tips for a really greyt Greyhound instagram account
Once you have your Ex-racing Greyhound all settled - it may be time for them to become an Instagram Famous Greyhound. Or at least make some fun connections with other like-minded Greyhound parents from around the world.
To get your Greyhound on his or her way to Instagram-fame, you need to start by setting up a Greyhound Instagram account.
For me and Sabrina (aka Beanie to her Instagram Family) it’s about the special connections around the globe. The special friendships, bonding over Greyhound stories and helping support a Greyhound family when there is loss of their beloved Greyhound mean everything to me.
There is so much to cover on this topic that I had to limit it to just five categories.
How to set up a good Greyhound Instagram Profile
Instagram Profile Photo:
Choose a clear photo to use as your Instagram profile photo.
Choose something cute, funny or at least memorable with a clean background like a solid colour, sky or water.
There is also a free profile photo maker called Profile Pic Maker that you can use to make a unique profile photo. It is super easy to use and its free.
Don’t change your profile photo too often as you want this to be a way for your followers or potential followers to identify your account.
I usually do something different for Easter, Halloween and Christmas but I always return to my regular Instagram profile photo.
Let’s build your Greyhound’s Instagram Profile:
Your name and two to three searchable keywords. (I always follow this rule as I want people who are interested in an ex-racing Greyhound to find my Instagram account).
Sentence no. 1: What do you do (optional)
Sentence no. 2: Who and how you help (optional)
Sentence no. 3: CTA (Call to action, for example follow me for more fun content)
Now this is the recommended Instagram profile and to be honest I followed it for years and I am now just doing my own thing promoting The Lovely Hound Blog on my profile.
The most important part of your profile will be your Greyhound’s name and the 2-3 keywords you choose. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to determine a Greyhound’s name on an Instagram account, especially when you are looking to engage with them.
As for the the CTA, only use if you are comfortable with it.
Asking for people to follow you seems cringe at the best of times. You could even try join me on my journey from racing to rescue. Try it out and see how it feels.
Instagram Tip!
Do not change your profile name too often. Here is why. People will get to know you as (for example) Sabrina the Greyhound. If you make a change to something like Sabrina the Rescued Greyhound they will still likely know that is you. But if you change your name to (for example) Silly Noodle Horse you may lose your recognition.
I see it all the time. It’s confusing and may lead to unfollows.
Type of Instagram account for your greyhound
There are a few key benefits to choosing an Instagram Business account.
You can make your Greyhound’s Instagram account either a personal account or you can make it a business account.
You will be prompted when you are setting up your account as to what your preference is.
If you are serious about growing your account, I recommend the business version as it will track your Instagram account’s analytics. Meaning, it will track metrics such as your follows, your unfollows, popular posts, and engagement. This way you can see what is working on your account and what you may want to change.
But if you are just on Instagram for the fun you can just skip all that!
There is always the Private Option that is available for your account settings. I personally do not know why people have private accounts as the entire point of Social Media is to be social. But just know that option is available, if security is a concern.
instagram Tip!
You can always change from Business account back to a Personal account at any time and vice versa.
When and What to post on Instagram
When to post:
Post at a time that works for your life. The key is to try to stay within a couple hours of that time each time you post. The key is consistency.
How often should I post?
Post whenever you want but if you want to grow your Instagram account you will need to post 4 times a week.
I recommend twice a week to get started and see how this feels. Then aim for three times a week. The key as always is consistency.
Don’t post every day for a week and then nothing. And then post once.
Your eventual goal should be four days a week.
For my Sabrina the Ex-Racing Greyhound Instagram account, I am currently posting twice a week as it is summertime. I am really busy with getting my website and blog optimized but once autumn arrives I’ll be increasing it again.
Here is what I am currently doing:
Stories 5-6 days a week (one or two stories daily only)
One or two single posts or carousels (3-5 slides) or combination a week.
One reel. Once or twice a month.
Don’t be a spammer on Instagram.
At the end of the day the Instagram account you create for your hound is yours but for me if I am following an account that posts for example three to five times a day or more I remove them as a follower and unfollow them.
I recently did this with two accounts because the both of them were dominating my Instagram feed with poor quality content for the sake of posting and not posting engaging content for their followers.
One of them begged for followers every day and I will say this. Please don’t beg for anything on Instagram. Especially followers.
It is not a good look because it makes it appear you do not respect your current followers. Which you don’t.
What to Post:
Post good quality photos with lots of light. You can use your phone, I do.
I always try to add colour as Sabrina, being a fawn, quickly washes out when I post her photos.
Your photos can be funny, beautiful or sad.
If you can, try to tell a story with your photos.
Connect to your followers with a close up of your hound’s eyes.
Photos with Greyhounds roaching or with their tongue out are popular.
You can display these photos as single posts or as a *carousel.
*Carousels are for telling a story, showing a transition or a How To.
*Use three to five slides only - unless you have created a story that truly needs more slides.
Stories:
Post no more than five stories a day.
Wait 24 hours after your last story to post that special story.
It’s ok to share content of other accounts through your stories but it’s in your best interest to share your own.
If people share your content, remember to thank them.
Reels:
Reels are for growth. Period.
Every successful reel will have a hook. Something that keeps the person watching to the end.
Access trending audio to give your reel a boost. Trending audio won’t save a bad reel.
For Sabrina’s reels this has mostly worked.
Reels should be not too short or too long.
For Sabrina’s reels the sweet spot is eight seconds.
Reels are not my favourite as they can be a lot of work and can tank easily through no fault of the creator.
A viral reel can grow your Instagram account overnight - but what comes with viral content is the need to repeat it which is often impossible.
Instagram Tip!
Strategy for growth per Meta as of July 29, 2024
Consider posting 4 days a week with one post or carousel and three reels.
algorithms and Hashtags on your greyhound Instagram
Algorithms:
There is an algorithm for everything on Instagram.
You cannot trick it or feed it - contrary to all the snake oil selling Instagram experts out there.
Here is how I deal with the algorithms.
I post my best content of Sabrina always with my followers in mind.
If the particular algorithm shows it to others and they love it - that is mission accomplished. If not, maybe next time.
Please don’t lose sleep over something you cannot change.
These algorithms are a closely guarded secret that isn’t even known by the people who are employed by Meta.
#Hashtags:
Hashtags are like keywords and are still the very best way to get new followers to your Instagram account.
For example, I use the hashtag #greyhoundadoption. If someone is looking for information on Greyhound Adoption and they enter Greyhound Adoption as keywords into the Instagram Search. Bingo! They find my post using those keywords because they match my particular hashtag of #greyhoundadoption.
Instagram Tip!
You can use up to 30 relevant hashtags per post.
Recommendations and Warnings
You do not need to post five days a week or more than once a day.
The current recommended posting schedule for growth is four days a week, as per Meta as of July 29, 2024.
Accounts posting seven days a week and three to five times a day run the risk of having their accounts marked as spam.
This means their content will not be shown to new followers and only shown to their existing followers on a very limited basis. And not on the Explore Page.
This type of behaviour will get your account placed on Mute or worse Unfollowed by those who have lost patience with you.
If you are posting on this type of schedule, and you are unable to stop, you may want to seek counselling for a Social Media Addiction.
This is a very real and serious thing. And is not to be joked about.
In particular, it seems it is a problem with Instagram.
instagram Tip!
When you are on Instagram, even though you will be immersed with the Wonderful Sighthound Community, you must still be careful of potential hackers. Open a link in your DM’s (Direct Messages) at your own peril as this is how and where the lion’s share of hacking occurs.
Typically, the hacker will seem familiar to you but that is because they already hacked someone you knew and now they are pretending to be them.
In addition, make sure that you put in place the Two Factor Authentication available through your Instagram Account Settings/Password and Security. This will help somewhat to keep your account safe but there is no guarantees that you will not get hacked. I fend these hackers off on a regular basis as do many other accounts.
Just remember to save all your posts to your Camera Roll, this way you won’t lose anything special moments if you lose your account to a hacker.