Social Media Sample – “Zari”
Pit bulls are notoriously difficult to market. A senior pit bull with mammary tumors? Triple threat. I identified Zari as a dog who would likely linger in this shelter’s (SICSA’s) care without intentional and strategic marketing, and came up with a plan to regularly feature her on their Instagram and Facebook pages in hopes that repeat messaging would help her case. I wrote her personality bio with language intended to pull at heartstrings while still highlighting Zari’s positive attributes. Zari was featured on March 5th and 15th. Her second post reached over 50,000 Instagram accounts and over 12,000 Facebook accounts, and she was adopted 2 weeks later by someone who saw her on Facebook after her friend shared the post!
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Social Media Sample – “Blind Date Dogs”
In February 2024, I planned a “Blind Date” event which would allow anyone to foster a dog for a Valentine’s Day “date.” The event was featured on a few local news segments and received a lot of positive engagement on social media and in person. We had twenty-four dogs ready to meet their match, eighteen people who filled out the blind date survey and pre-adoption applications . . . but on the day of the event, nobody showed up. It was a mid-week event during the shelter’s “slow season,” so we weren’t expecting crowds, but we thought we’d have at least a few takers (especially with the apparent excitement leading up to it).
I initially posted a sad follow-up collage (pictured left) and blurb on my personal (private) social media pages. However, it received so much attention among my small circle of friends and family that I proposed we post it on the shelter’s platforms. Not only did the post go viral, but it resulted in the dog on the top right being reunited with his original family! A friend of theirs shared the post, and the adult daughter recognized him right away. They weren’t able to adopt him, but they provided information on the dog’s background, which helped us better understand some of his behaviors. They also volunteered with the shelter to help him practice his behavior management plans.
This dog had been in the shelter for over two years at this point. Because of his previous family’s dedication to working with him, the dog’s behavior and quality of life greatly improved. He was able to remain safe and stable until we eventually secured him placement with a canine behavior center, where he is thriving to this day! This post is one of my favorites as it shows how a “failed” endeavor can still have a positive outcome with the right strategy, adaptability, and a little bit of luck.
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Social Media Sample – “Sugar”
Sugar is another example of how the right messaging and imagery helped an overlooked dog. Instead of using the “heartstrings” approach, I opted for a bit of humor, while also highlighting the dog’s soft side. She received an influx of adoption applications after I updated her website bio and we shared her on our social media platforms, and she was adopted 3 weeks later!
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Multipronged Marketing Campaign Sample (Direct Mail, Email, & Social Media) – “Kitten Season/Loads of Love”
When coordinating a multipronged approach to marketing, it’s important to understand the differences between audiences across varying platforms. The following is a breakdown of the strategies employed for a 2025 fundraising campaign consisting of a direct mail piece, email campaign, and social media messaging.
Direct Mail Campaign
My teammates looked into the organization’s past mail campaigns to find which had the highest ROI. The top performers shared a few commonalities: They were one page, focused on a single animal’s story, used bolded sentences to highlight key phrases, and included a cardstock “reminder” insert with the piece.
My role for this campaign was to write the narrative, come up with a starting point for the mail piece’s design, and work with a team of three to finalize the piece based on feedback from leadership. I created the direction for the mail piece’s design. My teammates finetuned the layout, captured updated photos for the image portions, and created a reminder insert based on the letter’s design. I identified an animal with a compelling story, gathered relevant statistics from the year (used in the pull quotes), and wrote the copy for the mail piece and insert.
The direct mail portion of this campaign successfully netted over $11,000.
Email Campaign
My teammates worked with the organization’s print/mailing service to get the direct mail sent out while I coordinated the digital side of the campaign. More than 50% of those who interact with the organization’s email campaigns are women over the age of 45, so I changed the design slightly to appeal to a more targeted audience.
Per leadership’s request, the digital campaign was aimed at raising funds for the facility’s dying dryer. I used the “kitten season” messaging from the direct mail narrative to tie in the “Loads of Love” portion of the campaign. I created the infographics, wrote the copy, and sent out the email campaign independently (with approval from leadership).
Social Media
The organization’s social media following is about 85% female, but the dominant age range varies by platform. To appeal to followers of differing ages, I came up with six different post ideas–three serious and three humorous.
Unfortunately, due to a technical issue with our CRM platform, we weren’t able to create a separate donation form for the Loads of Love portion of the campaign. However, based on email and post click rates and a spike in donations around the email and post times, we estimate the digital campaign generated approximately $2,000-$3,000.
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