PatchCast: Dog Influencers Bring Home Bacon For CT Native

Patch is launching a regular audio feature called PatchCast in which social media influencers nationwide chat about what they do, how they do it and more. Joining us this week is Stacey Walsh the creator of Brandy And Moose. If you're interested in appearing on the PatchCast, email [email protected] and tell us what makes you an influencer.

ORANGE, CT — Even as a high-schooler in Orange, Stacey Walsh knew she was going to own a Bernese mountain dog one day. Her love of the breed stems from her school bus rides. She passed the same farm every day where a well-behaved Bernese plopped himself at the bottom of the driveway.

"And I said, 'One day I will get a Bernese mountain dog and I will name him Moose,' " Walsh told Patch. "And this was when I was like 16 years old."

Walsh, now 31, lives in Wilmington, Massachusetts, and takes the commuter rail every day to Boston where she works for an investment adviser. She has two dogs, a German Shepherd mix named Brandy and — you guessed it — a Bernese named Moose. She shares them with more than 77,000 other people on Instagram.

Moose and his older sister, Brandy, a German shepherd-mix, may not be traveling to any Fyre Festivals anytime soon, but make no mistake — they're social media influencers. And they bring home their fair share of the dog food.

Walsh lives in Wilmington with her husband. While she loves Boston's walkability and the ample choices for lunch, the couple settled in the suburbs largely for their dogs.

To see Brandy and Moose Instagram account, click here.

"I liked Wilmington because you get a lot of land there. And that was one of the important things when my husband and I were looking to buy a house," she said. "We're always going to have dogs. We wanted a big yard for dogs."

Humble Beginnings

Walsh adopted Brandy as a puppy from the North Shore Animal League, based out of Port Washington, New York. The no-kill shelter rescues animals all over the world. While Brandy has bloomed as a seasoned 8-year-old influencer, it wasn't always that way.

"Brandy came from down south. She was found on the side of the road in Georgia and North Shore picked her up," Walsh said.

She was brought North along with about 50 other puppies. When she first came home with Walsh, the transition took years. Brandy was shy and quiet. She refused to let Walsh's parents put a leash on her. She cried when left alone. Walsh said they had to put her in socializing classes to help her develop.

"It was so sad. It was crazy. I don't know what happened to her in the first few months of her life because she was still so young when we adopted her, but she was absolutely petrified," said Walsh.

While still quiet and reserved today, Brandy is smart and loyal. She's also come out of her shell in leaps and bounds thanks in part to her spunky younger brother.

Moose, raised on a farm in Maine and also adopted as a puppy, is the goofball in the family. The two balance each other out.

"He's very outgoing. He's goofy. He's loud. He likes to be the center of attention," said Walsh.

Dogs Of Instagram

Like many new pet parents, Walsh received a barrage of requests for dog photos from family members who still live in Connecticut, including her parents, who lovingly, and regularly, asked for photos. Eventually, Walsh's sister approached her with an idea — and it would change everything.

"She was like, 'You should really start an Instagram account for the dogs. That's like a thing. Apparently everybody does it now,'" said Walsh.

Four years ago, the Brandy and Moose Instagram account was born. Initially it was just a place where loved ones could see her dogs' daily trials and tribulations. The photos were hardly spectacular. They were blurry. Didn't have hashtags. In contrast to today, they were positively amateurish. But she found a community who helped grow her tiny, photo-dumping account into a lucrative side business.

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Growing A Following

Walsh isn't shy about what's behind the meteoric rise of her canines. It doesn't hurt that Moose relishes every opportunity to steal the spotlight. However, having a cute dog rarely by itself launches an Instagram account into the stratosphere. It's often a lengthy, grueling grind. And engagement is the "absolute key" to growing into an influencer, said Walsh.

The term is industry jargon. Essentially it means an account replies to comments and messages, and seeks out follower opinions. That can lead to loyal returning followers and a sense of community.

"I've developed a core group of people that comment on nearly every single post," said Walsh, who said she tries to respond to every comment. If she falls behind, she'll catch up over the weekend. She also actively seeks out other pages to comment.

"I scroll throughout the day," she said. "I have two hours a day I'm commuting into work. So I'll just sit on Instagram, go to similar hashtags, similar pages or search a location like Boston, and I'll comment on photos and like them. By doing that, people become aware of your account."

When you do that for years, your following grows. And when it reaches a certain number, companies take notice.

It Gets Real At 10K

Once Walsh started gaining traction, she started doing some research. Once an account hits 10,000 followers, the total gets a little "k" after it. The implication: The number has so many digits, it's better to just abbreviate.

Once Walsh hit that threshold a few years ago, she knew she needed to cultivate her brand. She built a website. Created a dedicated email. Made sure she had Facebook and Twitter accounts. And brands noticed. They shipped her free swag in exchange for a photo post and shout-out on social media. Whereas some influencers receive pillows, Walsh got boxes of leashes and dog treats.

Around 25,000 followers, she knew she could start making cold hard cash. She reached out to a dog agency — yes, that's a real thing — that represents some of the world's most famous canines. Around 60,000 followers, she signed with the agency. Now, she gets at least one email a day from prospective partners.

While Brandy and Moose may never rise to Doug the Pug fame, 77,000 followers is no small feat. The industry standard for influencers is to earn about 1 percent of their following per post, according to AdWeek, but that number can go up or down based on engagement rates and agency fees. For Brandy and Moose, the industry standard would be about $770 per sponsored post.

A lot of people don't realize that, Walsh said. They don't know she's working 30 hours a week growing the Brandy and Moose brand. Walsh and her husband enjoy traveling and having that hard-earned extra cash certainly helps.

Besides, nowhere does it say you have to have opposable thumbs to cash in.