FINAL RESEARCH

REPORT
Best Friends Animal Society

Haylee Elmore

Arizona State University, Public Relations Research

November 23, 2020
Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1

CLIENT BACKGROUNDER 2

TRADITIONAL AND SOCIAL LISTENING REPORT 7

INTERVIEW REPORT 19

SURVEY REPORT 22

TARGET AUDIENCE REPORT 27

WEEKLY MEMOS 33

APPENDIX 34

WORKS CITED 36

Client Backgrounder
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Best Friends Animal Society
Phone: 435-644-2001
Email: info@bestfriends.org
Company website: https://bestfriends.org

Locations
Kanab, Utah
5001 Angel Canyon Rd., Kanab, UT 84741

15321 S Brand Blvd., Mission Hills, CA 91345

845 N 100 W #107, Orem, UT 84057

2005 1100 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84106

Social Media
Twitter: @bestfriends (https://twitter.com/bestfriends)
Facebook: @bestfriendsanimalsociety (https://facebook.com/bestfriendsanimalsociety)
YouTube: Best Friends Animal Society
(https://youtube.com/channel/UCuZUSKAxEB_1l9hBpxEK_zQ)
Instagram: @bestfriendsanimalsociety (https://instagram.com/bestfriendsanimalsociety)

Client Description
Best Friends Animal Society, founded in 1984, is a nonprofit animal welfare organization. The main
philosophy of this organization promotes no-kill policy and advocacy for life. The founders of Best
Friends dedicate their lives to temporarily housing and taking care of unwanted pets until they find their
forever homes. The organization acts as an “animal sanctuary.” Before the organization was created, the
main method of animal population control was to euthanize “excess” cats and dogs. The founders took on
a no-kill commitment to unwanted animals and have inspired many others to do the same over the last 36
years.

Mission
According to the about page on the organization’s website, their mission statement is “together, we can
save them all.” By working together with other rescue shelters, groups and people who are passionate
about saving the lives of animals, Best Friends plans to “reduce the number of animals killed in shelters
and bring this country to no-kill by 2025.”

There is a tab on the organization’s website titled “No-Kill 2025” where the entire plan is outlined in
detail and anyone who is interested can view the progress. There is also an option to join the 2025 action
team where anyone who is passionate about the mission has the ability to connect with a local team of
advocates.

Keeping pets safe in loving homes – Best Friends is actively working with shelters nationwide to
“simplify adoption policies and requirements, build out community pet fostering programs, reach areas
where low-cost spay-neuter services are most needed, advocate for more pet-inclusive housing, and
more”

History
According to the “History of Best Friends” tab under the about page on the organization’s website,

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“In 1984, the founders of Best Friends made a promise to one another and to the animals already in their
care that they would build an animal sanctuary in Southern Utah, where they could dedicate their lives to
housing and finding homes for unwanted pets while advocating the importance of no kill. At that time,
shelters across America routinely killed cats and dogs as the primary method of pet population control.
There wasn’t a national voice to end the killing. However, as the founders began to broaden the reach of
Best Friends, they quickly learned that others would stand with them. Over 30 years later, they have
inspired others throughout the country to take up the mantle of no kill and have helped to reduce the
number of animals being killed in shelters by 91 percent.” (para 5).

“Unlike the beginning of other nonprofit organizations, Best Friends was not launched with much fanfare.
There was no official board leadership, strategic plan or outreach strategy. Financially, the founders had
very little money. They had salted away what they needed to make an acceptable offer on the property
that would become the Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, and were earning some income off the sale of their
previous property in Arizona. In terms of designing and constructing the space, the founders had very few
practical skills to meet the needs of their current animal population, never mind the scale of what it
ultimately became.” (para. 6).

Industry

The animal rescue industry is largely nonprofit. The first animal rescue to ever be founded was formed by
the Women’s SPCA of Pennsylvania in 1869. The American humane Association was created in 1877
and The Humane Society of the United States was born in 1954 according to their websites. Animal
rescues started to become a very popular nonprofit organization and they began popping up all over the
place during this time period. Best Friends Animal Rescue was founded in 1984 and has played a massive
role in the change and improvements in the animal rescue industry. Best Friends was able to complete
26,915 animal adoptions in 2019 alone, becoming one of the industry leaders and setting higher standards
for other organizations each year

Management Team Members

Members of the Board of Directors:
Francis Battista: Co-founder and board chair
Anne Mejia: Co-founder and board secretary
Cyrus Mejia: Co-founder and board member
Gregory Castle: Co-founder and board member
Denise “Dee” Clark: Industry professional and board member
Lynn Flanders: Industry professional and board treasurer
Micarl “Mica” Hill: Industry professional and board member
Abby Jones: Industry professional, university faculty, and board member
Molly Jordan Koch: Industry professional and board member
Oke Mueller: Industry professional and board member
Lona Williams: Industry professional and board member

Business/Operating Model
Best riends Animal Society primarily relies on donations and partnerships for its income. The
organization has several corporate partners who promote their brand while also following their
philosophy and helping pets nationwide. There is a tab on their website titled “Our Partners,” which
includes several smaller tabs underneath such as corporate partners, foundation partners, network
partners, and celebrity supporters. The main way that Best Friends Animal Society is able to get the word

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out to the public about their company and all the amazing things they do is by taking promotion from
companies and people who have a bigger platform than them. For example, a couple of the organization’s
partners consist of SCOOB, Maddie’s Fund, Petco Foundation and Rachel Ray Foundation. The
organization is also supported and promoted through celebrities such as Michelle Beadle, Emily Rossum
and Lisa Edelstein. The organization also has several different locations (listed at the top of this
document) and is always working on bettering the animal society as a whole by opening new locations
and rescuing more animals.

Relevant Financial Information

Best Friends has a tab on their website titled “Financial Information.” Under this tab, people can view all
financial reports dating back to 2012. There are also statistics on how many animals were helped and in
which ways in 2019. The following are relevant visuals on Best Friends’ expenses and revenue for 2019:

Program
$163,707,331 (82.6%)
Fundraising
$19,675,859 (9.9%)
In-Kind Donations
Management and General
$99,591,212
$14,914,786(50.8%)
(7.5%)
Donations from Individuals
$82,060,479 (41.9%)
Corporate and Foundation
Grants
$10,186,463 (5.2%)
Other
$4,107,705 (2.1%)

Competitors

The Humane Society of the United States

According to their website, the “Humane Society of the United States
is the nation’s most effective animal protection organization. With you by
our sides, we take on the big fights to end suffering for all animals.” (para.
1). This organization was founded in 1954. “In 2019, we won
victories that will improve and save the lives of millions of animals. Our
rescue team, veterinary programs and affiliated care centers and
sanctuaries provided direct care to more than 100,000 animals in need.” (para. 3).

In 2019, according to the 2019 Annual Report, the Humane Society of the United States:
 passed a “federal law against animal cruelty”
 “strengthened protections for wild species threatened by trade in their body parts”
 “scored big victories against the fur industry”
 “won major new protections for farm animals”
 “reached major milestones in our campaign to end dog meat farming in South Korea”

ASPCA
According to the about page on their website, the ASPCA, or the American Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals, “was the first humane society to be established in North America and is, today, one

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of the largest in the world” (para 1). The organization, like most animal rescues, was founded with the
passionate belief that animals deserve to be treated respectfully by humans and should be protected by
law. The ASPCA headquarters are located in New York City, but it is a national organization. The
organization claims over 2 million supporters across the country.

The mission of the ASPCA, according to founder Henry Bergh, is “to provide effective means for the
prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States.” (para 3).

Recent Communications Campaigns

Apps
Best Friends Animal Society has two separate apps which anyone can get to support the organization or
find help for their own pet. The first app they created is “Best Friends Vet Access.” This app is essentially
a vet tracker and a place where pet owners can keep track of their pet’s medical history.

The second app they created is more unique. It is called “ResQWalk.” This app provides resources for
any person to be able to “raise money and resources for their favorite animal welfare organization.”

Recent Major News

Best Friends has recently received a large donation to their organization. The donation has been raised by
the users of AmazonSmile. The donation came in the amount of $120,282.76. This has been a recent
donation, but over the entire time that AmazonSmile has been donating to Best Friends Animal Society,
they have raised $1,322,462.37 for the organization. This recent conation will save the lives of so many
animals and place them in loving homes.

Other News
Best Friends has a tab on their website titled “Latest News.” Under this tab, the viewer can find any major
or minor news surrounding the organization at that time. Right now, the top story under this tab of the
website is a link to an article titled “Puppy beats distemper with the help of two determined foster moms.”
This article was published on September 16, 2020 and the topic of this article is about a fostered puppy
named Felix who came down with a cough and labored breathing. The article includes photos and ends up
taking a positive turn at the end. With the right care and nurture, Felix’s situation improved.

Situation Analysis
The global issue of animal homelessness is growing at a rapid rate and has been for years. There are about
70 million homeless animals in the United States alone. According to the Humane Society of the United
States, “only about six to eight million cats and dogs enter the nation’s 3,500 shelters every year”

Americans tend to empathize with stray animals and show an overwhelming care and concern for the
wellbeing of animals. The population of homeless pets in America alone is overwhelming and growing at
a significantly faster rate each year. Of these animals that are being brought into the shelters, only a
portion of them will be lucky enough to find their forever homes. Many shelters will euthanize the
animals after it has been in the shelter over a certain period of time with no hope of adoption.

This is why Best Friends Animal Society exists. It is an organization which is completely dedicated to
saving these animals from homelessness, abuse and being euthanized. The founders of Best Friends
Animal Society have devoted their lives to bettering those of animals.

There is a growing need in our society for more places like Best Friends. While there are other huge
organizations such as PETA and the Humane Society of the United States, society needs more. PETA has
become an overwhelmingly controversial organization over the years with many groups of people.

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With the help of fellow animal-lovers and people who are passionate about saving the lives of the abused
animals and reducing the animal homelessness population significantly, Best Friends will be able to
create more branches to their organization to save more lives every day.

Research Questions
Are engagement rates on BFAS’s social media posts higher when the photo includes a person or when it
is solely a photo of an animal?

What is the correlation between the amount of social media following the organization has and how many
donations they receive monthly?

Which social media platform would Best Friends Animal Society’s supporters prefer to receive
information on? Would they prefer photos, videos, or blog posts?

Traditional and Social Listening Report

Introduction
Best Friends Animal Society is dedicated to creating a no-kill world for animals in need. The organization
overall does very well on social media, posting at least once a day to Instagram while also keeping up
other social media platforms and a YouTube channel. The following communications audit shows details
of Best Friends’ social media practices, media features and plans for success.

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Current Strategy
 Traditional Media: Best Friends Animal Society is mentioned in traditional media pretty often,
especially as of late. There were a total of 48 articles that mentioned Best Friends between Sept.
13 – Sept. 27. During this time period, there were several features and significant mentions of the
organization, but most of the mentions were brief. There were several brief mentions due to Best
Friends’ recent partnership with Humble. The partnership will donate a portion of the proceeds
from their new gaming bundle to Best Friends.

 Press Releases: Best Friends has not distributed an official press release since Nov. 9, 2017.
There were a total of 21 press releases shared with the media between Dec. 11, 2015 and the most
recent press release.

 Social Media: Best Friends is very active on their social media platforms. The organization posts
at least once a day to Instagram and almost once daily on all other platforms, including YouTube.
The Best Friends YouTube channel consists of educational videos on what is really happening to
animals behind the scenes and how Best Friends is working to save them, training videos, videos
debuting animals up for adoption and so much more.

 Events: Best Friends typically hosts several events annually. People can adopt pets at these events
or just get involved. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all in-person events have been suspended
for the remainder of 2020. Best Friends is currently working on transitioning events online when
possible.

 Key Messages: The key messages sent to the audience are meant to tug on the heartstrings of the
person viewing the content. There are lots of cute photos of animals posted along with their
stories of homelessness and struggle. The main message Best Friends tries to communicate with
the audience is that everyone has the ability to take action and make a change in the lives of these
animals. People can adopt, participate in events, donate and get involved in so many other ways
with Best Friends, which is clearly promoted through their key messages.

Social Media Assessment

Facebook (@BestFriendsAnimalSociety)
Best Friends Animal Society’s Facebook page has 1,330,175
likes and 1,310,303 followers, as of October 2020. The profile
picture is the organization’s signature logo, which is the same
for accounts on all of the Society’s social media platforms.
The cover photo is currently replaced with a video. The video

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is a promotional video for the organization, stating what they do for animals, as well as providing
statistics. The video ends with a mission statement, to have a no-kill world for animals in shelters.

The account provides unique content that is not posted on any of their other social media accounts, as
well as some duplicated that are shared on all platforms. The “About” tab on the account features a map
showing all Best Friends locations, contact information, hours and a link to the official website.

The acount is extremely active. There are a number of posts on a daily basis. These posts consist of
photos, videos, links to articles, and individual stories of animals who were rescued through Best Friends.
For the amount of follows and likes the page has, post engagement is low. The most recent posts have
received around 1,000 – 3,000 likes each.

From September 29 – October 6, the most engaged posts

were those that included videos. While most status updates
and promotional protos receive a couple thousand likes on
average, there was one video posted on October 1 which
received 16,000 likes, 760 shares and 144 comments. The
video was an individualized story on a puppy named Gus
Gus, sharing his journey with Best Friends.

Overall, the account is successful. It has a significant

amount of page likes, follows and engagement. For anyone
interested in getting involved with Best Friends, all the
resources needed can be found on the Facebook page.
There are links, contact info and options to send messages
directly to the organization.

Twitter (@bestfriends) Figure ii: Facebook post with an article link

The Best Friends Animal Society Twitter account
has 230,100 followers and follows 1,930 users, as
of October 2020. The organization has the same
profile photo as it does on all other social media
platforms to maintain consistency. The cover photo
is a photo of one of the society’s rescue dogs.
The account bio defines the organization and
provides their mission statement.

Compared to the Facebook page, this social

media platform earns significantly less
engagement. There are far fewer followers and
interactions with posts. However, this could be
due to the platform itself. People who are
supportive of Best Friends may use Facebook
as their primary social platform.

The Twitter account shares similar content to Figure iii: Twitter profile
the Facebook account, but much more
individualized stories of animals. Scrolling

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through the page, almost every tweet is a story about an animal rescued by Best Friends, or a link to an
article describing it.

The Twitter account is also extremely active on a daily basis. Over the past month, there have been
anywhere from one to three posts per day. Engagement is low, typically receiving under 10 tweet replies,
and under 100 retweets and likes on average.

While hashtags are not included in every post, the top hashtags on Best Friends’ Twitter page are:
#SaveThemAll, #Struttyourmutt and #dogs. The account is consistently active over every month, only
posting extra when there is an upcoming event, fundraiser or new announcement. Engagement with other
accounts is high in the sense that they do retweet, like and reply to other accounts’ tweets.

Instagram (@bestfriendsanimalsociety)
The Best Friends Animal Society Instagram
account has 503,000 followers and is
following 2,158 users, as of October 2020.
The account is consistent with the Society’s
accounts on all other social media platforms,
being extremely active. The Instagram
account averages one post a day. It is also
very active on the account’s stories section,
posting several times a day.

The most-liked post from the past month was

shared on September 18. The post was a Figure v: Instagram post with the most likes over the past month
series of photos of soldiers who are actively
serving the army, along with Best Friends
volunteers and employees. The post was about how the COVID-19 pandemic directly affected these
soldiers. The post is sharing that they brought puppies and kittens to bring up the spirits of United States
military doctors who were deployed in Houston. The post received 10,289 likes and 148 comments.

The bio to the account is consistent with

all other accounts, including the
organization’s mission statement. It
states that the society is the largest no-
kill animal sanctuary in America. The
bio also states that Best Friends has
made over 3,000 partnerships with
shelters and rescues nationwide. There
is a link to donate to the organization
included in the bio as well.

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Figure vi: Instagram post including an event announcement
The Instagram account is consistent with what all of the accounts on other social media platforms post.
There are individualized stories of rescue animals, updates on events, fundraisers, and partnerships, as
well as reposting content from their other social media accounts and even posting a few memes.

The account utilizes mainly the same hashtags as the Twitter and Facebook pages, with the top hashtag on
Instagram being #SaveThemAll.

Influencers

Best Friends Animal Society has an entire tab on their website dedicated to their current celebrity
supporters. The current celebrities in this category include Michelle Beadle, Emmy Rossum, Maggie Q,
Rachelle Lefevre, Chris Crary, Amanda Seyfried, and Lisa Edelstein. There are also quotes from each of
these celebrities which say something around the lines of how they saved their best friend through Best
Friends Animal Society.

Although these are the celebrities who currently publicly support Best Friends, there are also others who
more-subtly support the organization. These celebrities include but are not limited to: Jennifer Aniston,
Nicole Williams, and Lauren Lane all follow the Best Friends Instagram. There are countless other
celebrities and influencers who follow, like and show their support to Best Friends on all social media
platforms.

The Best Friends social media accounts re-post and share mentions from celebrities and influencers in
support of their organization.

In the Media

According to the data analytics software Meltwater, Best Friends Animal Society received over 5,490
mentions in national, traditional and digital media this year
so far. This coverage ranges from news, feature stories,
event and partnership announcements and brief mentions of
Best Friends Animal Society in articles about other topics
and stories written about other animal societies.

Additionally, Best Friends received extra coverage in the

media between September 13-27 due to the recent
announcement of a partnership with Humble Gaming. The
partnership allows a percentage of the money raised through
a video game to be donated to Best Friends while
implementing their mission and animals in the game. Due to
this announcement, Best Friends was able to receive
significant mentions on platforms that they would not
normally receive coverage on such as gaming news outlets.

In addition to references and brief mentions, Best Friends is

significantly mentioned and there are feature stories written
about the organization quite often. Over the time period of
September 16 – October 7, 2020, there have been two
feature stories about Best Friends that shined an extremely
positive light on the Society and brought even more
awareness from the public. Figure vii: Best Friends Magazine January/February
2020 issue cover
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Best Friends is often mentioned in very reputable and popular news outlets. Over the past month, some of
these news outlets have included but are not limited to: People Magazine, TODAY, Yahoo! News and
NY Magazine.

In addition to all of the traditional media coverage Best Friends receives, they also have their own media
outlet, Best Friends Magazine. All issues of the magazine are available with a subscription and are also
available to read online. The initial subscription is granted by making a minimum $25 donation to Best
Friends Animal Society, and this comes with a one-year subscription to the magazine at no extra charge.

Best Friends has not issued any press releases recently. The organization’s last press release was
distributed on November 8, 2017. Prior to this one, the organization was pretty consistent with issuing
press releases. There were five press releases distributed in 2017, and 25 from February 2, 2015 –
November 11, 2016.

Competitive Analysis

Background
Best Friends Animal Society is in a huge industry of animal rescues, societies and sanctuaries, but
manage to take a unique approach to it all that has been successful in attracting people to their
organization over others. Their mission of creating a no-kill world for animals suffering homelessness and
in shelters has attracted a great, dedicated following and dedicated support system.

Founded in 1984, Best Friends Animal Society has become the largest no-kill animal sanctuary in the
United States. During the time the society was founded, the main way that shelters across America were
dealing with unwanted pets or overcrowding was to just kill the animal. Best Friends was founded on a
vision of changing the way shelters operate, creating a no-kill world for these animals.

Best Friends was created by a group of people who wanted to save the animals. Their first step was to
create an animal sanctuary in Southern Utah, where these people dedicated their entire lives to housing
and taking care of unwanted and homeless pets. Over the years, the organization has implemented
spay/neuter programs to reduce the number of animals who enter the shelters, and increase the number of
pets adopted.

Over the past 35 years, Best Friends has been overwhelmingly successful. The society has also created
partnerships with over 300 partnerships with other animals shelters and rescues nationwide and helped
them become no-kill organizations as well.

Social Media Metrics

The following table describes some social media metrics for Best Friends Animal Society and one of its
competitors, or other very well-known national animal societies. The data was retrieved from the social
media data analytic software services, Keyhole and Rival IQ.

Metrics Best Friends Humane Society

Facebook Followers 1,310,303 2,533,196

Average Reactions Per Facebook Post 6,520 7,370

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 Average Shares Per Facebook Post 528 1,250

Average Engagement Rate for Facebook 0.49% 0.28%

Twitter Followers 230,200 831,400

Average Favorites Per Tweet 134 187

Average Retweets Per Tweet 24.3 55.4

Average Engagement Rate for Twitter 0.058% 0.023%

Instagram Followers 503,000 390,000

Average Likes Per Instagram Post 9,352 4,766

Average Comments Per Instagram Post 164 146

Average Engagement Rate for Instagram 0.96% 0.85%

Strategy Comparison: Twitter

Both Best Friends Animal Society and the
Humane Society of the United States have
verified accounts on Twitter. Because the
Humane Society has been established the longest
and more people know about them than Best
Friends, they have the most followers out of the
two, at about 831,400, while Best Friends has
about 230,000. Although the two Twitter
accounts were created at roughly the same time,
Best Friends in July 2008 and the Humane
Society in August 2008, it could be due to when
each organization was founded. The Humane
Society has been around for 30 years longer than
Best Friends, being founded on November 24,
1954. Best Friends was founded in 1984.

Figure viii: Tweet by Best Friends including a link on the sanctuary

Unexpectedly, Best Friends has the higher
engagement rate, 0.058%. The Humane Society’s engagement rate is 0.023%. According to the
data analytics took Rival IQ, Best Friends’ receives 134 favorites per tweet on average, while the Humane
Society receives 187. Although they may receive more favorites, Best Friends is more interactive with
their following in other ways such as replying to tweets, retweeting and liking.

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Best Friends Animal Society and the Humane
Society of the United States post on Twitter about
the same amount, typically averaging about 3 or 4
original, informational tweets per day, not
including replies to tweets from other accounts.
As of October 7, Best Friends has a total of 33
posts, including replies to other tweets, for the
month of October so far. The Humane Society has
a total of 17 original tweets so far for the month of
October. Despite having a larger following, the
Humane Society has fewer total tweets than Best
Friends. This is due to the fact that Best Friends is
much more interactive with their audience by
replying to other tweets. While they both post
around the same amount of times per day, the
Humane Society has more retweets more than
replies, making their number of original tweets
much lower.
Figure ix: The Humane Society of the United States Twitter profile

There are areas of the Humane Society’s Twitter account that can be improved. While they are pretty
active on the account daily, there is not much engagement with other accounts such as those of everyday
people who support or are involved with the Humane Society. Best Friends is extremely interactive with
their following, replying to at least 3-4 tweets from smaller accounts daily. These replies have consisted
of responses to concerns, or even just acknowledging their mention in another tweet with a simple emoji.
Replying to tweets can make followers feel more involved and that the organization appreciates and
values their support.

While both organization s’ accounts do retweet posts by other accounts, Best Friends averaging 1-2
retweets daily and the Humane Society averaging 0-1 retweets. Both accounts tend to mainly retweet
content from other verified accounts that are dedicated to animals. Throughout the first week of October,
these accounts have consisted of but are not limited to: Humane Society International, CNN Business, We
Rate Dogs and BFASPR.

One tactic that both accounts can use to make the followings feel more connected to the organizations and
like they have some sort of relationship would be to retweet posts from smaller accounts. These could
include stories from people who have rescued animals from their societies, people who have visited Best
Friends’ animal sanctuary in Utah, and any other personalized stories relating to the organizations.
Organizations like these tend to have very formal social media accounts. Posting light-hearted or funny
content on Twitter, such as photos/videos of animals acting funny or memes could gain the organizations
a bigger following.

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Strategy Comparison: Facebook
Both Best Friends Animal Society and the Humane Society of the United States have verified accounts on
Facebook. Because the Humane Society has been established for the longest, they have the largest
following, at about 2.5 million, while Best
Friends has about 1.3 million. For both
organizations, this is their largest audience
size per platform.

Both organizations post to Facebook about

1-2 times per day on average. According to
the data analytics tools Rival IQ and
Keyhole, Best Friends’ engagement rate is
significantly higher than the Humane
Society’s, at 0.49% versus 0.28%. The
accounts also receive around the same
amount of reactions (likes) per post. Best
Friends averages 6,520 reactions per post
and the Humane Society averages 7,370. The
Humane Society gets about twice as many
shares per post, which could be due to their
larger following.

The Humane Society replies to comments

and interacts with their following
significantly more often than Best Friends,
which is the opposite story for their Twitter
Figure x: Most popular Facebook post by Best Friends for Oct. 2020 so
accounts. This is an area that can be
far
improved on to make Best Friends’
Facebook account more engaging. This will also
create a relationship with the supporter/follower and
the organization.

From Oct. 1-7, 2020, Best Friends’ most popular

Facebook post (figure ten) was a one-minute video
clip sharing a cat grooming her kittens. The post
received over 15,100 reactions (likes), 205 comments
and 7,746 shares. It was posted on October 2. The
post actually mentions their competitor, the Humane
Society, and their smaller locations. The post says
that Best Friends rescued the mother cat from a
Humane Society location in New York. The post
mentions taking in two mother cats from the Humane
Society, one of which was sick and was not able to
nurse her kittens. The story was endearing to
followers because the kitten whose mother could not
nurse was able to feed from the other mother cat. The
sick cat was rehabilitated and placed in a loving
foster home. Figure xi: Most popular Facebook post for the Humane
Society for Oct. 2020 so far

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From Oct. 1-7, 2020, the Humane Society’s most popular Facebook (figure 11) post was posted on
October 5 and received 11,000 reactions (likes), 655 comments and 966 shares. The post was a link to a
breaking news story with a caption summarizing it. The story was on how New Jersey proposed a plan to
end black bear trophy hunting. The linked article was originally posted on the Humane Society’s Blog.

Strategy Comparison: Instagram

Both organizations also have verified accounts on this social media platform, as well as the same profile
picture that is consistent with all Best Friends and Humane Society social media accounts. Best Friends
has the most Instagram followers, 503,000, and the Humane Society has 390,000.

According to the data analytics tools

Rival IQ and Keyhole, Best Friends
receives an average of 9,352 likes on
each post and the Humane Society
receives an average of 4,766 likes.
This is the only social media platform
analyzed in this report where Best
Friends has a larger following than its
competitor, despite being founded 30
years after the Humane Society. The
engagement rates for Best Friends
versus the Humane Society compare
at 0.96% and 0.85%. The competitors
receive similar numbers of comments
on each of their posts. Best Friends
averages 164 and the Humane Society Figure xii: Most popular Instagram post for Best friends for Oct. 2020 so far
averages 146 comments per post.

Between Oct. 1-7, 2020, Best Friends shared a total of 8 posts to Instagram, including videos and photos.
The most popular one of these posts (figure 12) was shared on October 1 and included a series of photos
of Best Friends Animal Society volunteers and staff with animals that were rescued from cruelty. The
post caption stated that there is no such thing as too damaged in an animal, and there is always hope. The
Humane Society shared 7 posts, also including both videos and photos, during the same time period. The
most popular one of these posts (figure 13) was shared on October 4 and included a photo of a mother
black bear and her cub, looking as if they are hugging. The post received 5,235 likes and 418 comments.
The post caption was stating that New Jersey will allow trophy hunters to hunt black bears using barbaric
methods such as baiting them with food and chasing the bears away from a place they can’t be hunted,
into a private area where it is legal. However, this post contradicts one of their Facebook posts made
within the same week. The Facebook post stated that New Jersey is proposing a plan to ban trophy
hunting of black bears.

In the Media
Both Best Friends Animal Society
and the Humane Society both
receive substantial traditional media
attention for being two of the largest
and most well-known animal
societies in the United States. Over
this year, January 1 – Oct. 7, 2020,

15
Best Friends has received 5,490 mentions in traditional and digital media. Over the same time period, the
Humane Society of the United States has received around 10,200 mentions in traditional and digital
media. The mentions for both organizations included feature stories, significant and brief mentions.

These articles are published by a wide variety of media outlets including major publications and
magazines that cover several different beats. Some of these beats include but are not limited to the
following: pets and animals, lifestyle, health, upcoming events and gaming. The Humane Society has
issued 69 press releases so far in 2020, while Best Friends has not distributed a press release since 2017.
Although smaller in numbers when it comes to traditional media coverage over the past year, Best Friends
Animal Society makes up for it with a higher engagement rate than the Humane Society of the United
States on all platforms

Interview Report
Introduction:
The goal of this interview was to determine the existing knowledge of this person about Best Friends
Animal Society, although they may not follow it as closely as other animal rescue groups. This told me

16
what type of reputation the organization is giving off to the general public. The interview gathered
background information and then went into the participant’s social media behavior. I determined what
social media platforms are most effective for Best Friends and what type of content encourages viewers to
get involved with and donate to Best Friends. The target audience for this interview was really anyone
who cares about animals. Responses are valuable from someone who has never heard of Best Friends or
someone who is actively involved with Best Friends, as I have determined what social media content
people want to see from the organization.

As a common ground, I have interviewed a person who is actively involved with animal society
organizations, is familiar with Best Friends, but is not actively involved with donating/working for the
organization. This interview was conducted with a person who is somewhat familiar with Best Friends
Animal Society and actively works as a veterinary assistant. This interview was conducted with
participant a veterinary assistant at All Creatures Animal Hospital, located in Bremerton, Washington.
The participant is 21 years old and lived in Arizona for a couple years but moved back to her hometown
in Washington to spend her days working at the animal hospital. Willow is relevant to the client as she is
very involved with the animal care industry, actively works at an animal hospital and is familiar with Best
Friends. The study is limited to background information and topics relating to social media presence and
engagement of the organization. 

Insights:
This interview was able to provide valuable information and responses to research questions. The
research questions were designed to determine what type of social media posts and platforms prove to be
the most effective for getting people involved with Best Friends Animal Society. The data collected in
this interview was qualitative but provided similar responses to data collected in a quantitative survey.
Overall, it seems that the participant likes to follow business-related accounts on her Facebook account,
and prefers to receive information on Best Friends and other animal society organizations through the use
of photos and videos. 

Key Insights:
Willow said that the type of social media posts that would most incline her to get more involved with Best
Friends or any other animal society organizations are the sad posts, surprisingly enough. She said that
“Honestly it sounds kind of bad but the super sad videos always make me feel like I need to do something
to help.” Using the “guilt trip” has proved effective in getting people involved with an organization but
should not occupy an entire social media feed as that can come off depressing and attention seeking.
Willow also said that she likes “the videos where it starts off sad and then has a happy ending where the
animal gets adopted by a family that loves it.” This has proven to be a trend as photos and videos were the
number one preferred type of content of surveyed people, too. Willow said that her overall thoughts about
Best Friends are mainly positive. She said she has never heard a bad word about the organization.
Although she is not the most knowledgeable on Best Friends, she is the perfect middle ground as
someone who works in the animal industry and is not biased toward the organization. 

Conclusion:
Through both qualitative and quantitative research gathered through this interview and our survey, we
were able to determine that the average person has good thought about Best Friends. Willow, a vet
assistant at All Creatures Animal Hospital in Bremerton, Washington, has only heard good things about
the organization. Her insights and opinions served as valuable information to answering our research
questions. Willow first heard of Best Friends through a coworker and has followed the organization on
Facebook ever since. She thinks they have a good variety of posts, some educational, some just cute
animal photos, and some that tug on the heart strings. The types of posts that would get Willow most
involved with the organization are posts that make it seem like there are animals suffering and her
efforts/support would really make a difference. 

17
Appendix:
Transcription of Interview:
Hi! It is so great to be able to talk to you today. We will start off the interview easy and with the
basics, would you mind introducing yourself and describing your background in the animal society
industry?
It is great to talk to you too! I am from a small town in Washington called Port Orchard. I have been
passionate about animals for pretty much my whole life. In high school, I started working as a volunteer
with local animal societies, just because I liked it. Over time, I was actually able to receive my
certification and now I’m a vet assistant at a local animal hospital. It’s called All Creatures Animal
Hospital.

That is great, I’m so glad you are pursuing what you love! Have you ever heard of Best Friends
Animal Society?
Yeah I have. I first heard of them a couple years ago and think what they’re doing is great. 

How did you first hear of Best Friends?

I actually heard of it for the first time through a coworker. She was on her Instagram explore page and
saw a cute dog and clicked on it and showed me. It was posted by Best Friends so I looked them up.

Do you follow any Best Friends Animal Society social media accounts? And if so which ones?
I don’t actively follow them on every platform or get super involved with them, but I do follow their
Facebook page. I also follow a lot of animal accounts just in general and read a lot of articles on animals,
and I have seen them mentioned in those, too. 

What made you choose to follow Best Friends on Facebook as opposed to their other social media
platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and YouTube?
I have never really thought about it much, but I usually use Instagram for personal photos and just to
follow my friends, Twitter for funny memes and I just don’t tend to subscribe to that many channels on
YouTube. I kind of just click on videos in the recommended section, I don’t watch a ton of YouTube
videos. But Facebook is where I keep up with my family and work friends, so I feel like following
business accounts kind of falls into that category, too. I follow a lot of animal accounts on Facebook, and
animal meme accounts on Twitter!

That makes sense. Based on what you’ve seen of Best Friends on social media, what is your
impression of the organization?
I think Best Friends is great. I always see them posting about how they are trying to make it a no-kill
world for animals. I think that's great and that every animal deserves a loving home. I have never seen
anything bad about Best Friends on social media or really heard anything bad about them in general. They
seem like a really cool organization with genuine values. 

What is your favorite type of content to see on social media and why? For Example, photos, videos,
links, blog posts, etc.
Personally I like seeing videos the most. With animal accounts I like the visual stuff just because it’s cute!
I like seeing the videos that Best Friends posts to their Facebook though. Sometimes they make me sad
when I see them post a story of an animal that was abandoned or abused or something. 

What types of content would make you feel inclined to get more involved with Best Friends in ways
such as donating, volunteering, adopting or even just following them on more platforms?
Honestly it sounds kind of bad but the super sad videos always make me feel like I need to do something
to help. Like even those commercials that go on for five minutes just showing all the dogs looking sad in

18
the shelters, I’ve donated to that before because it breaks my heart. I think seeing the stories of an
individual dog or cat or other animal makes me feel more connected to the organization, even though I
really am only connecting more with that animal. I like the videos where it starts off sad and then has a
happy ending where the animal gets adopted by a family that loves it. 
Staying on the social media topic, are you more likely to click on links to donate or get involved if
they are embedded in a social media post, rather than looking for the website on your own?
Oh definitely. A lot of times I will just go to those links just out of curiosity, it makes it a lot easier than
researching and trying to find the site on my own. 

I completely agree. It was great talking to you today Willow, thank you so much for participating in
this interview with me. Do you have any more insights or questions before we wrap up?
I don't think so! It was great talking to you too. 

We will be in touch! Thanks again. 

Okay! Talk to you soon, bye.

Survey Report
Introduction
This survey was conducted in order to determine what types of content would most engage viewers on
Best Friends Animal Society social media platforms. Questions collected information from the
demographic studied, such as if they had ever heard of the organization, follow their accounts or have

19
ever adopted a pet from an animal society. Questions also determined what types of content engage the
audience the most, and what types of content would draw people into becoming involved with the
organization, encourage them to make a donation or follow the social media accounts. The survey
consisted of ten questions. The questions consisted of a variety of formats, including multiple choice,
typed responses and analyzing existing social posts by the organization. The survey was created and
distributed through the professional polling software, Qualtrics. Over the four-day period of Oct. 20 –
Oct. 24, the survey gathered 22 total responses. Link to survey:
https://qfreeaccountssjc1.az1.qualtrics.com/Q/EditSection/Blocks?SurveyID=SV_aX12fOeoUyJSM5v.

Target Audience
The target audience for this survey was both people who are and are not familiar with Best Friends
Animal Society specifically but are familiar with the animal society organizations in general. There were
a variety of people who responded to the survey, including some who are extremely familiar with the
organization and some who had never heard of it before this. This was a beneficial response base to
determining the answers to the survey questions.

Survey Questions and Responses

The survey first began with an introduction, which read as follows: Thank you for your interest in my
survey. My name is Haylee Elmore and I am an undergraduate student at Arizona State University
studying public relations. The following survey is for class purposes only. The survey will be open until
October 26th.

The survey will ask you questions about your interest in and relationship with Best Friends Animal
Society and social media. It will take you less than five minutes to complete. Your answers will be kept
anonymous and used for a class project only. Your participation is voluntary. If you have any questions
about it you can contact me at helmore@asu.edu.

Question 1: How familiar are you with Best Friends Animal Society?
Responses:

Half of respondents (11) had never heard of Best Friends until this survey, while second place was a tie
between extremely and somewhat familiar (four each). These responses were kept in mind when
reviewing the next survey questions.

Question 2: Do you follow news/updates on Best Friends Animal Society or their social media accounts?

20
Responses:

There were 18 respondents who said they do not follow news on or social media accounts of Best Friends.
This shows us that although there were eight people surveyed who are familiar with the organization, only
four surveyed individuals follow Best Friends.

Question 3: Are you actively involved with or do you donate to any animal society organizations?
Responses:

These responses told us that although there are eight people familiar with Best Friends, these may not be
the same eight people who are involved with animal societies in general. These also may not be the same
people who follow Best Friends.

Question 4: Have you ever adopted a pet from an animal society?

Responses:

Although there were 12 people surveyed who have adopted a pet from an animal society, this does not
mean they are directly involved with animal society organizations, specifically Best Friends, as only eight
people said they are actively involved in the previous question’s responses.

21
Question 5: Which of the following social media platforms do you use the most?
Responses:

Now that the demographic and personal individual information questions are out of the way, we get into
the main survey questions about social media and engagement. Of the 22 people surveyed, 15 said they
use Instagram as their primary platform, with Facebook in second place with four responses.

Question 6: What type of social media content appeals to you? ie. photos, videos, links, stories
Responses:
Photos: 13 (2 responses were specifically cat photos)
Videos: 9
Stories: 8
Links: 1
This question was one where the respondents would type their answers, so most wrote more than one type
on content. Majority of people said they like to see photos, specifically cat photos, for two people!

Question 7: What type of content would engage you on Best Friends Animal Society’s social media
accounts?
Responses:

Respondents said they would most like to see videos and stories on Best Friends accounts, which is
interesting since their responses to the previous question suggested that in general, they like to see photos.
Photos came in second place on this question with eight responses.

Question 8: Would you stop to read this

story?
Responses:
Yes: 10
No: 12
These responses had a pretty equal number of
people on both sides of the spectrum. This

22
could be due to some respondents just not liking cats, or preferring other types of content more, such as
videos.

Question 9: Are you more likely to click on embedded links and swipe-ups rather than find the website
yourself?
Responses:

The respondents mostly said they would be more likely to visit a website through an embedded link on a
social post rather than do the research and find it themselves. This was expected, as it is just a more
convenient way to find the content the viewer is looking for or interested in.

Question 10: Which way would you prefer to get information about animal society organizations?
Responses:

As in the previous question regarding desired content, respondents would also prefer to get their
information on animal society organizations through photos in social posts. Blog posts and articles came
in runner-up, with seven responses.

The survey also included a conclusion portion, which read as follows: Thank you for participating in my
survey! Your responses are valuable to me and will be kept anonymous and used for class purposes only.
If you have any questions, you can reach out to me via email at helmore@asu.edu.

Conclusion
Through the survey, we were able to determine several insights into what types of social media content
viewers want to see both in general and specifically from Best Friends Animal Society. While there were
a wide range of demographics who responded to the survey, some being extremely familiar with Best
Friends and some not at all, the information gathered was still valuable because the team determine how
to keep their existing following engaged, while also learning how to draw in a new audience. Overall, the
researcher determined that the majority of viewers prefer to see photos on their social media timelines.
The researcher learned why people who are familiar with the organization stay engaged and are involved,

23
while also spreading knowledge to people who have never heard of Best Friends and finding out how to
engage them.
This is also the overall preferred method for getting information on animal societies.

While not every respondent is actively involved with or donates to animal society organizations, 12 out of
22 of them have in fact adopted a pet through an animal society. Both qualitative and quantitative data
was collected through this survey, both of which will be used to gain a larger following/more supporters
for Best Friends Animal Society by using tactics that will ensure the audience is getting the content they
wish to see, the content they told us about in this survey. Further research on the topic could include
another, more in-depth survey. This was the introductory survey, so a couple of the first questions were
spent on determining the participants’ interests. Perhaps another survey sent out to key respondents from
this survey would be beneficial, or an individual interview or focus group. A focus group would show
great results because participants could discuss with each other and possibly alter/add to their responses
as they hear others.

Target Audience Report

Introduction:

This report aims to explain the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Best Friends Animal
Society based on its communications practices in relation to their traditional media coverage and
engagement rates. The report identifies stakeholders and influencers, as well as target audiences and their
common traits, and two “persona” infographics. The report gives a summary of the influence of Best
Friends Animal Society’s communication.

SWOT Analysis:

This SWOT analysis highlights the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to Best Friends
Animal Society in the context of measuring engagement rates and traditional media coverage.

Strengths
● Large and passionate following and
volunteers
● Celebrity support/public endorsement and
organization partnerships
● Positive mentions and feature articles in
traditional media coverage
● Transition to online fundraisers and events
due to COVID-19
Weaknesses
● Lack of brand awareness to the everyday
person
● Lack of engagement on social posts
(comments/likes in relation to amount of
following)
● Inconsistent press releases - most recent
two press releases are three years apart

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 Opportunities
● Partnerships with celebrities who support
BFAS
● Collaboration with Amazon and UPS
● Increased attendance at fundraisers and
events due to the transition to virtual
Threats
● Potential negative reviews/media
coverage
● Low turnout at virtual events and
fundraisers
● Decrease in volunteers and other
contributors due to COVID-19

Strengths:

Best Friends Animal Society engages the target audience of animal lovers of all ages and demographics
and backgrounds. Rather than having a set target audience consisting of only a specific age group or
interest group, BFAS is able to engage people from all backgrounds who all share one common interest -
the love of animals. Their target audience dictates the amount of people who will support BFAS as
opposed to their competitors, such as the Humane Society of the United States. Social media and
traditional media content attract them to the aspects of compassion and care for the wellbeing of animals
that BFAS is known for. The target audience consists of the people most likely to volunteer, donate,
attend events, publicly support and adopt pets from BFAS. Best Friends Animal Society has received
praise from several celebrities and influencers from various backgrounds and has made partnerships with
other large companies to gain awareness and support of their organization. Over the past seven and a half
weeks that I have analyzed the traditional media coverage of BFAS, there have been 0 negative mentions
of the organization, only positive and neutral. Best Friends has been successful in announcements and
making a smooth transition into hosting their events virtually due to the pandemic.

Weaknesses:

While Best Friends does have an extremely loyal and passionate following and supportive audience, there
is still a massive group of people who have never heard of Best Friends. While BFAS has grown to one of
the largest animal societies in the United States, it is not as well-known as their competitors. It seems that
all animal lovers know of organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States and the
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), not all of these people have ever
heard of BFAS. This could be due to being a rather new organization and getting their start in the small
town of Kanab, Utah. Best Friends has a prominent presence on all social media platforms, with millions
of followers. However, the organization's engagement rates on posts should be higher than they are,
receiving only a few thousand likes and a few hundred comments on each post is not proportional to the
follower count. Press releases are another weakness of Best Friends, from an industry standpoint. While
the majority of people who support BFAS are not looking out for their press releases, it is still important
to keep them up to date for anyone looking for updates. The organization used to put out press releases
monthly, on average, in 2017 and prior. The last press release was on October 7, 2020. The most recent
press release prior to this one was released on November 9, 2017.

Opportunities:

As a nonprofit animal society organization that has the mission of creating a no-kill world for all pets
brought into shelters, Best Friends’ clients are passionate about the organization and are extremely willing
to get involved. Recently, there have been several prominent celebrities and influencers publicly showing
their support for encouraging their following to get involved with and adopt from BFAS. Some of these
celebrities and influencers include Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Charli D’amelio. Best

25
Friends has a major opportunity here to create content and partnerships with these willing supporters.
Best Friends has also recently created several partnerships with companies such as UPS and Amazon,
which is not only benefitting the organization, but increasing the number of people who are aware of the
organization and their values. One of their weaknesses is that it is not an overwhelmingly well-known
organization, so creating these partnerships will raise awareness among the public, even extending to
people who are not in the target audience of BFAS, but in the target audience of the companies they are
partnering with. Another opportunity BFAS has, due to current events regarding COVID-19, is that they
are hosting virtual events. While there are both benefits and disadvantages to this transition, it does
increase the amount of people that can attend these events. Only a select group of people would be able to
attend an event in a specific location due to where they live, transportation, etc. By hosting events online
and promoting them correctly, the likelihood of BFAS supporters and animal lovers from all over the
country attending the event is more likely; it is easier for people. By increasing event/fundraiser turnout,
donations, support, awareness and amount of potential future volunteers is also increased.

Threats:

Best Friends Animal Society receives a lot of media coverage based on the data I have analyzed over the
past seven and a half weeks. The organization averages 2 mentions per day in traditional media in the
United States. Over this time period, there have been 0 negative mentions of BFAS, but it is still a threat
they face. At any point, an individual or other organization/company could come out on social or
traditional media platforms sharing false/confidential information or a potentially negative experience
with BFAS. While the transition to virtual events and fundraisers due to the pandemic is an opportunity
for BFAS, it could also pose a threat depending on the reaction of the news by the target audience. While
virtual events could increase turnout, it could also significantly decrease turnout depending on the way
that the events/fundraisers are promoted. Another major threat to BFAS regarding the pandemic is the
lack of people willing to volunteer and get involved with the organization. Being a nonprofit organization,
BFAS heavily relies on their loyal volunteers to keep things up and running. Although their volunteers
and following have proven to be passionate about the organization and donating their time and efforts,
health is the top priority of most people and some may not be willing to expose themselves to COVID-19,
resulting in decreased volunteer involvement.

Stakeholder Analysis:

Stakeholders of Best Friends Animal Society, whether they be primary or secondary, are affected by the
everyday decisions that the organization makes. Some stakeholders include investors, volunteers, clients
and competitors.

Primary: Best Friends Animal Society is an American nonprofit animal welfare organization and serves
a multitude of clients all across the nation. There are many stakeholders that are affected by the day-to-
day operations of the organization. Some of the primary stakeholders include board executives, investors
and other companies that BFAS partners with.

Best Friends Animal Society’s executive board is made up of nine members: six women and three men.
The board is an integral part of Best Friends’ success overall. The executive board chooses the best
direction for the organization and those choices subsequently affect all other stakeholders. Best Friends is
a nonprofit organization, so investors are a primary stakeholder. Best Friends’ board of executives can be
contacted through social media or through the organization's department email addresses, as the contact
information of each executive individual is not readily available.

The organizations that create partnerships with BFAS are primary stakeholders for a multitude of reasons.
If a company such as UPS or Amazon creates a partnership with BFAS, they are heavily reliant on the

26
company to make sure they are in good standing with the public. If an issue were to arise around BFAS
while there is an active partnership or campaign with another company, this would also shed a negative
light on that company. These partnered companies are also most likely investing in some way to Best
Friends during the partnership, so if something were to go wrong, they would not be receiving a return on
their investment and hurting their reputation, too.

Competitors are another stakeholder that are heavily affected by Best Friends and the decisions that are
made by the organization. These are other organizations that are in competition with Best Friends for
donations, adoptions and supporters. These competitors may include but are not limited to the following:
The Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals (ASPCA). These organizations are primary stakeholders in the sense that their success is
dependent on the success of BFAS and their other competitors. For example, if BFAS is doing well and
rapidly gaining support, a larger following and donations, this decreases the likelihood that these same
individuals would feel as passionately about their organization.

Secondary: There are some stakeholders that are not as impacted by Best Friends’ decision making, they
are referred to as secondary stakeholders. These include corporate, foundation and network partners,
influencers and clients at large.

Best Friends Animal Society is only one of the many animal society organizations in the industry today.
Corporate, foundation and network partners are key stakeholders in the organization. They’ve had
corporate partnerships with Fresh Step, PAWZ, ALDI, Little Tikes, Physician’s Formula, Too Faced and
many other well-known companies. These partnerships help bring financial benefits and increase brand
awareness. The stakeholders invest in the quality of content produced for Best Friends’ clients with
events, social media content and involvement opportunities. Best Friends and its partners work to ensure
the experience is successful for the clients, investors, employees and volunteers.

Influencers: Some of Best Friends’ most influential clients at the moment are Charli D’amelio, Jennifer
Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. These people all have huge social media platforms with millions of
followers and represent Best Friends well.

One of Best Friends’ most impacted secondary stakeholders happens to be their clients. Because BFAS is
a nonprofit organization, when a client pays to adopt an animal, they are essentially making a donation to
the organization. The opinions of these clients weigh heavily on the choices that are made by the
organization overall. Clients depend on and expect BFAS to put their “donations” to good use and to
continue their valuable work. Without clients and supporters, Best Friends could not carry on with their
daily operations. Best Friends clients are people of all ages who have a passion for animals or just simply
want to adopt a pet from a genuine animal society. Clients can be reached through various channels. They
can be reached by posting on social media platforms as well as being contacted through a mass or direct
email.

Audience Analysis:

When it comes to adopting a pet, the majority of people have their standards on the type of organizations
they would adopt from, based on their values. Best Friends has a “no-kill” mission and a “save them all”
slogan. While their target persona may not be a specific age group or demographic, BFAS does still have
a target audience that they should be appealing to, according to research collected.

Individuals of any age who have a passion for the wellbeing and rescuing of animals or anyone looking to
adopt a pet from a genuine organization are among the people who support Best Friends. Older members
of the target audience are more likely to be the supporters who will donate to the organization, and

27
younger supporters are more likely to be the ones to volunteer and get involved. Both of these groups are
among the individuals who are likely to adopt a pet from BFAS, follow them on social media and create
brand awareness. According to my survey produced on Qualtrics, people who know of Best Friends are
various ages and come from various demographics. Best Friends should focus more on attracting more
brand awareness through the use of their existing supporters. Social media campaigns will gain more
support from those who have heard of BFAS, maybe follow the organization on social media but are not
significantly involved. These campaigns would be educational and also hold the attention of the viewer.
According to my research, people are more likely to follow organization pages on social media platforms
such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as a lot of people use Instagram just to keep up with their
friends and family. Supporters of Best Friends should do more promotion of the organization on their
personal accounts, so the organization needs to create content that people feel passionate about and are
willing to share/repost. This audience group can be reached through social media or through mass emails
that they can subscribe to, either from a specific board member or Best Friends in general.

Audience Personas:

Persona one:

Name: Avery
Age: 24
Location: New York City

Avery is a recent college graduate

who is entering the workforce,
pursuing a career in business
management and marketing. Avery
has been a lifelong animal lover
and has a strong compassion for
the wellbeing of animals. Avery is
known to take her dog everywhere
and always stop into animal
shelters on adoption day. Avery
often donates after viewing the sad
animal commercials she sees on
TV. Avery has a passion for all animals but has never really done her research on what organizations are
genuine and worth donating her time and money to. Her boyfriend is also a huge animal lover.

28
Persona two:

Name: Charles
Age: 55
Location: Salt Lake City

Charles is about to retire after a long

career in the corporate world. He has
always had a strong love for animals
and is looking forward to having some
downtime when he finally retires. He
also wants to adopt a pet to keep him
company during his upcoming days
without work. He is considering
adopting a kitten or a dog. He has
thought about taking up golf or tennis
but is looking for something he can do that will not only be fun for him, but also give back to the
community. He is now looking into places he can volunteer. Due to his love of animals, he has considered
volunteering at the Humane Society, but they just don’t share the same values as him. Charles is looking
for a genuine organization to volunteer with.

Summary:

Overall, based on Best Friends Animal Society’s communication practices the brand informs and engages
its target audience through social and traditional media, videos, fundraisers and other events. The target
audience is participating in the support of Best Friends and staying engaged through their
communications tactics. While the entirety of the target audience may not know of Best Friends, the
organization is working hard to raise brand awareness every day. Even though not every individual in the
target audience knows of Best Friends, they know what types of characteristics they value and look for in
an animal society to potentially adopt from, donate to or volunteer with. Best Friends, as a nonprofit
welfare organization, has integrated various communications tactics with the help of their corporate,
foundation and network partners, and continues to create a strong relationship with their supporters.

29
Weekly Memos
Summary/Key Findings:
Over the six-week period that traditional media was tracked for BFAS, there were 67 total
mentions. The majority of these mentions were brief and neutral, including zero negative
mentions over the time period. One third of all mentions were positive, while the other two thirds
were neutral. There were a total of 12 quotes from BFAS staff included in articles in traditional
media coverage over the time period. There were 10 feature articles across all traditional media
platforms about BFAS and 15 significant mentions

Media and Influencers:

Jen Reeder:
 Freelance journalist
 Beat: animals/pets
 Over the past six weeks, two of Reeder’s articles have mentioned Best Friends
 jen@jenreeder.com
 Relevant article: https://news.yahoo.com/30-adoptable-pets-courtside-seats-
181952377.html

Danielle Turchiano:

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  “Variety” and freelance journalist
 Beat: animals/pets
 Turchiano has written three articles mentioning Best Friends over the six-week period
 Relevant article: https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/amazon-the-pack-packed-weekend-
dog-freebies-exclusive-1234831813/

Appendix
Appendix A: Research Questions

1. Are engagement rates on BFAS’s social media posts higher when the photo includes a person or
when it is solely a photo of an animal?

2. What is the correlation between the amount of social media following the organization has and
how many donations they receive monthly?

3. Which social media platform would Best Friends Animal Society’s supporters prefer to receive
information on? Would they prefer photos, videos, or blog posts?

Appendix B: Interview Questions

1. Would you mind introducing yourself and describing your background in the animal society
industry?

2. Have you ever heard of Best Friends Animal Society?

3. How did you first hear of Best Friends?

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 4. Do you follow any Best Friends Animal Society social media accounts? And if so which ones?

5. What made you choose to follow Best Friends on Facebook as opposed to their other social
media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and YouTube?

6. Based on what you’ve seen of Best Friends on social media, what is your impression of the
organization?

7. What is your favorite type of content to see on social media and why? For Example, photos,
videos, links, blog posts, etc.

8. What types of content would make you feel inclined to get more involved with Best Friends in
ways such as donating, volunteering, adopting or even just following them on more platforms?

9. Are you more likely to click on links to donate or get involved if they are embedded in a social
media post, rather than looking for the website on your own?

Appendix C: Signed Consent Form

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Appendix D: Survey Questions

How familiar are you with Best Friends Animal Society?

Do you follow news/updates on Best Friends Animal Society or their social media accounts?

Are you actively involved with or do you donate to any animal society organizations?

Have you ever adopted a pet from an animal society?

Which of the following social media platforms do you use the most?

What type of social media content appeals to you? ie. photos, videos, links, stories

What type of content would engage you on Best Friends Animal Society’s social media accounts?

Would you stop to read this story?

Are you more likely to click on embedded links and swipe-ups rather than find the website yourself?

Which way would you prefer to get information about animal society organizations?

Works Cited
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