One of the first clients for Content Savants was a small pet boarding business in Kuala Lumpur, Park City Pet Boarding located in Sri Petaling shop area.  With the initiation of a regular and frequent campaign of posting memes on Facebook and Instagram, positive results were seen in less than a month.  A fledgling small business which frequently had days with zero customers quickly transitioned into a business with a regular trickle of customers.  Continuation of the early positive results led to growth over time, and after four months, the business turned a highly-subsidized operation into monthly profits. 

While a “regular trickle of customers” was not the end goal, this situation represented a substantial improvement in operations, and helped to build momentum which culminated in its profitability.  Content Savants has continued working with the business to meet the owners’ goals of expanding its service offer.  The initial results, however, show a monthly RoI (not annual, as RoI typically conveys) of over 100% on the cost of social media marketing. 

The content service provided by Content Savants enabled regular and frequent posting on social media accounts, an activity which serviced to draw attention to the business among the thousand or so followers which had been accumulated in the business’s three prior years of operation.  The number of followers also saw a gradual increase of about 5% per month.  While this metric calls for further optimization, the priority focus for the business was to do a better job of attracting existing customers.  In other words, at this time, other metrics were of secondary importance to the business’s bottom line.  Content Savants highlighted this approach in our initial discussions with the business team, and developed a cost-effective strategy to see early, positive results.

Development of the social media theme was based on two motivating factors:  1) enabling a positive association with the business to develop over time a stronger connection between customers and the business, and 2) to convey the personal nature of the pet boarding service versus competitors which frequently caged up their overnight guests.  Park City saw this factor as key to distinguishing themselves from the competition, and to enabling a basis through which they could justify a higher fee compared to their nearby competitors. 

Implementation was carried out through the development of content that invoked association with well-known personalities.  Quotes about dogs and cats from authors, actors and other celebrities were developed into memes and published on Facebook and Instagram.  This content supported the first theme of enabling a positive association with the business.  By invoking quotes of famous people, the business also stood beside individuals with authority, generating a positive impression by customers who would recognize many of the famous personalities who also loved animals. 

The second theme was achieved through inclusion of original photographs taken at the shop, depicting animals in a fun and playful setting.  A wide range of images were selected, showing dogs and cats of different breeds, and also featuring other unique pets that the shop takes in from time to time. 

While the initial phase of Park City’s online presence has been sufficient to build the business to profitability (and over time, generate a social media RoI that can only be expressed in multiples), the next phase will require a more sophisticated management of a marketing campaign which combines elements of online social media with regular blogging on the business website, combined with a pay-per-click strategy that is guided by a detailed tracking of customer response rates. 

A more holistic and comprehensive approach will be the next step to raise Park City to a level above its more dominant competitors and to establish the business as a leader in pet boarding services across Malaysia.  At the same time, the early success of Park City’s approach demonstrates the amazing potential of social media marketing to raise business profile and attract the attention of online customers.