Research Report Final

I started my journey with the Dodo because I was inspired by their page, without necessarily knowing why. There are thousands of dog pages and accounts across the internet, but for some reason, the Dodo stuck out to me. I have been the parent/brother to four dogs over the span of my life, so I am naturally very connected emotionally to dog pages. I set out to find out exactly why dog lovers like myself are so attached to this account.

Goals of Interview

I wanted to find out why people interacted with the content they did on the Dodo’s Instagram account.

Interviewee Criteria

I wanted to find two different types of Instagram users for my interviews. I first wanted someone who was deeply loyal to the Dodo, much like myself. This person ideally follows and engages with the Dodo’s content on a weekly basis. Additionally, I tried finding someone who had donated to the Dodo at least once. With this, I would be able to gain an understanding about what it was specifically that caused them to donate. Additionally, I would gain an understanding of why they engage with the brand so frequently.

The other type of interviewee I wanted to analyze was someone who loved dogs but hadn’t heard of the Dodo. I knew that someone who wasn’t passionate about dogs or animals would not resonate with the videos, to begin with, so that group was eliminated. From this interviewee, I wanted to see what their initial thoughts of the brand were and if they enjoyed their content. Someone who has never experienced the brand would have a fresh set of eyes on the content and could bring a completely new perspective to my analysis.

Subjects

My Mother — 40 years of owning dogs of different breeds, heavily involved in training dogs, and a passionate follower of the Dodo.

My roommate — lover of dogs, currently has a rescue dog but has never heard of the Dodo.

Results

I was very intrigued by the findings from my interviews. After two 30 minute interviews, I learned an immense amount about why people love the Dodo and why they continually engage with their content.

Post Consistency

My mother’s experience with the Dodo was summed up in this fashion. Not only did my mother know that the Dodo would be posting every day, but that she could expect high-quality content to come from the Dodo each and every day… more than once! We’ve talked a lot about post consistency but quality consistency is an interesting concept that I am now aware of.

Compelling Stories

This was pretty obvious to me, but incredibly important. When you visit the Dodo, you know that you’re going to get a story that is incredibly emotional. This is not only important for their videos as a whole, but also the copy that is shown on each image before the video starts. When I asked what content my interviewees would most likely click on, they were always the most emotionally written thumbnails.

Human-Centric Stories

This was the most interesting finding from my interviews. While I had always assumed that the Dodo was so special because of their dog or cat stories, I learned that people still resonate the most when I human is involved. Whether it was a story about a man who saved a dog's life or a woman speaking about the time she built a dog shelter for her local community. Yes, people fall in love with the animals involved; but, there is something to be said for an everyday hero making a difference in our world.

Content Implications

The Dodo ranks among the top content producers in the world year after year. This makes for an incredibly specific and nit-picky recommendation to their content strategy. There are very few if any ways that the Dodo could improve their content. The Dodo posts frequently, at the right time, directed towards the correct audience, with extremely impactful stories. So, what could they improve?

Human-Centric Thumbnails

We all love seeing a cute video about a dog or a cat here and there, but what really keeps users around for the Dodo is their focus on the human hand. To appeal to this want, the Dodo should incorporate a human-centric thumbnail to all of their videos. Creating a thumbnail with an appealing photo of a dog or other animal would attract users, while the human-centric message would entice them to see what great deed this every hero did for the animal.

Since the Dodo already has such a loyal and engaged following on Instagram, they should continue their current strategy. With this slight tweak in content, the Dodo should expect to see an increase in the number of engagements with their content. These images should be presented on as many thumbnails as possible and will continue the success that the Dodo has generated up to this point.

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