These Pet Influencers Make More Money Than Veterinary Professionals!
Is this another sign that the end is near? Pet Influencers now make more for one Instagram post than some veterinary technicians make in a year! This is going to get depressing.
A new survey conducted by OnBuy Pet Supplies using data from Influencer Marketing Hub revealed that pet influencers - yes that’s a real thing - are digging up serious dough for their posts. If you’re wondering, these social media stars are pets, not people, although those giant checks are certainly being deposited by someone with opposable thumbs.
Before I reveal the insane money these pets are being paid for an average Instagram picture and post and really wreck your head, let me share with you some other, almost equally distressing, findings from the data. According to Marketings Profs, a business marketing group, 10% of consumers claim they’d purchase a pet product endorsed by a famous pet. That compares to 3% who’d buy something a celebrity pitches for pets. My analysis of this is that pet parents have more trust in a cute kitty or precious Pomeranian than a Kardashian. I have to say I agree.
The top earning per post in December 2019 goes to Jiffpom (@jiffpom), a, well, Pomeranian with over 9.6 million Instagram followers who tracked down over $32,000 per post. The average US veterinary technician is reported to make $15.83 per hour or about $31,660 per year. So, yeah, Jiffpom makes more for one Instagram picture than, well, I told you this was depressing.
NalaCat (@nala_cat) with 4.3 million Instagram devotees scratched up $14, 253 per post, followed by Doug the Pug (@itsdougthepug) snuffling around $13,000, Juniper the Fox (@juniperfoxx), yes even though it’s misspelled with two x’s, it’s a pair of real North American red foxes, sniffed out nearly $10,000 per post, and it just gets worse from there.
This is a global phenomenon, with 12 of the top 15 being located in the United States, and the other three in Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands.
Off Labellers, I’m torn on this one. On one paw, I think it’s good people are learning from social media, even if it’s not always from a veterinary professional. On the other, I’m not sure exactly what these posts and memes are really teaching, or even if some of the information is true. This kind of money can potentially cause some people - or pets - to post questionable information or make recommendations that may not be ideal. I think our profession needs to keep track of these influencers and the messages pet parents are being exposed to, and continue creating medically accurate and safe content, even though we might not get the big bucks.
I wholeheartedly support factual, accurate, and beneficial information from any source. But still, $32,000 for a single picture? Well, nobody said they ever became a veterinary professional to get rich!
What do you think about these pet influencers making this kind of money? I want to hear from you! Well, that’s it for another edition of Off Label Veterinary News. If you like content like this, please subscribe and click the notification bell so you won’t miss an episode! Until next time, keep living that Off Label life! Bye!