A pet brand should give each social platform one job: TikTok for reaching new owners, Instagram for customer photos and community, and YouTube for longer demonstrations that answer buying questions. The audience is large, since the American Pet Products Association (APPA) reported that 95 million U.S. households owned at least one pet in 2025. Any creator who is paid to post must disclose the relationship, and under the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) 2023 revised Endorsement Guides the brand that pays is responsible for monitoring it.
Last updated October 26, 2026.
Summary
- TikTok, Instagram and YouTube each get a separate job, and each is judged by its own result.
- Customer photos are content that pet owners already want to share, as Chewy's portrait program showed.
- A paid creator post needs a disclosure that followers can see, and the brand should require it in the contract and monitor it.
- One product and one month is enough to learn which platform earns the next month's budget.
What job should each platform do for a pet brand?
A pet brand gets the most from social media when TikTok handles discovery, Instagram handles community, and YouTube handles proof. These roles are an editorial framework, not a platform rule. Each app can do all three jobs, but giving each one a main job keeps the content calendar and the measurement clear.
| Platform | Main job | Content that fits | What to measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Reach new owners | Short videos of a pet reacting to a product, creator trials, quick before and after clips | Views, saves and clicks to a product page |
| Build community | Customer photos posted with permission, Stories about daily pet routines, creator Reels | Shares, replies and posts that tag the brand | |
| YouTube | Prove the product | Longer demonstrations, explanations of ingredients or fit, interviews with trainers or veterinarians | Watch time and visits to the product page |
The roles also match a plausible buying path. A first-time buyer might see a chew toy in a short video, check customer photos for proof, and then watch a demonstration before ordering. This path is a hypothetical, offered to show how the roles connect, not a measured funnel.
Creator tiers, budget splits and platform choice for paid work are covered in a guide to influencer marketing for pet products.
Why do customer photos work so well for pet brands?
Customer photos give a pet brand content that owners want to share, and Chewy's pet portrait program shows how far that can go. Pets are part of a very large share of homes: APPA's 2026 State of the Industry Report put pet ownership at 95 million U.S. households in 2025, and cat ownership at 39% of households (53 million) and dog ownership at 53% (71 million).
Associated Press reporter Joseph Pisani reported in January 2021 that Chewy sends more than 1,000 free pet paintings each week to select customers. The AP also reported that many recipients document the portraits on social media, which gives Chewy free advertising, and that the company noticed this when it began shipping them. Chewy typically sent portraits to customers who had a pet photo on their account or had shared one with a customer service agent, according to the same report. Read the AP report in The Spokesman-Review.
The mechanism is within reach of a smaller brand even without Chewy's budget. A brand can ask customers for a photo of their pet, get written permission to repost it, and send a small item or a thank-you note that photographs well. The customer then has a reason to post, and the brand has content that did not need a studio.
More documented examples sit in the roundup of best pet marketing campaigns, and the pet brand storytelling guide covers how to build a story around a customer photo.
What do FTC rules require when a pet brand pays creators?
The Federal Trade Commission expects creators to disclose sponsorships to their followers, and a brand that pays them can also be held responsible. On June 29, 2023, the FTC finalized revised Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) that expect advertisers to be responsible for, and to monitor, the actions of their endorsers, as the FTC's announcement of the updated guides describes. A missing disclosure is therefore a risk for the brand as well as the creator.
For practical how-to guidance, the FTC published "Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers" on November 5, 2019. That guide explains what triggers the need for a disclosure and gives examples of effective and ineffective ones, according to the FTC's announcement of its influencer guidance. It also suggests words a creator might use and where in a post the disclosure should appear, which matters because a disclosure that sits where followers do not see it does not do its job.
A pet brand that pays creators should therefore write the disclosure requirement into the contract, review each post before it pays, and check posts after they go live. Claims about pet health, such as saying a supplement treats a condition, should be checked against a veterinary source before a creator repeats them. A checklist for auditing creators before posts go live is in the guide to influencer disclosure rules for brands.
How can a pet brand test its platforms in 30 days?
A pet brand can test its platforms in 30 days by running one small, comparable experiment on each and judging each against a single number. The test needs one product, three pieces of content and a way to trace purchases.
- Pick one product that already has customer reviews and a clear use, such as a chew toy or a harness.
- Make one short video for TikTok, one set of customer photos for Instagram, and one demonstration of two to five minutes for YouTube, all showing the same product.
- Give every post its own tracked link, using UTM parameters on the product page address, so that visits and purchases can be traced to the platform.
- At day 30, record one result per platform from the table above, such as clicks for TikTok, shares for Instagram and watch time for YouTube.
- Move the next month's budget toward the platform with the lowest cost per tracked purchase, and repeat the test with a second product.
Proof of value should be part of the test, because APPA reported that 22% of pet owners spent less on their pets in 2025, a 10% increase from 2024. Content that shows how long a product lasts or what it costs per use speaks to owners who are watching their budgets. APPA's figures come from its 2026 State of the Industry Report announcement.
A wider program that connects creator content, press coverage and search visibility is described under pet products marketing services, and the Pet Industry AI Visibility Index shows how AI search tools currently cite pet brands. The first step is smaller: choose one product and start the 30-day clock.
For platform detail beyond pets, the Instagram PR guide and the TikTok PR guide go deeper on each channel, and the social media PR guide shows how the platforms, metrics and crisis rules fit together.
Frequently asked questions
Which social platform is best for a pet brand?
No platform is best for every pet brand. The best one is the platform whose 30-day test result is strongest for the brand's product and audience. TikTok suits reach, Instagram suits community and YouTube suits demonstration, but only a test on a specific product shows which one pays back.
Do pet brands need to disclose paid creator posts?
Yes. The FTC expects sponsorships to be disclosed, and its revised 2023 Endorsement Guides make advertisers responsible for monitoring their endorsers, so a brand that pays for posts should require the disclosure in its contract and check posts before and after they go live.
How many U.S. households own a pet?
APPA reported that 95 million U.S. households owned at least one pet in 2025. That includes 71 million households with a dog (53%) and 53 million with a cat (39%).
How big is the U.S. pet industry?
APPA reported $158 billion in U.S. pet industry expenditures in 2025, up 3.7% from the prior year, and projected $165 billion for 2026.
Can a brand repost a customer's pet photo?
A brand should ask the customer for permission before reposting a photo, even when the customer tagged the brand, and keep the written reply. Reposting without permission can raise copyright and privacy questions.
