Episode 42: How To Use Facebook Groups and Video In Your Pet Sitting Business

On this episode Bella speaks with Maureen McCarthy, owner of Love and Kisses Pet Sitting. Bella has found Maureen's use of Facebook groups, social media, and video to be an awesome example of how to market.  Bella gets the scoop from Maureen, about how Facebook groups can be a great way to connect and expand your reach as a business. Maureen started a group for her own community called What's Up Indiana Trail and it has grown like wild fire. Through it, she has been able to get more people engaged on her own facebook page and grown her business. They also discuss Facebook Live videos - which if you've been listening to me for awhile, you know that I consider video as a MUST HAVE in your business. Maureen discusses with Bella how exactly she started doing Facebook Live videos with both her and her staff and the direct effect they've had on her business revenue. She talks with Maureen about: Maureen McCarthy The Facebook group she started. Why she started the group How much work is involved How successful it has been How she got into doing videos Her facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IndianTrailPetSitter/ Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 42 of Bella in Your Business. Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where Bella will discuss anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready—Bella’s got your chute. Let’s jump. Welcome to Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta, and I am the owner of Jump Consulting. Today, I have Maureen McCarthy from Loving Kisses Pet Sitting in Indian Trail, North Carolina. Maureen has been on my radar for a very long time because she has a pet sitting and dog walking company with many staff members that is seriously exploding. She is a doer—she takes ideas and runs with them—and if any of you have listened to my podcast, those are my favorite kind of people. But what really intrigued me to have her on today is that Maureen started a group page for her area called What’s Up Indian Trail. We’re going to ask her all about that today because she’s had wild success. You should see the engagement on this group page. Bella: So without further ado, Maureen, welcome to the show. Maureen: Hey, Bella. Thanks so much for having me today. Bella: For sure. So, Maureen, take us back. I want to first hear—why did you decide to start a private group for your community? Maureen: Well, I noticed that a lot of the towns around me had their own private Facebook group pages, so I thought, well, let me jump on this before somebody else does. I started it, and a lot of the towns were called “What’s Up Waxhaw” or “What’s Up Stallings,” so I thought, let me start a “What’s Up Indian Trail” page. Bella: I love it. And right now, it has almost—actually, I think we’re going to hit almost 7,000 members. Maureen: Damn, girl. Yeah, yeah. So it’s cool. Yeah. Bella: That’s amazing. Maureen: And I let businesses post their businesses once a week, just so that I can post mine too, of course. Bella: How long have you had this for? And how much knowledge did you need? I mean, were you some Facebook guru when you started it? Maureen: No, not at all. If you can use Facebook, you can start a Facebook page. I mean, it’s very simple. Just start a group. Bella: You mean a group, not a page. Pages are public; groups are private. Maureen: Right. Bella: When did you start this group? Maureen: I’d say about a year ago, maybe. Bella: Okay, and how did you build it to 7,000 people? I mean, is this like an active marketing strategy or just happened because— Maureen: I picked such a great name where other people already had “What’s Up” for their towns. A lot of people were searching for our town. They saw “What’s Up Waxhaw,” “What’s Up Stallings,” “What’s Up Monroe,” so I made “What’s Up Indian Trail.” And at the top, I have “Please Share This Page with Your Friends and Neighbors.” Bella: Got it. Got it. So how did it first start out? Were you correlating information from around the area—about different businesses or what was going up in some shopping plaza? Maureen: Anything pertaining to the town. Like if they’d have a farmers market coming up on the weekend, I would share that. Any news or events in the neighborhood, I’d share that to keep interest and get people to join. Bella: And I imagine you had your own sources that you followed who would post this stuff, and then you’d repost it. Maureen: Yes, yes. Bella: Fantastic. How much work do you think it requires? How often are you in there—like a day or a week? Maureen: Well, I’m on Facebook a lot for my business advertising, and I find Facebook is great for my business. I think that’s where I got most of my business. But sometimes you can get lost in it. So an hour, half hour, fifteen minutes—it varies. Whatever you want to put into it. Bella: It’s a really good point because Facebook is so conversational that it’s not like you’re logging in and out. You’re doing so many different things—responding to posts, checking notifications, etc. So it hasn’t been like another burden or a thing to do on your list, right? Maureen: No, not at all. Bella: And especially if you’re getting clients from there. Tell me more about that. How have you been able to get clients? Maureen: People would ask, “Do you know a good vet in the area?” I have a local page of vets and groomers, and I’d share that from my website to the group. So I found myself doing that quite often. People would ask for a groomer, a vet, a mobile vet, or a pet sitter—of course. So I always kept my eye on the page and did a little search to see if anybody was looking for that. Bella: Were you surprised to see how many times people were asking for pet stuff? Maureen: Yes and no, because I find the page very active. People are always asking for recommendations. So I try to be a good resource so they get to know my name, and then when someone needs pet care—boom—I’m there. Bella: You epitomize the concept of providing value first, like Gary Vaynerchuk’s Jab, Jab, Right Hook or Jay Baer’s Utility. You’re being useful to your community, and that’s why it’s working. Maureen: Exactly. Bella: So now, tell me about the donut story. Maureen: Okay, so this was really interesting. A new donut shop opened up in Indian Trail, and everyone was posting pictures of their donuts. It went on for a week—and it’s still going on. So I thought, okay, let’s change it up. I posted, “Let’s all post our cute pet pictures and stop with the donuts for a bit.” All of a sudden, this thread exploded—about 90 people posting pet pictures. So I thought, how can I jump on this? I decided to have a contest. I told them to go over to my Loving Kisses Pet Sitting Facebook page, post their pet picture, like the page, and share it. The winner would get a $15 donut gift card and a free pet sit visit. People started posting and sharing my page. Then I did a live video pulling the winner’s name from a hat. It was so much fun. Bella: That’s awesome! Maureen: The only thing I’d change next time is to make it run longer—maybe a week to get more engagement. Bella: I love that. And you could even collect email addresses next time, so you can follow up with a small offer. Maureen: Great idea. Bella: And you mentioned involving other local businesses—doing live videos at their stores. That’s brilliant. Maureen: Yeah, I want to collaborate more like that. Bella: Speaking of live video, that terrifies a lot of people. How did you overcome it? Maureen: At first, I was nervous, but once you do it, it’s easy. It’s just you being you. Now all my pet sitters do it too. They post videos while walking or playing with dogs. Clients love it. Bella: That’s amazing leadership. You made it fun and encouraged them. Maureen: Exactly. It’s fun. What’s the worst that can happen—you stumble over words? You’re human. Bella: And Facebook rewards video engagement—it’s what the algorithm wants. You’ve been consistent, and your team’s excitement makes your business more transparent and relatable. That authenticity builds trust. Maureen: Thank you! Bella: So let’s talk money. You said you get a lot of clients from Facebook. How are you tracking that? Maureen: At meet-and-greets, I ask how they found me, and most say Facebook. I only spend money on boosting posts. One of my pet sitters did a video with pit bulls and a cat—it went semi-viral, over 5,000 views, from a $10 boost. Bella: That’s incredible! Maureen: Yeah, the more people view it, the more Facebook pushes it. Bella: And you can even target local pet owners with ads like that. Maureen: Totally. It’s fun—it doesn’t feel like work. Bella: Before the videos, you were doing a lot of blogging, which helped too. You already had content and links, like your vet list, that you could share in posts. That’s your arsenal. You’ve built credibility and value over time. Maureen: Absolutely. Bella: So let’s quantify results. You said January’s revenue was $5,000 higher than last year. Maureen: Yes—$5,000 more in January alone. And January is normally slow! I set a goal of increasing by $5,000 every month, and I’m doing it. Bella: That’s amazing. And how many sitters do you have now? Maureen: I just hired three more—so about nineteen total. Bella: Incredible. And that growth is all connected to your consistent effort. Maureen: Thank you! Bella: You’re a great example for others—authentic, consistent, and action-oriented. Maureen: My very first video was on why we need two keys. A client asked me that question, and I made a quick video explaining it. It was like talking to a client. Once I did that, I realized how easy it was. Bella: That’s perfect advice. Every day we get client questions—that’s content for video or blogs. Short, real answers build connection. Maureen: Yes! Bella: And uploading natively to Facebook instead of sharing YouTube links helps with engagement,...