Dog Trainers: Unexpected Content Marketers
If I’m being completely truthful, I spend an embarrassing amount of time watching dog training videos. I’m not even sure why — neither of my dogs is particularly badly behaved. One is smarter than the average middle schooler and the other one is just young and still working on not running off after everything that moves. So, why do I spend so much time watching angry Chihuahuas try to take off the hands of everyone who comes near them? Well, it’s good content marketing.
Not every trainer has a show on Animal Planet. Rather, many of the trainers on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are just your neighborhood establishments sharing what they know. For instance, the video below is from the place I’ve taken my dogs over the past year or so.
This is pitch-perfect content marketing. The trainers are showing you what is possible, without giving away enough of their secrets to let you actually DIY your dog training. In fact, the video makes it clear that a class setting is pretty important to this kind of work. If you’ve ever tried to train your dog out in the real world, you know that the world tends not to cooperate — especially other people’s dogs. Being around other well-trained dogs who can act as distractions, without becoming part of the problem, is an important part of the process — and worth paying for. (Not to mention the fact that most of us don’t have dog-balancing equipment at home.)
Dog training went virtual in 2020
We all know that the big winners of 2020 — and the pandemic-inspired quarantine — were dogs. Not only did people stuck at home adopt dogs in droves, but the canines who already had homes suddenly had their people around 24/7. Meanwhile, dog trainers had to figure out how to help people with unruly puppies and stay socially distant.
For many, that meant going virtual! Trainers who were already creating content had a leg up. It made them easy to find, and it was clear that they could convey their expertise in a virtual environment. Meanwhile, the superstar influencers of the dog training space just got bigger. Zak George — whose Dog Training Revolution Channel on YouTUbe has over 3.15 million subscribers — zeroed in on the challenges people were likely experiencing at home — new puppies running amok or rescue dogs with zero manners — and turned them into informative series.
From Zak George all the way down to my local trainers, these people have figured out the key to content — figuring out what people want, giving it to them, and turning it into dollars. In George’s case, it’s ad dollars, but for the folks over at Pack of Paws, it’s about showing potential clients what they can do.
Need help figuring out how to convey what you have to offer to the digital masses? Give me a shout! If you want to see gratuitous pictures of my dogs, look no further!
