As we kick off 2024, dig into our predictions for the pet industry. From new products and growing categories to SEO and millennial marketing—how can your pet brand take 2024 by storm?
Have a real conversation
Conversational marketing is going to explode in 2024.
We’ve all seen the sarky or comedy comebacks from brands on social media—Their engagement skyrockets. (Think Aldi and the Caterpillar cake saga.)
Chatbots and AI use in marketing are changing the landscape, and a carefully planned and executed AI response can and will improve your customer experience. But consumers are suspicious—especially in the health and veterinary health sector. We still naturally seek conversations with real humans, so make sure your brand engages in real life and doesn’t rely on your bot to respond to everything.
But it's not just your social media or AI chatbot that needs real human input. Marketing copy needs a human touch, too.
Make sure you’re speaking TO your clients, not at them. Focus on their needs and wants, and use their language. More conversational copy improves engagement because who wants to chat with a bot? Alexa is annoying enough!
We all want to connect with and feel seen by the brands we buy from.
Millennial pet owners and managers
Millennials are driving the pet industry (yep, I’m one of them!) We now make up the biggest proportion of pet owners. 33% of all pet owners spent their childhoods listening to the Spice Girls and LIVED the invention of social media. We expect our information FAST, but we want to be understood and feel loyalty and a connection to our world and the brands we buy from.
We may not be able to afford a house, but we’ll spend money on our pets because they make us feel loved.
But it's more than just the consumers we need to consider. Brands use different language and tactics when marketing to consumers vs vets, but does this need a rethink?
Millennials are now Head Vets, Practice Managers, Head Nurses and Practice Owners. We are real grown-ups, and we are running the show in a lot of clinics. So, veterinary brands need to change up their marketing techniques and adapt to this younger audience of decision-makers.
SEO for your audience
Search is changing. With the inclusion of AI and the launch of Google’s Search Generative Experience, using AI give your buyers the answers they want quickly and concisely. This seems to deliver snippets and videos or consolidate content from multiple sites to pull together overview answers.
The industry doesn’t know exactly how this will impact the way we rank across the web, let alone in the pet industry specifically. But we can say that building authority and being a trusted source of information will be a solid starting point.
What’s giving us that little nugget of information?
Well, Google is still prioritising EEAT. Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. So, building a bank of content with a strong site hierarchy and plenty of backlinks is vital. Ensure you cover the topics your audience is interested in thoroughly, using relevant sources, answering their questions and demonstrating your authority. Content pillar planning will help you visualise the structure of your content and identify gaps.
I’ve listened to many Google Bods discussing SEO in 2024, and although they delve into the technical, they always come back to good quality content that answers searchers' questions. So keep your focus on your audience, and you’ll be grand. (But get an expert’s support if SEO boggles the braincase.)
Pet Supplements Personalised Growth
The Pet supplement category is set to explode in the coming years. A recent report by Future Market Insights predicted that the already growing pet supplement industry will grow even more rapidly in the next ten years.
The more personalised the supplement, the better!
We’re seeing it in the human market. You do a quiz on Facebook and order your supplements, personalised to you and your needs.
That personalisation hit the pet food market hard, with the likes of Tails and the Republic of Cats, but now it’s predicted to take the supplement industry by storm – fueling the growth of an already blossoming category.
Owners are looking for the best for their pets, and they’re willing to shell out for a premium product if they believe it’s doing good.
But this growth will mean a ton of new products and brands hit the market, making the job of the Veterinary Medicines Department (VMD) all the harder. Expect them at shows, perusing stands and pulling brands up on their marketing. The question is, will they keep up with the growth, or will there continue to be contentious efficacy claims slipping through their net?
Worried about your claims? Or are you not sure how to position your supplement’s messaging and stay within the veterinary marketing regulations? Grab a copy audit, and let’s go through it with a fine tooth comb.
So, for a fab 2024, make sure you’ve nailed your messaging and that you’re targeting the right audience. Expect the supplement category to skyrocket, but as a result, see the VMD out in force. And keep on top of quality copy to make the Google Gods happy.
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