multimedia at Point Park University.

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Tori Mistick is a certified canine enrichment specialist and multimedia creator who teaches simple, science-based ways to ease your dog’s boredom and anxiety. As seen in The Wall Street Journal and Good Morning America. Tori has been blogging about dogs since 2013.

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Inspired by Lucy, a certified therapy dog, and Burt, a 14-year-old Chocolate Lab who loves Barn Hunt. Lucy’s legacy is the foundation of this blog, while Burt is still here, helping test enrichment ideas for senior dogs.

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