5 Secrets about Social Media We Can Learn From Cats (#3 is unusual)

In the last 15 months, I’ve been busy with the development of my Social Media Canvas. During my research, our cats (Nova and Bo) were my company for many days (and very long nights).

I always enjoyed their company (some might think I’m one of those ‘crazy cat persons’), and while observing them I also noticed there is more to them than you might think.

You’ll be amazed how much cats know about the secrets of social media.  

While dogs are seemingly more concerned with your happiness, cats are more concerned with their own. 

What follows are 5 essentials to being more successful on social media and life inspired by observations of my own cats, friends’ cats, and those that just show up for breakfast and dinner.

1. Look before you leap

Before a cat jumps, it always looks and makes sure what they’re about to do is okay. Cats are very cautious and we should be too. 

As humans, we should carefully make decisions for social media. Don’t take a leap without assessing and analyzing the situation. 

A common mistake on social media is that there is no social media strategy. If you don’t know where to go, it will be difficult to take a look before you leap. Having a social media strategy can mean the difference like day and night.

2. Appearance matters

There is no day that our cats don’t clean their fur. We tried to make Nova wear a collar, but she simply won’t let me put it on. 

After nights of debate, Nova and I agreed we should leave the collar, including other accessories I might come up with. They simply don’t fit her appearance.

Like it or not, your appearance on social media shares how you feel about yourself with the rest of the world. Even though you have eloquent words if your fur and accessories are a mess you undermine your royalty. 

3. Respect is essential on social media

Nova and Bo will growl, or moo for an extended time, if I:
* wake them from a nap
* take their catnip toy
* bring a dog home
* or otherwise disturb their environment

Respect for them and our shared environment will make my life with them easier, and they will be happy. They don’t need much, but they do love respect. 

The lesson learned here is that I don’t expect much from my audience on social media as well. They are free to disagree with me obviously, but I do believe they should always share their comments with the same respect I have for them.

There will always be keyboard heroes out there who just try to stir things up. I always say “I try to inspire the masses, but I can’t please them all’. 

So don’t get your hopes down: 99% of the negativity is not personal. If I had got a dollar for every bad comment on social media I ever got I would have been rich by now. 

But there are some rules to follow: 

• don’t share lies
• don’t share fake news
• don’t manipulate
• (note to myself: count to 10 before posting ‘that’ comment)

Don’t say anything on social media that you wouldn’t want plastered on a billboard with your face on it.

4. Patience can be learned

I never had any patience for anything. I used to hate waiting in a line for my coffee, and I was always impatient when it came to success on social media. 

If I learned anything from our cats it’s having patience. Cats are the masters of this skill and I can really admire this. 

We have an apartment on the 6th floor with a balcony. On our balcony we have a ‘cat net’. 

Balcony cat nets offer protection for daredevil cats on balconies and terraces. Balconies can provide a nice way for indoor cats to catch some rays or a bit of fresh air, and balcony nets can help make them a safe place for cats who just may not quite know their limits.

Nova is one of those daredevils who does not know her limits (or maybe she does, and she is really crazy…. I honestly don’t know). 

During the summer periods, we leave our balcony door open so Nova and Bo can enjoy the long summer days. We always keep an eye out through the window, or I work outside. 

During the first summer, she already had caught her first bird on the balcony. I was surprised. How did you do this? There is a net, and in all those years we live here there was never a bird on our balcony (or at least, not when I looked). 

I was curious. I needed to find out how she has done this. I decided to watch her movements and balcony habits.

Nova has two favorite spots on our balcony. You can find her either under the couch or under our relaxing chair. 

She can sit still in that spot for hours and hours, lurking and waiting for a little bird to enter her cat cave of doom. 

Most of the time nothing happens, but she is determined. 

There are only 4 situations why she decides to move:
1. It’s time for a well-deserved power nap catching some rays (she goes one level up, and sleeps on the couch or on the chair)
2. It’s time to fuel up the battery. She goes inside for food
3. She’s thirsty and goes for a drink
4. Or she tries to catch a fly, so she can train her reflexes a bit

There is a good lesson to be learned from this. Instead of aiming for instant success with millions of followers we should be patient.  

Social media has big potential if you’re willing to put in the work–but it won’t propel you to fortune and fame in one day.

That’s probably frustrating to hear because it’s contrary to what a lot of people say. There’s no shortage of Instagram personalities and hustlers who claim they’ve hit the jackpot with this one simple trick.

Overnight success is a myth. It’s a lie sold by social media gurus. 

It took me more than 6 months to get my first 10,000 followers on Instagram. Now, two years later, I manage 2.7 million followers on multiple accounts. I was only able to do this by being patience. 

5. Make Sure You Always Have a Curious Spirit

Though a cat’s curious nature can often get them both into a bit of trouble, it also allows them to take advantage of all that the world around them has to offer. 

Why not try tapping into your adventurous side by exploring the woods behind your house or researching a topic that has always interested you?

I love social media (particularly Instagram), but I also love my cats. At first, it sounded crazy to see if these totally different worlds could meet. I learned a lot, and this post might also be the most fun one I have ever written.

Before finishing up, I do would like to share a little side note: don’t try and post content just because you want a lot of likes (unless you want to master clickbait thumbnails with cats)… 

This skill is only mastered by a small population of cute (and funny) cats on Instagram, and we should respect this.