An Experticity How-To Guide

Growing your brandwith influential experts

Pet version 01

no. 30The Experticity Resource Library

Getting Pet Experts Talking About Your Brand

We know your experts. Do you?They devote their love to dogs, cats and small critters at animal shelters. They’ve got leash training down to a science, and eagerly help their friend train their new puppy. They’ve made a career out of dog walking and pet sitting because they love animals so much. They’re pet experts, and it’s worth building a relationship of trust with them because they can be your most powerful tool for improving your brand perception and growth.

What’s Inside

1. Meet your match Your brand already has advocates and experts. Let’s talk to them.

2. Hear what they have to say Find out what this important community has to say about your products and brand.

3. Help them talk the talk Connect with your experts so they can make informed recommendations.

4. Don’t forget walking the walk The more experience they have with your products, the more they can say about them.

5. Gather and share inspiring content Lucky for you, experts have big, inspiring lives — and the social posts to match.

6. Case studies See experts in action.

Getting Pet Experts Talking About Your Brand

1. Meet your match

This is Heidi, and she’s been working at a Humane Society shelter for two years. In her own words, she seeks out the dogs that need her the most.

She makes sure every shelter dog gets the best care possible. And when it’s time to go home, Heidi spoils her own two pitbulls with love and attention.

Animals are her entire life, from dawn to dusk, work to play. She’s always ready to offer up a dose of pet wisdom, and she’s a huge advocate for pet products she’s tried and loved, too. Heidi happens to be one of thousands of experts on Experticity with this level of passion, experience and knowledge.

Foster trustWhether you’re plugging into an existing Experticity audience, sharing cute pics of pets and your products on Instagram or crafting gear for pets on the go, you need to know where these passionate pet experts are and how to make yourself accessible to them. It’s the first step toward building atrustworthy relationship.

Insights

Even after just one online session with a brand on Experticity, influential experts like Heidi are:

4xmore likely to recommend a brand

87%more than their peers

Proven to sell

Getting Pet Experts Talking About Your Brand

2. Hear what they have to sayExperts love sharing insights — especially pet owners, who are always eager to share their experiences and product recommendations. So, before your brand crafts an engagement strategy, make time to survey these potential advocates. Ask them thoughtful questions and truly listen to what they have to say. Not only will you build brand affinity with a loyal crowd, you’ll gain valuable insights you can use to improve both your product and marketing strategies, too.

Find out what these experts are seeing, thinking and feeling and how they perceive the latest trends. Are they recommending you already? Why or why not? Experts can provide valuable input on product features and functionality, right down to the flavors their pets love the most, long before you’re even ready for market. Your consumers trust experts. You should, too.

Insights

Experts like Heidi have

15xmore buying conversations

week than the average consumer

of people who receive a recommendation from a passionate expert or someone who works in the industry are highly likely to follow it

82%

Getting Pet Experts Talking About Your Brand

3. Help them talk the talkIdentify your brand’s most influential experts, then offer them regular insider access to engaging content and products that keep them coming back for more. Whether it’s a discount on your dental dog treats or an exclusive sneak peek at a new line of pet travel accessories, nothing inspires passionate pet experts more than being first to know what’s new. It all adds up to a loyal, lasting connection — and experts who can’t stop talking about your products to consumers.

Quick Tip:

Keep them on the cutting edge.Heidi is constantly asked for recommendations on everything from dog food to the best leash for training a puppy. Want a place in that conversation? Connect with experts like her authentically and give them first-hand access to your products and people.

Getting Pet Experts Talking About Your Brand

4. Don’t forget walking the walkThe most trusted recommendations come from people who’ve had positive first-hand experiences with a product — even better if those people happen to be influential experts. Experticity can help you get more of your products into the hands of the very experts who are most trusted for their advice on what to buy. In the process, you’ll be giving them much more to say about what you sell.

Seeding products to top experts or influencers — either free or at a deep discount — and then getting their authentic feedback is a great way to build both word-of-mouth credibility and excitement around new products.

Insights

2/3rds of social buying conversations happen offline83%

of WOM recommendations are tied to personal experience

with a product/brand 5xAn offline buying recommendation is

more likely to drive a purchase

Getting Pet Experts Talking About Your Brand

5. Gather and share inspiring content

Stand back and let your influential experts do what they do best: inspire others to love your brand. Inspire new customers and drive engagement by featuring authentic content created by passionate storytellers. Our experts can also craft honest, credible reviews for your online sales channel to help provide credible recommendations on what to buy and why.

For example:Skullcandy invited experts in the Experticity network to field-test new products and provide honest reviews. Sure enough, 82% of the experts who participated in a product pre-launch shared reviews on the Skullcandy website.

5 DHeidi Myers

172

Fifi loves playing in the snow more than I do.

SHOW MORE

Taylor Jenni Raymond

Getting Pet Experts Talking About Your Brand

6. Case studies

When it came to their Muse pet food, Purina looked to passionate and knowledgeable Experticity experts to get the word out. They engaged with experts at 876 retail locations, boosting the likelihood of experts recommending Purina Muse by 6x compared to non-engaged retail locations.

Reebok partnered with Experticity to launch back into the running category with the Floatride, propelled by the credibility of running experts. Prior to the shoe launching, our experts had countless conversations, generated 1.57 million social impressions, and wrote more than 500 product reviews to drive conversion. At launch, the Floatride won Best Debut from Runner’s Magazine and is now the No. 4 best-selling shoe on Reebok.com.

The North Face® surveyed industry experts on the styles and features they’d like to see in future product lines. The North Face® product team has now received 275 valuable expert insights.

Find out what experts can do for youExperticity is the world’s largest network of trusted experts whose passion, experience and knowledge make them powerful advocates for brands. Join the 600+ brands who already use Experticity solutions and connect with experts who authentically build brand awareness and help you sell more.

business.experticity.com/learn-more