Interview with a Dogfluencer - @rockerandrebel

With over 30 brand partnerships and 42.3k adoring fans, @rockerandrebel are living the true #dogfluencer dream! They’ve been gracious enough to share their thoughts and strategies for taking the world by storm. 

What initially motivated you start your account? 
 
I thought Rocker was the cutest puppy I’d ever seen & wanted to share him but not flood my fb (In case not everybody wanted to see daily puppy pics) LOL
 
What do you feel is the best recipe for building an engaged following? 
 
Well absolutely you have to have good photos! Take the time to try to make them the best you possibly can. I think people like to see the personal side of your life as well… I always engage back as much as possible. Since day one I have always tried to acknowledge every comment that people make. I interact through Dm and comments with anybody that wants to! I truly appreciate people taking the time to comment and support us.
 
What have been your favorite opportunities that you’ve seized as a result of your pup’s influence? 
The best opportunity has been the connections and friendships we have made. Through Rocker and Instagram we have met so many amazing people. We now have a meet up group in Temecula. We have been lucky enough to meet  many of our IG friends in person. Some of them are now my closest friends in real life! The holidays is one of my favorite times as we do a Christmas card exchange. This year we sent out about 200 cards to countries all over the world. Receiving cards back and seeing the reach of the connections is a wonderful experience and the highlight of our holiday season.
 
Have you had the opportunity to partner with any brands? If so, which, and how did it go? 
 
Yes we have actually worked with over 30 companies in the last two years. Some on an ongoing basis and others as a one time collaboration.,@Ruggable, @BadTags, @bobsweep , @staypineapplehotels... to name a few. Plus, we are very proud to say that we get to work with @Frenchie_Bulldog as brand reps. 
 
If you could go back and fix one mistake you’ve made along the way, what would it be? 
 
Worrying about numbers! Just enjoy the experience, have fun and be thankful. Don’t get wrapped up in the numbers and don’t try to compare yourself to other accounts. It can get frustrating and discouraging. I do better when I don’t worry about the analytics and just appreciate the friendship and community that we are a part of. 
 
What have been your greatest frustrations in navigating social media? 
 
Hands-down the biggest frustration has been and dealing with the Instagram algorithm. Many times we realize we haven’t seen a friends post in a long time. Also trying to figure out why certain posts do well and others hardly get shown to anybody. For example with over 40 K followers there are times when Instagram doesn’t even show my post to 1000 followers. It just doesn’t make sense!
 
Any favorite apps, equipment, or tools? 
 
The two apps that I use the most for editing photos would be Snapseed and Touch Retouch. My biggest pointer would be to get a photography light. It makes a world of difference when you take indoor photos. In our bio there is a link to our Amazon influencer page and we have recommended a lot of our favorite products on there.
 
Teri (Rocker & Rebel’s momager) has linked her go-to products here! Through their partnerships, they have also created discount codes for their friends! See below if you’re doing any shopping:
 
@miamore pets - RNR15
@frenchie_bulldog - rocker10
@paworiginal - rocker10
@badtags - rocker
@thefrenchdog - rocker
@ruggable - funrocker15
 
Full disclosure, some of the links above are affiliate links and @rockerandrebel may make a commission or receive benefits from purchases made using them. A quick browse of their account and it’s clear that they fully endorse these products and use them frequently. Such a lovely way to both support them and support small businesses!

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