Why did you join social media? To keep up with family? The news? For work? According to a recent survey done by Mars Petcare US, the world’s largest petcare company, it’s possible you joined as a way to share your pet with more people. These new insights only underscore just how much people love animals, and the importance of sharing this love is strongly represented in social media.
“From increased health, social skills and physical activity to reduced rates of stress, depression, and heart disease, our animal companions play a significant role in making our lives – and our world – better,” said Jam Stewart, Director of Corporate Communications at Mars Petcare. “What we uncovered in this unique survey only supports our mission further: people adore their pets and celebrate them every day. We’re proud to share the positive impact pets have on our overall well-being, regardless of the medium used to spread the word.”
The Survey
Mars Petcare asked 2,000 American pet owners who use social media – including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and YouTube – at least twice a week 17 questions relating to their use of social media for pet-related activities.
All Animals, All the Time
The results were telling – it’s clear that our pets dominate most of our social media activities.
Percentage of time spent posting about personal pets:
- About 65% of pet owners post about their furry friends on social media an average of two times per week.
- 16% post more than four times per week
- 33% said they post about their pets as much (and as often) as they do about their human family
- 13% admitted to posting about their pets even more than they do their human family!
More than half of pet owners polled care more about getting ‘likes’ and/or comments for their pet-related posts than they do for those most other topics, including changes to their own profile picture.
Follow Fluffy on Facebook!
- One in six pet owners have created a social media profile specifically for their pet
- 50 percent of those pet owners say their pets get more social attention than they do.
Call them the Paw-Purratzi
From dogs and cats filling up social media feeds (some even with their own profiles) to true pet celebrities who command the attention of millions, animals have become a major part of our digital lives. This survey underscores what we already know: pets have become an integral part of people’s lives and in pop culture.
30% of pet owners follow celebrity pets on social media, and Grumpy Cat is the undeniable leader of the pack, followed by 80% of the pet celeb fans!
Top 5 Pet Celebs by percentage followed:
- Grumpy Cat – 80%
- Boo – 22%
- Lil Bub – 16%
- Biddy the Hedgehog – 15%
- Marnie the dog – 15%
- Mr. Bagel – 11%
Women are more likely than men to follow pet celebrities. In addition, one out of every three people would be as excited to meet their favorite pet celeb as they would their favorite human star!
- 33% would prefer to meet their favorite human celeb
- 16% prefer to meet their favorite pet celeb
- 30% equally excited to meet pet celeb as human celeb
And of course, we all know you love pet-related social network pages!
- 15% said yes, they were already part of one
- 47% said they would join one
- 38% said no, they wouldn’t
So if you are one of those 47%, be sure to check out our dog and cat Facebook pages and start posting pics of your adorable best friends!
