Sigler

Samantha Sigler
MSCM 485: Senior Capstone
Homeward Bound Pets Social-Media Plan
PHASE ONE: SITUATION ANALYSIS & CAMPAIGN PLAN

Sigler

Situation analysis
Mission and goals
Homeward Bound Pets is a non-profit animal shelter in McMinnville, Ore., with the
mission of providing shelter and care to homeless cats and dogs in the local community. The
animal shelter provides adoption services, spay and neuter clinics as well as community
education. Homeward Bound Pets was founded in 1975 by Julie Julson and relies exclusively on
donations, fundraisers and adoption fees to operate. Julson started the organization by simply
placing an ad in the local newspaper offering to take dogs that were no longer wanted rather than
sending them to be euthanized. This anecdote is representative of the organization as whole,
which asserts within its mission statement that each animal has unique qualities that someone is
looking for in a companion and that time increases the chances of them finding each other
(Homeward Bound Pets, 2015b). Homeward Bound Pets was the first animal welfare
organization in Yamhill County and was the first in Oregon to accept both cats and dogs. This
organization was also the first no-kill shelter in Oregon, as it does not euthanize healthy or sick
animals if they can be treated, rehabilitated and adopted.
The organization is not allowed to accept stray or abandoned dogs, as these dogs may be
harder for the organization to find forever homes. Homeward Bound Pets accepts surrendered
animals, which are animals given to the shelter if owners are moving, downsizing or can no
longer keep their pet. However, because the county dog control office does not accept stray or
abandoned cats, Homeward Bound Pets has an ongoing list of cats in need of homes. Although
there is currently an overpopulation of cats in Yamhill County, this organization is not allowed to
accept feral cats. There are surrender fees owners must pay when giving their animal to
Homeward Bound Pets to help the organization with animal-care costs.

Sigler

While the main goal of the organization is to help animals get adopted and find their
forever homes, the second most important goal of this organization is to help spay and neuter
cats and dogs. All animals that go through the shelter are spayed or neutered, and the
organization also holds community spay and neuter clinics for cats living with low-income
families or caretakers with the help of volunteers. The organization also receives grants from the
Petco Foundation, several Yamhill County cities, Yamhill County and private donors to help fund
these community clinics (Homeward Bound Pets, 2015c). Although the usual fee to spay or
neuter cats is $30, Homeward Bound Pets has a no cat turned away policy and will provide
other options for owners who need assistance. The organization spays and neuters approximately
25 to 40 cats a month, including pets, strays and ferals (Homeward Bound Pets, 2015c).
In addition to caring for animals, Homeward Bound Pets also has the goal of generating
revenue through its thrift shop located in McMinnville, Ore. All of the revenue from the thrift
shop is used to care for animals at the shelter. Items within the thrift shop range from books,
clothes, art and jewelry to home dcor, furniture and pet supplies (Homeward Bound Pets,
2015d). The thrift shop accepts donations of re-sellable items, as well as recyclable cans,
bottles and ink cartridges.
Lastly, the organization has the goal of receiving donations and volunteer aid to help keep
the organization running. Individual donations can be made directly to Homeward Bound Pets or
by sponsoring a specific animal. Because the housing, food and medical care for one animal for
10 weeks can cost approximately $575, Homeward Bound Pets relies heavily on donations and
grants to function (Homeward Bound Pets, 2015a). Donors are also able to donate supplies to the
organization, ranging from animal food and bedding to baby wipes and cleaning supplies.
Volunteers are needed to help the organization continue to function at both the thrift shop and

Sigler

shelter, as the organization has a limited amount of money to fund paid positions. Volunteers also
are needed to clean and socialize with animals, as well as to work in the office and help with
fundraising events.
External Environment:
There are approximately 13,600 animal shelters within the United States, which accept an
average of 7.6 million animals each year (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, 2015). Of those animals, approximately 2.7 million are euthanized each year. The
number of stray dogs and cats is increasing as the number of animals surpasses the number of
homes willing and able to adopt, and although the exact number cannot be determined, there are
estimated to be up to 70 million stray animals in the United States (American Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 2015). Only 10 percent of animals placed in animal shelters
are spayed or neutered, increasing the likelihood of animals reproducing. These statistics impact
Homeward Bound Pets, as it is a no-kill animal shelter that aims to spay and neuter all animals.
More stray animals, especially those not spayed or neutered, increase the work and funding
necessary to maintain the animal shelter.
Additionally, the federal Animal Welfare Act governs transportation, sale and handling
of certain animals to ensure they are handled with care (Animal Humane Society, 2015). The
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service enforces this law, and it is the only federal law
regulating the treatment of animals. This law affects Homeward Bound Pets, as the organization
must be careful when handling, selling and interacting with animals to ensure they are following
the Animal Welfare Act. There are currently 35 no-kill animal shelters within the state of Oregon
(No Kill Network, 2015), with 14 of these shelters in Washington County (Washington County
Oregon, 2015). Having other no-kill shelters in Oregon also is a significant external factor for

Sigler

this organization, as Homeward Bound Pets could connect with other no-kill shelters to network
and collaborate when hosting and adopting out animals.
Organization Analysis
Homeward Bound Pets is located in a community with only two other animal shelters.
The Pet Stop Inn, located in McMinnville, Ore., is the closest animal shelter to Homeward
Bound Pets. Although it is most well-known for its boarding, grooming and animal daycare, the
Yamhill County commissioners recently approved a notice of intent to award an $84,000
contract to the shop to keep stray dogs that would otherwise be placed in the county dog control
facility (Montesano, 2015). Pet Stop Inn was the only organization bidding for the contract, and
it will offer an additional 10 beds for stray dogs. Privatize an otherwise government function
positions the organization as helpful and beneficial to the Yamhill County, as it is saving the
county money while providing aid to stray dogs. The Pet Stop Inn first opened in 2007 and is
owned and operated by Randy Freeman and his family (Pet Stop Inn, 2015). The organization is
Yamhill Countys largest boarding, grooming, doggy daycare and training facility. (Pet Stop
Inn, 2015). The climate-controlled building has 25 outside exercise runs and assures pet
owners that animals can exercise outside for 5 and a half hours per day at its maximum capacity
(Pet Stop Inn, 2015).
The Newberg Animal Shelter, located in Newberg, Ore., is the second animal shelter near
Homeward Bound Pets. It was once a small, one-room building operated by the NewbergDundee Animal Control Department, and it is now a private shelter run by the Newberg Animal
Shelter Friends organization. However, while the exterior of the shelter was built several years
ago, there was not enough funding to complete the interior of the animal shelter. It is currently in
the midst of a transition to becoming an all-volunteer organization. The organizations mission at

Sigler

the moment is to raise funds to build a new city animal shelter in Newberg, Oregon (Newberg
Animal Shelter Friends, 2015). The shelter is still operating, and once its building is complete, it
will run similarly to a larger humane society.
In 2014 the City of Newberg cut its Animal Control program, giving even more control to
the Newberg Animal Shelter (American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, 2015). The
shelter accepts stray dogs from the Newberg-Dundee area; however, the shelter does not accept
stray or feral cats. The Newberg Animal Shelter lists Homeward Bound Pets on its website as an
option for the public to call if they find stray or feral cats, which is helpful for Homeward Bound
Pets business; however, this also adds to the organizations caseload and expenses. Yamhill
County also cut its animal control facility in 2014, and instead contracts dog housing out to
private kennels (Iler, 2014). Yamhill County Dog Control does not accept feral cats, and its price
to spay and neuter dogs ranges from $20 to $55, which differs from Homeward Bound Pets
standard $30 to spay or neuter cats and dogs. Having no other animal rescue programs in Yamhill
County for feral cats is also beneficial for Homeward Bound Pets, as they are the primary option
for the public to turn to when adopting or turning in rescued and surrendered cats. However, this
is also a burden, as the organization must address all of the countys growing animal rescue
needs.
Homeward Bound Pets is the only animal shelter in Yamhill County that offers to spay
and neuter pets. However, the Cat Adoption Team, an organization located nearby in Sherwood,
Ore., also offers to spay and neuter cats for an inexpensive price. Oregon residents are able to
pay either $35 to neuter or $50 to spay their animals at CAT, which is similar to Homeward
Bound Pets price of $30. However, Homeward Bound Pets follows a no cat turned away
policy, and is able to leverage this policy to position the organization as giving and supportive of

Sigler

pet owners. Thus, while there are other organizations for the local community to visit for their
animal needs, Homeward Bound Pets is currently the ideal choice in Yamhill County for people
who would like to adopt, spay/neuter or surrender animals.
The greatest threat to this organization is the lack of communication between the
organization and the local community. Because it has such a small budget for marketing, public
relations and promoting itself (which is an additional threat to the organization), Homeward
Bound Pets has not been able to create a connection with many members of the local community
to establish it as a reliable, trustworthy and all-around good organization in the community.
Because Homeward Bound relies almost exclusively on donations and aid from the public, it is
crucial that the organization establish itself as a cause worth giving to. Without ongoing
community support, Homeward Bound Pets would no longer be able to sustain itself.
Furthermore, because the organization does not accept stray animals, Homeward Bound Pets
usually does not have dogs available for adoption. This situation has given Homeward Bound
Pets the reputation of being the cat organization, which is detrimental to the organization when
they do have dogs available for adoption. At the moment, the organization is participating in
Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team, which sends dogs from California to Homeward Bound
Pets to be adopted out (Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team, 2015). This has greatly increased
the shelters dog adoption offerings, which needs to be communicated to potential adopters
looking for dogs. Lastly, while there is no nearby competition for the organization, there are
many laws the shelter must follow when accepting animals. For example, the shelter is not able
to accept stray animals and relies on surrendered animals to be put up for adoption.
Many opportunities for the organization can be found when looking at the organizations
sponsors. Homeward Bound Pets has several sponsors; its biggest is Natures Pet, a pet supply

Sigler

and grooming store located in McMinnville, Ore. Natures Pet has been Homeward Bound Pets
only official local business partner for the past two years. The organization offers a bag of cat or
dog food and supplies to anyone adopting animals from Homeward Bound Pets, but this gift has
not been thoroughly conveyed to potential adopters. There is an opportunity to better convey this
information to the target audience, which may increase adoptions for the organization.
Additionally, Natures Pet also helped with fundraising for Homeward Bound Pets during its first
annual Ruff Ruff Dog Run and Walk event in fall 2014. The owner of Natures Pet is now one of
Homeward Bound Pets board members, which demonstrates how invested the shop is in this
organization. This involvement creates an opportunity for Homeward Bound Pets, as the
organization can rely on Natures Pet for supply support when needed. Natures Pet allows
Homeward Bound Pets to host adoption events at its store and will occasionally donate food
directly to the shelter. Using the support of this business to help promote Homeward Bound Pets
will allow the organization to reach more of the local community, which may lead increased
adoptions and donations.
Non-sponsor related opportunities for the organization are presented by social media. The
organization currently has a Facebook account with 1,775 likes. While this number is impressive
for the organization, there is potential for growth on Facebook, as well as for creating a new
social media account on Instagram to establish a larger community on social media. The
organization does not have a link on its website to its Facebook page, which makes it difficult for
the target audience to find and like the organizations page. However, the organization does
post weekly on its Facebook page, with topics ranging from animal adoptions to helpful
information for pet owners. Furthermore, when searching for the organization on Google, one of
the first links to appear is a link to the organizations inactive Google+ page. The organization

Sigler

has an opportunity to better establish itself online by beginning to post on its Google+ account.
Although this social media campaign plan will not include the organizations Google+, it is
important for Homeward Bound Pets to be aware of what its target audience finds when
searching for Homeward Bound Pets online.
A large strength of Homeward Bound Pets is its partnerships with Petco and PetSmart. These
businesses allow Homeward Bound Pets to host adoption events and occasionally give grants to
the organization. The partnership with PetSmart was established most recently, and Homeward
Bound Pets is able to successfully adopt out many cats at the PetSmart located in Tigard, Ore.
These partnerships with PetSmart and Petco aid the organization financially, logistically and with
adoptions. Additional strengths of the organization include its dedicated board members and
volunteers. Because the organization is a non-profit with limited funds for employees, it is
crucial that community members volunteer and continue to volunteer. These volunteers and
board members are internal resources that could be called upon to assist with this campaign, as
they could help take photos, write copy and post regularly on social media. Other animal shelters
could also be used as resources for this campaign, as there are many animal shelters active online
that Homeward Bound Pets could connect with when promoting events, requesting donations of
supplies or otherwise communicating with its target audience. By asking other shelters to share
the organizations posts and offering to share other shelters post in return, Homeward Bound
Pets will reach more of its target audience.
Target audience
One major issue for Homeward Bound Pets is its lack of data regarding its key publics.
Demographic information has not been collected and organized by Homeward Bound Pets
employees, making it difficult to specify who the primary target audiences have been for the

Sigler 10
organization. However, this campaign plan will help the organization identify its target audiences
and to better reach them through public relations strategies and tactics.
There will be two target audiences for this campaign. The primary audience will be an
external audience of prospective donors, and the secondary audience will be an internal audience
of employees and designated volunteers. One of the most pressing needs revealed by the
situation analysis is the need to strengthen its relationships with potential donors. Thus, the first
target audience for this campaign will include higher-income residents living in Oregon who
already own pets. According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 69 percent of pet owners
have a family income of $100,000 or more annually. While this is a national figure and the
percentage of Yamhill County may be lower, it is important to note the high percentage of pet
owners. Thus, for this campaign, high-income will refer to households with an average total
household income of $70,000 or more annually (Pew Research Center, 2010b). Additionally, this
target audience will be pet owners who are 50 years old or more, as 57 percent of adults between
50 and 64 and 41 percent of adults 65 or older own pets (Pew Research Center, 2010b). This
target audience is also ideal for donation-related topics, as baby boomers have 70 percent of all
the disposable income in the United States and make up approximately half of the donor-age
population within the U.S. (Future Fundraising Now, 2014).
This primary target audience is also ideal for a social-media campaign, as 58 percent of the
entire adult population uses Facebook and 26 percent of adults use Instagram, an increase from
17 percent in 2013 (Pew Research Center, 2014a). Potential opinion leaders for the primary
target audience include board members and leaders of local organizations, such as the Yamhill
County Board of Commissioners, Travel Yamhill Valley, Yamhill Valley Visitors Association and

Sigler 11
the McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce. These opinion leaders are active members of the
local community and may influence others to be interested in giving to Homeward Bound Pets.
The secondary target audience for this social-media campaign will be an internal audience, as
it will be imperative that employees and volunteers at Homeward Bound Pets have a basic
understanding of social media. Employees and volunteers will also be needed to carry out this
social-media campaign; thus, several strategies and tactics will focus primarily on educating this
target audience about social media and the tools necessary to carry out a successful social-media
campaign.
Additionally, active bloggers would be excellent opinion leaders in helping reach the
secondary target audience. Because Homeward Bound Pets does not have its own blog, utilizing
bloggers who are well known throughout Oregon and Washington will help the organization
reach more of its secondary target audience on different platforms online.

Sigler 12
Standing Plan
Goal
This social-media campaign will be a standing plan, as Homeward Bound Pets is in need
of a plan that provides direction for reoccurring situations. A standing plan will allow Homeward
Bound Pets employees to use social media more efficiently since they will not need to formulate
a new plan when using social media.
The goal for this social-media campaign is to increase monetary donations to Homeward
Bound Pets. This goal will be achieved by informing and motivating the external target audience
to donate via social media. This plan will encourage prospective donors to view Homeward
Bound Pets as an organization worth donating to, while also developing conviction among the
target audience that Homeward Bound Pets is an organization dedicated to building strong
relationships with the local community. This campaign supports the long-term mission of
Homeward Bound Pets of helping surrendered animals find homes, as the more donations and
attention the organization receives, the better the organization is able to care for and find homes
for the animals.
Additionally, because Homeward Bound Pets relies so heavily on donations and aid from
the community, this campaign will support its current efforts while increasing the likelihood of
receiving additional donations. By building relationships with the community and emphasizing
the organizations generosity, its kindness and the aid the shelter provides animals, the target
audiences will perceive Homeward Bound Pets as an organization that offers the best possible
care for surrendered animals and the only organization in the county that saves unwanted cats
and dogs. To achieve this goal, Homeward Bound Pets will be able to utilize its current social
media platform (Facebook) while adding a new one (Instagram), which will increase its potential

Sigler 13
reach the target audience. Thus, the organization will be able to build on its current tactics to
strengthen relationships with donors and community members.
Using the diffusion theory as a model for this social media campaign, Homeward Bound
Pets must follow the five stages of persuasion and influence: awareness, interest, evaluation, trial
and adoption. Public relations practitioners to identify how people process and accept new
information before adopting a new idea or behavior use the diffusion theory. Individuals only
accept a new idea or mindset after going through the five stages, and public relations
practitioners use this process to systematically plan strategies and tactics to guide the target
audience through the first four stages to encourage adoption. This theory is ideal for Homeward
Bound Pets campaign plan, as it is most useful when creating a campaign plan that aims to
persuade the target audience to adopt a new behavior, such as donating cash and goods to
Homeward Bound Pets. This theory is often used to guide people through the stages of adoption,
making it easy to adopt new ideas and behaviors. Thus, the diffusion theory is ideal for a socialmedia campaign in which the target audience will only need to hit like or follow to receive
information from Homeward Bound Pets encouraging them to donate.
Objectives
The first objective for this social-media campaign is to raise awareness and interest
among the target audience about Homeward Bound Pets. In particular, we want them to be aware
that Homeward Bound Pets is dedicated to providing the best possible care for surrendered
animals throughout the Northwest and is an organization worthy of donations. While some
people may already have this conviction, there appears to be a disconnect between this
conviction and making a donation to Homeward Bound Pets. Thus, it is clear not all of the target
audience is motivated to donate to the shelter. Therefore, Homeward Bound Pets will first aim to

Sigler 14
inform 50 percent, or approximately 890, of its followers on Facebook about the organization as
a whole and to raise awareness and interest about the organizations services.
The strategies and tactics designed to achieve this objective will use social-media posts to
inform the primary target audience about the organizations mission, how the organization
achieves this mission, why donations are necessary to run the shelter, incentives for those who
choose to donate, why the target audience should care, as well as how the organization is
beneficial to the local community.
The second objective for this campaign istoincreasethenumberofmonetarydonations
by20percentoveraoneyearperiod.BecauseHomewardBoundPetsraised$96,000in
monetarydonationsin2014,thisobjectivewillaimtoraise$115,200forthiscampaignplan.
This objective will use motivational strategies to encourage donations, as well as evaluation, trial
and adoption of this new behavior and mindset. Thissecondobjectivewillfocusonmotivating
membersofthetargetaudiencetodonatebycommunicatingthebenefitsofHomewardBound
Pets,theorganizationsneedfordonations,andthewaysmembersofthetargetaudiencecan
donate,suchasdonatingonlineordonatingtothesheltersshop.
These objectives align with Homeward Bound Pets need for additional donations and
recognition from the local community. By establishing Homeward Bound Pets appear as the
countys only no-kill animal shelter and number one helper of homeless animals, building strong
community connections and engaging with its target audience on social media, this social-media
campaign will help reinforce and strengthen its relationship with the community and increase the
amount of donations received.

Sigler 15
Strategies and tactics
To meet the first objective of raising awareness and interest among the target audiences
about Homeward Bound Pets, the first strategy of this plan will address internal audiences. The
first strategy is to establish a social-media kit for employees and volunteers to use when
promoting the organization on social media. This informational strategy will help Homeward
Bound Pets employees gain a better understanding of how and when to use social media, and
will set clear standards for who will post regularly, what they will post, when and how. The
social media kit is crucial for achieving the objective, as it will set clear guidelines for employees
and volunteers to follow when posting on social media on behalf of the organization. Because the
first step in the diffusion process is to become aware, it is important to ensure the target audience
has multiple opportunities to become aware of Homeward Bound Pets. The social media kit will
help accomplish this awareness by setting guidelines for the frequency and content of social
media posts on the Homeward Bound Pets accounts.
The first tactic to accomplish this strategy will be creating a social media policy for the
organization. This social media policy will include an introduction to social media, goals for
social media engagement, specific tips for Facebook and Instagram, and instructions to help
organization users differentiate between their personal and professional social media presence. It
will be imperative to create a social media policy that is straightforward, simple and easy for
volunteers and employees at Homeward Bound Pets to follow, as this is a non-profit organization
that does not have extra funding or time to spend on crafting social-media campaigns.
The second tactic for this strategy will be to select, test and adopt a social-media editorial
calendar for Homeward Bound Pets employees to use. There are numerous online social-media
calendars available, and it will be important for Homeward Bound Pets to select one that is

Sigler 16
simple to use and easy to update throughout the year. It will be imperative to use a social-media
calendar that is also either free or inexpensive since Homeward Bound Pets has little funding for
social media purposes. Thus, social-media calendars such as Google Calendar or CoSchedule
would be an ideal choice for the organization (CoSchedule, 2015). If the organization were to use
Google Calendar as its social-media calendar, there are many tutorials online for employees and
volunteers to use when learning how to best utilize the calendar (Google Calendar Help, 2015). It
would also be easy to employees to share the calendar among themselves, set reminders and use
the calendar on their smartphones. Thus, it is recommended that Homeward Bound Pets use
Google Calendar for its social-media calendar.
The third and final tactic for this strategy is to train employees on how to use social
media and follow the social media policy. It is important for employees to understand how to use
social media effectively and why it is important to post regularly on social media to achieve the
organizations overarching goals. This includes training on how to use Instagram. While the
organization is currently active on its Facebook page, a majority of the employees have little to
no experience posting on Instagram for personal or professional purposes. This tactic will be
accomplished by holding a training session in May 2015 to introduce the social media policy and
the new Instagram account, to train the employees on how to use social media for a business,
establish which employees will be administrators, and to answer questions employees and
volunteers may have about posting on social media. This session will help employees gain a
better understanding of how to use the social media policy and social media accounts, which will
encourage employees to use this plan to successfully promote the organization, thereby
increasing the amount of donations received.

Sigler 17
The second strategy to meet the objective of raising awareness and interest among the
target audiences about Homeward Bound Pets is aimed at the external audience. This strategy is
to frame the organization as an important, community-oriented organization by posting
information on social media about the organization. This strategy supports the organizations
mission of connecting animals with homes. If people regard Homeward Bound Pets as kind and
welcoming, they are more likely to connect with Homeward Bound Pets when they are looking
to adopt or to donate to an animal shelter. By encouraging the target audience to become aware
of and interested in the organization, which are the two first steps in the diffusion process, this
strategy also sets a strong foundation for the target audience to become interested in supporting
the organization overall. Because the first step in the diffusion process is to become aware, it will
be important to ensure the target audience has multiple opportunities to become aware of
Homeward Bound Pets as a whole, especially when the overarching goal is to persuade the target
audience to donate to the organization. Additionally, by framing the company as one that is
welcoming and approachable to people looking to adopt animals and to people who might want
to support it with monetary donations, it will be more likely that the target audience will view
Homeward Bound Pets as an organization that cares about the community.
The first tactic for this strategy is to create an Instagram account and encourage 25
percent, or approximately 445, of the organizations followers on Facebook to follow the
organizations new Instagram account. While not every person who has liked the organization on
Facebook will have an Instagram account, encouraging Facebook fans who do have an Instagram
account to follow the organization will help the organization establish a preliminary following on
the new social media platform. This will help the Instagram following to grow through shares on
the organizations Facebook account.

Sigler 18
The second tactic for this strategy will be to post specific heart-string pulling messages
on Facebook and Instagram to connect emotionally with the target audience about the shelter
adoption services offered by Homeward Bound Pets. This tactic aims to connect with the target
audience on an emotional level to illustrate how Homeward Bound Pets is a caring, kind and
good organization with the sole purpose of caring for and helping animals. These types of posts
will be posted once a week and will tell stories about Homeward Bound Pets, adoptions and
animals rather than simply stating facts about services offered by the organization. Examples of
heart-string posts will be listed in the social-media kit for the organization, and will include
posts about how certain animals came to the shelter, the process of caring for certain animals and
stories of animals finding their forever home. Social media analytics, such as the social sharing
analytics used by CoSchedule, have found that emotional headlines are shared more frequently
on social media than headlines with less of an emotional appeal (Moon, 2014). Thus, it is likely
that this tactic will help persuade the target audience to either begin or continue to perceive
Homeward Bound Pets as an organization worthy of donations.
The third tactic for this strategy will be to post specific news topics on social media at
least once a week. These types of posts can be posted more frequently if the organization has
additional information to share. For example, Homeward Bound Pets will announce on Facebook
and Instagram when it hires new employees, receives grants, accepts new animals and hosts
events. This tactic will help create an online community by continuously informing the target
audience about changes and updates happening with Homeward Bound Pets to make the
audience feel included and part of the Homeward Bound Pets community.
Two additional tactics for this strategy will focus on engaging followers and other
organizations on social media. The fourth tactic will be to share related information from other

Sigler 19
Facebook pages, shelters and local businesses on the Homeward Bound Pets Facebook page. For
example, sharing information about sales and events happening at businesses such as Natures
Pet, PetCo and PetSmart with encourage other businesses to engage with Homeward Bound Pets
on social media and may lead to an increase in businesses supporting the organization. This
tactic will help Homeward Bound Pets build its online community by reaching out to other
organizations, which will likely return the act and share information posted by Homeward Bound
Pets. The fifth tactic will engage followers on Facebook and Instagram by posting engaging
questions that ask people directly to share their own experiences and stories about their own pets.
For example, Homeward Bound Pets could ask Are you more of a cat or dog lover? or
Wheres your favorite dog park?
To meet the second objective of increasingthenumberofmonetarydonationsby20
percentoveraoneyearperiod,thenexttwostrategieswillbemotivationalstrategiesoffering
incentivesandreasonswhythetargetaudiencewouldwanttodonate.Becausethenexttwosteps
inthediffusionprocessareevaluationandtrial,itisimperativethatthetargetaudiencehas
multipleopportunitiestobecomeawareofandinterestedindonatingtoHomewardBoundPets.
Evaluationinvolvestheindividualconsideringtheideaorbehavioraspotentiallyuseful,while
trialinvolvestheindividualtestingtheideaonothersbydiscussingitwithothersandengaging
inconversationsaboutthenewideaorbehavior.Therefore,thefirststrategywillbetopost
reasonsandincentivesfivetimesamonthonsocialmediatoencouragetheexternaltarget
audiencetodonatetotheorganization.Thisstrategywillincreasethelikelihoodofthetarget
audiencedonatingtotheorganization,asitwillhelpincentivizethetargetaudience.Thus,the
firsttacticforthisstrategywillbetopostphotosofwhattheorganizationdoeswithdonationsit
receives.Forexample,theorganizationwillpostphotosofcatanddogfood,blankets,toysand

Sigler 20
otheritemseitherdonatedorboughtwithmonetarydonations.Thiswillencouragethetarget
audiencetodonatebyillustratinghowexactlydonationswillbeused,aswellasbyshowing
whattheorganizationneeds.
Thesecondandfinaltacticforthisstrategywillbetocreateahashtagfordonation
relatedpostsonsocialmedia.ThistacticwillhelpbuildHomewardBoundPetsonline
communitywhileencouragingthetargetaudiencetorallyarounditscause.Thistacticwillalso
helpthetargetaudiencerecognizeotherswhodonateandspreadthewordtoencouragemoreto
donate.Examplehashtagsinclude#HelpHomewardBoundPets,#KoinsForKittens,
#PenniesForPuppies,#CashForCatsand#DollarsForDogs.
Thefinalstrategyforthesecondobjectiveistopostonsocialmediaexplanationsofhow
peoplecandonatetoHomewardBoundPets.Thisstrategywillmotivatethetargetaudienceto
donatebyremindingthemthatdonationsareneeded,makingitsimpleandeasytodonate,
helpingthetargetaudienceavoidconfusionandmakingthedonationprocessclear.Thus,the
firsttacticwillbetopostalinktothewebsitesdonationpagewithaquick,onesentence
explanationofhowtodonatetoHomewardBoundPets.Thistacticwillbeusedeveryother
weektoavoidbombardingthetargetaudiencewithdonationrequestswhilestillinformingthem
ofhowtodonate.
Thesecondandfinaltacticwillbetopostspecificdonationgoalseverymonthto
encouragethetargetaudiencetohelpHomewardBoundPetsachieveitsgoals.Forexample,
HomewardBoundPetswillpostadonationgoalonthefirstofeverymonthandmidmonth,as
wellastowardtheendofthemonthwithanupdateastowhethertheorganizationiscloseto

Sigler 21
reachingthisgoal.Thistacticwillhelpkeepdonatingtotheorganizationonthetargetaudiences
mindswhilenotfloodingtheirsocialmediafeedswithdonationrequests.
Evaluation
In order to effectively evaluate this social-media campaign, every three months each post
from one month will be evaluated based on its number of likes, comments and shares and
compared to previous posts to determine whether the level of the target audiences engagement
has increased since the last evaluation period. The amount of monetary donations will also be
recorded and compared to the amount received during the same period of the previous year in
order to evaluate whether the amount of donations has increased by the goal of 20 percent over a
one-year period as a result of the campaign. These evaluation strategies will help demonstrate
whether the amount of engagement on social media correlates with an increase in monetary
donations over time. Additionally, the success of each of the social media platforms will be
evaluated by looking at the growth of likes and followers throughout the duration of the
evaluation period in order to correlate a growth in social media followers and likes to an increase
in monetary donations. I also recommend that Homeward Bound Pets create an online survey to
be completed when monetary donations are made via the website that asks donors how they
heard about Homeward Bound Pets and what made them decide to donate. This survey will aim
to assess the effectiveness of the social-media campaign by connecting social media to monetary
donations.

Sigler 22

References
American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. (2015). New survey reveals pet ownership at
its highest level in two decades and pet owners are willing to pay when it comes to pets
health. Retrieved from http://media.americanpetproducts.org/press.php?include=142818
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. (2015). Pet statistics. Retrieved from
https://www.aspca.org/about-us/faq/pet-statistics
Animal Humane Society. (2015). Current animal welfare laws. Retrieved from
http://www.animalhumanesociety.org/advocacy/current-animal-welfare-laws
CoSchedule. (2015). Pricing. Retrieved from http://coschedule.com/pricing
Homeward Bound Pets. (2015a). Donation. Retrieved from http://www.hbpets.org/donate/
Homeward Bound Pets. (2015b). Home. Retrieved from http://www.hbpets.org/
Homeward Bound Pets. (2015c). Spay/neuter. Retrieved from http://www.hbpets.org/spayneuter/
Homeward Bound Pets. (2015d). Thrift shop. Retrieved from http://www.hbpets.org/thrift-shop/
Illad, D. (2014, July 31). County plans to close dog pound. News Register. Retrieved from
http://newsregister.com/article?articleTitle=county-plans-to-close-dog-pound-1406852725--14026--news
Google Calendar Help. (2015). Calendar help. Retrieved from
https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/2465776?hl=en
Future Fundraising Now. (2014). Ready for boomer donors? Theyre already here! Retireved
from http://www.futurefundraisingnow.com/future-fundraising/demographics/

Sigler 23
Moon, G. (2014, July 22). Proof that emotional headlines get shared more on social media.
CoSchedule. Retrieved from http://coschedule.com/blog/emotional-headlines/
Montesano, N. (2015, February 6). Commissioners select dog control facility. News Register.
Retrieved from http://newsregister.com/article?articleTitle=commissioners-select-dogcontrol-facility--1423240641--16430-Newberg Animal Shelter Friends. (2015). Mission statement. Retrieved from
http://www.newberganimalshelterfriends.org/mission.php
No Kill Network. (2015). Oregon no kill animal shelters. Retrieved from
http://www.nokillnetwork.org/d/Oregon/
Pet Stop Inn. (2015). Home. Retrieved from http://www.petsstopinn.com/
Pew Research Center. (2014a). Demographics of key social networking platforms. Retrieved
from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/demographics-of-key-social-networkingplatforms-2/
Pew Research Center. (2010b). Profile of pet owners. Retrieved from
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2006/03/07/gauging-family-intimacy/63-2/
Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team. (2015). Our partners up north. Retrieved from
http://startrescue.org/our-transports/our-partners-up-north/
Washington County Oregon. (2015). Area Shelters. Retrieved from
http://www.co.washington.or.us/HHS/AnimalServices/Resources/area-shelters.cfm