Welcome to the ultimate destination for dog enthusiasts and social media mavens alike. At Dogfluencers, we're passionate about showcasing the best and brightest in the world of four-legged fame.
Whether you're looking for adorable photos, heartwarming stories, or expert tips on how to turn your own pup into a social media star, we've got you covered.
Today we got the honor of interviewing Bárbara (Kobe's Human). You can find a direct link to their Instagram here.
Here is their story:
Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a dog influencer? What inspired you to start sharing your dog's adventures on social media?
Matos: It all started with Kobe's original family. Kobe's mom's owners had an Instagram page where they shared everything since Kobe's litter birth until the moment they would be handed out to their new families. Because of that, and also because we are photographers, we felt the need to continue his journey on social media on his own page so his original family could still keep up with him growing up. When we started his page we didn't know "dog influencers" were a thing and as we dived deeper and deeper into this world we found a certain liking for it and eventually his page started to grow more and more to the point where some brands started contacting us so Kobe could become an ambassador/model/brand rep.
What do you think sets your dog apart from other dogs on social media? What makes them unique or particularly interesting to your followers?
Matos: I think being photographers for a living helps with having a certain innate eye for what sort of looks good composition and color-wise. Also being a Cocker Spaniel helps because of the fluffy long ears, cute little puppy eyes and, of course, being a popular breed because of "Lady and the Tramp". Maybe it's just us but we also feel like we haven't seen many Cocker Spaniels in Portugal until recently, so that also helped Kobe stand out a little on social media.
How do you come up with ideas for your dog's posts and content? Do you have a specific creative process?
Matos: We don't really have much planned content, we like to keep things natural and organic, unless we're working with brands or there's a special time of the year coming up like Christmas or Easter. For brands we usually try to post stuff related to their content and values which makes the creative process a lot easier because we follow certain "unwritten" guidelines. For our personal content we just notice moments where he's looking cute or funny, take advantage of that and make the most of it since we always have a camera nearby. We sometimes use Pinterest to inspire us.
Have you ever faced any challenges or negativity on social media, and how have you dealt with it?
Matos: Not really. We've been lucky so far! There was an instance though. We posted a reel of Kobe's rainy days routine where we dress him up with a raincoat and snood so he's protected from the rain and it's easier to take care of his fur after the walk, and a couple of people commented with a certain disgust and outrage. Maybe because they don't understand what we're doing and why we're doing it, maybe because they feel like we're "mistreating" Kobe, or maybe because they just feel like their opinion or take on the matter is always right. What matters is that we are the ones living and interacting 24/7 with Kobe and we know how he feels and if he's uncomfortable at any point, which has never been the case so far.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own dog influencer account or share their dog on social media?
Matos: Being creative and have quality photos. At this point and time, smartphone cameras are pretty good and that's basically all you need. We would also suggest people trying to become dog influencers to look up a couple of the hundreds of thousands tutorials online about lighting and color as that will vastly improve the type of content they put out. After that, you just have to be consistent. With time, the quality of the content will improve but you still have to post somewhat regularly. Interact with other accounts, be nice, help each other out, all of that will go a long way for people to start talking about and mentioning you throughout social media.
How has your dog influenced your life outside of social media?
Matos: Well, because of Kobe's Instagram page we started interacting with some other dog influencer accounts regularly and we started meeting each other in real life. We would go to dog meetings we'd plan, some dog birthday parties and even animal conventions. We also ended up starting our own photography business (@pawershot.studio) since Kobe was already modeling for some brands and that ended up opening new opportunities for us as we've started working for said brands. It's also funny that at times we're walking Kobe on the street or eating at a restaurant and people come up to us and ask us if that's Kobe from Instagram. It's still somewhat of a weird feeling for us but a very rewarding one at that. It tells us we're doing a good "job" on his page and they're always very good interactions!
Can you tell us about a particularly memorable or funny moment you've had with your dog during one of your photo shoots or adventures?
Matos: It really doesn't happen a lot because he's very obedient and usually does everything we ask for photoshoot purposes. There was one time where he was in his first professional photoshoot for a brand, with another dog, at the beach. There was a low tide and some fish washed up on the shore. From about half a kilometer away, the other dog must've smelled some fish and started sprinting towards it. Kobe was still a puppy working on his recall and he immediately ran after the other dog! That dog still managed to bite the fish, but eventually it let it go and came back. Meanwhile we were scared Kobe could run away or even eat the fish but he was just too happy running after the other dog. We were also very relieved when we called him over and he came running to us, knowing his obedience training was working!
What is your favorite thing about being a dog influencer?
Matos: Definitely the opportunities to represent and work with brands and also meet some other dog influencers. Sharing different stories and insights about dogs and different breeds. We have learned a lot.
Lastly, what's next for you and your dog on social media? Any exciting plans or projects in the works?
Matos: Not really, we always prided ourselves in just creating quality organic content and let opportunities come to us instead of going after them, since that was never our main goal. We have been lucky to have quite some brands trust us to work together. We recently posted a reel that has gone a little viral and we're still growing very rapidly since then (for our standard, at least). Maybe that will open up some new opportunities for Kobe!
