Lisa Roy initially began her social media account to doc her personal life however her cats proved to be very fashionable and he or she mentioned they took over. (Submitted by Lisa Roy)
Lisa Roy spends her days managing a small, furry social media empire, along with her photogenic cats showing on the web platforms Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube — and he or she has 120,000 followers on TikTok.
But for the Holyrood, N.L.-based aspiring cat influencer, Newfiemeow is not a interest — it is her job.
“I’m simply proud to be a Newfoundlander who’s on-line, whose … two cats went viral on-line. I do not even care about me. I’m so proud that they are Newfoundland cats, you recognize what I imply?” Roy instructed CBC News in a recent interview.
Her movies present her cats climbing bushes whereas carrying harnesses and costumes, meowing on the digicam, purring and sleeping.
Roy mentioned she’s had cats her entire life and might keep in mind being a young little one getting her first kitten. She at present has three feline companions: Brandi, 16, Shadow, 14, and Nelly, who simply turned one yr old.
She did not got down to begin Newfiemeow however in early 2020 considered one of her social media posts of her cat Grumpy Beans went viral. Roy credit her cat’s reputation to her candy face. Despite Grumpy Bean’s title, she mentioned, her cat — who died final yr — was very charming.
“Everybody simply used to go mad for her,” she mentioned.
She says the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic is partly the rationale for the recognition of her account, as a result of individuals have been at home and spending extra time on-line.
Building an viewers
Her 120,000 TikTok followers are largely from the mainland, the U.S. and Spain however come from as distant as New Zealand, she mentioned, and it is taken plenty of effort to build the viewers.
“It’s arduous work and consistency and also you simply publish your movies. And I publish to make individuals completely satisfied. I understand how a lot everyone likes cats and there is plenty of psychological well being issues on the planet. So actually, my objective was to simply make individuals completely satisfied.
“It’s similar to every part else. It’s simply arduous work and consistency and you recognize, taking good photos and cute movies and that cute meow. And individuals … simply love cats.”
Lisa Roy usually takes her cat Shadow, with a harness on, to discover the outside, and movies it for her followers. (Submitted by Lisa Roy)
Some individuals could make a residing being on-line, Roy mentioned, and he or she’s supporting herself with Newfiemeow. She works with two corporations to usher in income, selling pet DNA testing firm Basepaws on-line: if individuals use her low cost code she receives a payment from the corporate. She additionally works with pet provide model Rabbitgoo — if individuals use a hyperlink she offers, she will get a proportion from the sale.
Roy mentioned she studied social media and net advertising and was an early adopter of platforms like YouTube, so her plan is “to simply work on-line perpetually.” When she realized individuals could make a residing as a social media influencer, working for themselves, she questioned why she was aiming to work for one more firm.
“Look in any respect these individuals doing it. Like, I can do it. So, like, that is legit, like, what I wish to attempt to preserve doing, you recognize, working on-line and stuff?”
Putting within the hours
In the social media world, Roy mentioned, there are celebrities and influencers with large audiences, and there are additionally these within the 100,000-follower vary, the place she is. There’s competitors with different individuals on-line, she mentioned, so being in keeping with posting content material helps.
“If somebody needed to go viral on-line, they must publish perhaps three to 4 occasions on TikTok a day. You’re going to be desirous to publish like twice on Instagram,” mentioned Roy.
Grumpy Beans, who died final yr, was Lisa Roy’s first cat to go viral. Roy credited her cat’s on-line reputation to her candy face. (Submitted by Lisa Roy)
It means she spends plenty of time on-line, well-liked hashtags and at what’s trending. She additionally creates her personal hashtags, she mentioned, so she will be able to monitor engagement and see how individuals react to content material.
With a world viewers, Roy mentioned she additionally retains an eye fixed to totally different time zones — like California and Ontario — when posting as a result of individuals are lively on social media within the mornings.
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