Help Animal Rescues Rehome Pets On Facebook

Introduction

It is extremely helpful for an animal rescue to have a social media presence. A Facebook group or page can help rehome pets, which frees up life saving rescue spaces for pound pets on death row. Reliable volunteers are often needed to do this, keeping the page updated. Succh volunteers can be in short supply.

If you write about the animals and share photos and videos regularly, it is a very effective way of engaging people, gaining support, spreading awareness, and helping to rehome pets.

Image: Rehome pets safely with an animal rescue Facebook page. Image Source.

Is It Best To Create A Page Or Group?

If the animal rescue or charity does not have a social media page already, you can start one for it. Before you do so, you need to approach them to get their permission and co-operation. They will then provide you with the information you need.

A social media page, like a website, is a powerful publicity tool to take advantage of. Facebook is a common social media site animal rescues use to rehome pets.

The following is a basic description of how Facebook works

On Facebook there are:

• Facebook Profiles, Also Called Timelines, Also Called Profiles (Just To Confuse You!): If you are not familiar with Facebook, it is where individuals register with their own name and are given a “Profile” also called a “Timeline”. They will receive friend requests from people, which they can choose to accept or not. They can also friend request people they would like to have on their friends list. This can be done by entering names of people they know in to the search bar on their profile, or by joining mutual interest groups and pages, and friend requesting people in them. People on your friends list can see the posts you publish on your profile/timeline. If you have a timeline, you also have a “Home Page”, which can also be called your “News Feed”. This is where you will see bits and pieces of what people on your friends lists have been posting on their own timelines. Here is how to create a Profile/Timeline/Profile on Facebook
  
• Facebook Pages And Groups: Generally, organisations, such as businesses or charities have “Pages” or “Groups”, whereas individuals have timelines. You can create a page or a group if you have a timeline.

Pages

If you create a Page, firstly, you name it (for example, the name of the animal rescue you are creating the page for). Pages have a “Like” button to click at the top. If people click this, they can receive notifications about what is posted (published) on the page. You can invite friends from the friends list on your timeline to “Like” the page you have created. They can alternatively search for it in the search bar everyone has on their profile/timeline.

See here for how to create a Facebook Page (for auctions and buy it now sales, groups are better).

Groups

If you create a “Group”, you firstly name it. With a group, you can add people that you have on your timeline/profile friends list. They can alternatively search for it. Once added, people have a choice to remove themselves from the group or not at any time. People who choose to remain in the group can receive notifications when you post something in your group.

See here for how to create a Facebook Group.

Image: Help animal rescues rehome pets using Facebook. 

Information To Include On An Animal Rescue Facebook Page Or Group

Be sure to advertise the animal rescue’s website address on the Facebook page or group. Write about animals that need homes, showing their pictures and descriptions.

Ask supporters To Share Your Posts

You can ask supporters to “share” these posts onto their own pages This means that the friends they have on their friends lists get to see them as well, rather than just people on your page or group.

Location And Contact Details

Mention the rough location of the rescue. Contact telephone numbers for getting in touch are also important. Your page will be able to receive private inbox messages (like emails), which you must reply to.

Adoption Policy And Explain Adoption Fee

You should include the animal rescue shelters policy for adopting animals, and the suggested adoption donations. Explain that the veterinary treatment that is given to the rescued animals whilst at the rescue shelter is very expensive. Let people know that the suggested adoption fee only covers some of this. Explain that the suggested adoption fee amount is put towards veterinary and other high costs, and to help the rescue continue helping animals.

Keep Supporters Involved In The Animals Lives

Write the stories of the animals at the rescue and update people with their progress. Appeal for people to adopt the pets, and for foster homes and sponsors. Use lots of pictures and videos of the animals. The more people feel emotionally attached to the pets, the more you will successfully rehome pets. You would be saving lives. With your group or page as adoption rates would go up, meaning life saving rescue spaces would be made available to save the lives of pets on death row.

Find out more about how to do this, on this page

Publicise Fundraising Events And Important Animal Rescue Issues

You can also advertise fundraising events for the rescue on the page. As well as using the page or group to rehome pets, use it to spread the word about the problem of over-breeding for profit, animal abandonment, puppy farms, and other issues related to animal rescue.

Run A Group Or Page To Help Rehome Pets In Your Area

If there are no rescues that need a facebook page or group to help rehome pets of theirs, you could ask if they need volunteers to manage their existing one.

Alternatively, you could create a page or group where rescues in your area post their dogs needing homes. You could call it something like, for instance, “Rescue Pets needing Homes in Greater Manchester”.

Members of the group or page, can then share these posts on Facebook and other social media. Alternatively, people looking for pets to adopt in the area can visit your page or group.

individuals may try to post their own pets they wish to rehome, but this should not be allowed. They should be encouraged to allow a rescue to rehome their pet and do all the proper checks. You could warn them of the dangers of advertising pets online, free to good home, or for a relatively small amount of money.

Fundraising Facebook Page / Group

As well as a page to rehome pets from animal rescues, it is a good idea to have social media fundraising pages or groups for an animal rescue. You can run the fundraising event in a separate Facebook group or page, so that you can concentrate on advertising animals for adoption on your main page or group. If rescues already have a fundraising page or group, they normally are in great need of reliable volunteers to help manage it.

For more information, see Run An Internet Animal Rescue Fundraising Group Or Page.

Image: Run a Facebook auction or sale for an animals rescue. Image Source

Comments

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