Social media gives your shelter or rescue a free way to introduce animals to your community, recruit volunteers, and thank your supporters. You don't need professional equipment or a dedicated marketing person. A phone and a realistic plan will get you started.
This guide covers what to post, where to post it, and how to keep going when your team is busy.
What to post
A mix of content helps you reach different people and keeps your page from feeling repetitive. Most of your posts can fit one of these categories.
Available animals. Share a clear photo or a short video, a few sentences about personality, and a link to apply. Use the same description you've written for the animal's adoption profile, adapted for the platform.
Daily life. Show feeding time, a vet visit, a volunteer shift, or a dog's first walk. These posts show followers how your organization works and what their support makes possible.
Adoption updates. Ask adopters to send photos once their pet has settled in, and share them with permission. These posts give past supporters good news and show future adopters what's possible.
Specific needs. Say exactly what you need, such as foster homes for a litter of kittens or volunteers for an event. Include a link and a date if there is one.
Thank-yous and results. Thank your donors and volunteers, and share what you accomplished over the past month. This helps people see the difference they're making.
Choosing your platforms
You don't have to be everywhere. Start with one or two platforms where your community already spends time, and do those well.
- Facebook is useful for local groups, events, and longer updates. Many shelters already have supporters there.
- Instagram suits photos and short videos, and location tags can help people nearby find you.
- TikTok is built around short video. Try it if someone on your team enjoys making videos and can post regularly.
Check your own numbers after a few months, and put your time toward the places that bring in applications, volunteers, and donations.
Tips for better posts
Keep the animal in focus. Natural light and a simple background work well on a phone. Candid photos are fine as long as you can see the animal clearly.
Always include a next step. Tell people how to apply, donate, or sign up, and make the link easy to find. A public pet profile or application form is a better destination than your home page.
Focus on local reach. Your adopters and volunteers are likely to live nearby. Tag your location, mention your town, and share posts with local groups where it's allowed.
Reply to comments and messages. People often ask about a pet in the comments. A quick answer with a link to your application helps them, and it shows others that you respond.
Protect people's privacy. Get permission before you post photos of adopters, fosters, or volunteers, and avoid sharing a foster's address or other details that reveal where they live.
Balance urgent requests with good news
When animals need help quickly, it's natural to ask for support. If most of your posts are urgent, though, followers can start to tune them out. Save urgent posts for real needs, and explain what's needed and by when. Follow up afterward to share what happened, so people know their help made a difference.
How to keep it manageable
Consistency matters more than volume. Choose a schedule you can maintain, even if that's only a few posts a week.
These habits can help:
- Set aside one block of time each week to choose photos and schedule posts.
- Create a shared photo album so volunteers and fosters can add pictures and clips as they take them.
- Rotate the job, or share it between two people, so it doesn't stop when someone's away.
- Write down your basics, including your tone, what you won't post, and how to respond to difficult comments.
It also helps to keep your pet records up to date. If each animal already has a current photo and description, you can turn them into a post in a few minutes. PawPlacer's public pet profiles also give you a link to share for each eligible pet, so people can go straight from a post to the full profile.
Measuring your results
Likes are nice to see, but they don't tell you the whole story. Once a month, look at how many people clicked your links, how many applications came from social media, and how many people signed up to volunteer or donate. You can also ask on your application form how people heard about you. For other ways to reach adopters, see our guide to increasing adoptions without a marketing budget.
