Benefits of Blogging

Want to increase adoptions? Improve licensing compliance? Promote an important fundraiser?

Adding a blog to your website can be a huge help!

Here are three tips from the friendly folks at BlogPaws -- a new website for Pet Bloggers!

ONE - Remember that social media is just that: social. Imagine your blog as your storefront or living room but it is "located" on the Internet. If I'm traveling, how do I find your storefront or your house? I might use a map... OR I might ask a friend. Friends can give me landmarks - and guide me to the right street, right house, etc.

When you visit other blogs and leave comments, you make friends. Now, you're being social and approachable. If you leave a comment on my blog, now I can find you on the net, and by virtue of your visit, I'm going to visit you back. I may even blog or twitter about you. It's what friendly people do.

TWO - remember this: YOU ARE WHATEVER GOOGLE SAYS YOU ARE! If you're a coach but you never talk about coaching, you never mention the practice of coaching, and instead, chatter on about flowers, gardening, and how much you love the outdoors - because you don't want anyone to get turned off by all your "coaching talk"... guess what? Google will decide you're a gardener and that's what the rest of the world will believe.

Choose powerful keywords and use them often. Show Google that you're the place to send people who are looking for...whatever it is you do

THREE -  make a habit of promoting others. Create Top10 Lists of Experts. People want good advice and content. Review your blog content, create a focus on topics that will promote you and your blog without making you sound like a used-car salesman. Discuss current events and offer an opinion. Have a twitter party to raise money for your local no-kill shelter. Invite guest bloggers to your blog.

P.S. bonus hint: link, link, link, link, link

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

Last Chance RSUAS Registration

This is it!  The cross Canada tour of the Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies is about to begin.  Thursday April 15th is your last chance to register for your regional summit.

Pacific Regional Summit ~ Monday April 19th, Vancouver 

Prairie Regional Summit ~ Tuesday April 20th, Edmonton 

Atlantic Regional Summit ~ Thursday April 22nd, Halifax 

Central Regional Summit~ Friday April 23nd, Toronto

These events foster collaboration with all pet industry stakeholders in the region and help to find solutions for current companion animal issues.  All delegates will have a chance to participate in a valuable continuing education program that focuses on the business case "Cat Licensing in Calgary." This program will be delivered by Bill Bruce from The City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services.

The Regional Summits gather industry leaders (unit and branch managers) from all sectors of the pet industry. These one day events deliver content from the previous International Alumni Summit, promote industry collaboration in each region, provide continuing education for industry management and expand the number of collaborators working toward common goals and urban animal strategies in the companion animal industry.

Speakers 
Bill Bruce ~ Manager Animal & Bylaw Services, City of Calgary
Dr. Elizabeth O'Brien ~ DVM, Diplomate American Board of Veterinary Practitioners
Dr. Leslie Lyons ~ Associate Professor of Genetics UC Davis Veterinary Medicine

Registration

$150 plus taxes includes your breakfast, lunch and reception. 

A Destron Fearing microchip scanner will be awarded as a door prize!

Click here for the agenda for each event.     For more information contact:

Judi Cannon ~ The Summits for Urban Animal Strategies
Direct: 705.930.7387       Office: 403.219.1088

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

Pet Obsessed: The cost of cute

Whether you’re a dog or a cat person, there’s no question that our four-legged friends provide us with the kind of companionship you just can’t put a price on. That didn’t stop the folks at USA-based www.mint.com from doing just that however. 

The company's latest info-graphic takes a look at the true cost of sharing your home with companion animals, along with the requisite cute photos. How much do Americans spend on pet food, supplies, and pet food? And how have the big pet supply retailers done during the economic downturn?

This info-graphic is based on the aggregate data from over one million Mint.com users, a representative sampling of US consumers, along with data from wiki.answers.com.

The blog posts to this information are interesting, too. Tell us what you think of mint.com's statistics.

Posted by Terri Perrin, PetLynx Online Communications Editor