Social Media

Social media has a significant impact on locating lost pets by swiftly reaching a broad audience. However, understanding the essential information to include and presenting it effectively can pose a challenge for the best results.

Picture choice

Selecting the perfect photo is crucial. It's important to choose a picture that clearly depicts your lost pet, highlighting any unique markings, the coloration, and a clear shot of your pet's face. This will facilitate easy identification and accurate reporting of sightings. To boost engagement, consider including some adorable photos in your post to captivate the audience.

Caption content

Providing all the necessary details is important in informing the public about your lost pet and aiding in its identification if necessary.

Here are the key details we suggest:

	Pet's Name-We acknowledge this can be a sensitive topic. Nevertheless, we think it's valuable to disclose as it can engage people more in the search for your dog if they know its name.
	Datethey went missing.
	Location.For safety reasons, we suggest you don’t post your full location. We recommend posting just the first part of your postcode and the number that follows and never mention your house/flat number.
	Brief details of how they disappeared:escaped through a door, startled by another animal etc.
	If your pet is chipped, neutered or wearing a collar when they went missing.

Here is a helpful template for your caption.

LOST PET TEMPLATE:

MISSING 'ANIMAL TYPE'
Location - YOUR AREA
Name - NAME
Chipped/Not Chipped
Neutered/Not Neutered
/ NAME was/was not wearing a collar
Additional notes about behaviour/the look of your pet.

Importance of Social Media

The primary goal of social media is to connect with the local community. A great strategy to reach these individuals is by sharing content on local Facebook groups and online notice boards. If you are concentrating on Facebook, consider targeting your postcode area by using a 'boosted Facebook post'. This feature allows you to specifically reach people in your postcode area, providing an added advantage in reaching your target audience effectively.