Meet Layla the Instagram sensation
Instagram is a pretty cool place to be if you’re a dog lover. There are gazillions of dog accounts - obviously we’re hoping @regandbob is a favourite but it’s very easy to get lost in all the dog heaven that Instagram and social media provides.
Whatever you want to do; look at dog pictures, have a giggle, see new products on the market, get the lowdown on dog friendly hangouts, or see the country from a dog’s eye view -there is no doubt that dogs are all over the gram and they have a huge part to play in promoting all sorts businesses .
Layla in her jade collar
One of our favourite Instagram accounts is @laylathewhiteboxerdog We love that Layla relishes in getting wet and muddy and enjoys everything being a dog is all about - infant our kind of girl! Not only does she look fabulous in her Reg&Bobs she gives them the workout they deserve.
Layla has a staggering 45.5k followers on Instagram, 1.9K Facebook and nearly 8K Twitter fans and she has become a hugely successful pet influencer. I was lucky enough to catch up with her owners Chris and Jane to find out more about Layla’s life as an Instagram star.
First of all I wanted to find out how you and Layla are getting on with the current lockdown and the recent coronavirus regulations on social distancing.
‘We live in Heaton Mersey in Cheshire, just south of Manchester. We’re very lucky as our home backs onto a wooded area which is great for walks and we are just ten minutes stroll from the River Mersey which is relatively quiet with open spaces so social distancing isn’t too much of a problem during these difficult times’
You first started your Instagram account in June 2017 and it is safe to say it’s a huge success. What made you start it and did you have any idea it would be so successful? Any tips on running an account?
Layla checking out dog friendly venues
‘I set up Layla’s Instagram account because I wanted somewhere to keep all her photos in one place. I’d previously kept photos of our deaf Boxer Lottie on Facebook and it was lovely to have those memories of our amazing girl after we lost her at the grand age of 12.5. But I know not everyone likes dog pictures so decided not to flood my own account and set up a separate account for Layla’.
Oops I did it again! We love dogs being dogs
‘One of Layla’s first photos was picked up and featured by one of the big boxer dog accounts @theboxerworld and received 10,000 likes. I started following all the people who liked her picture and about 8000 followed back straight away. I only tend to post once a day on my feed then some other pictures on stories’
It’s a great idea to maintain separate accounts as we have to accept there are one or two people who don't share out enthusiasm for dogs! How does being a pet influencer work? Do you take commissions from pet businesses or do you just promote the products you are interested in?
‘As we got more followers companies approached us to do posts for them where they were offering to let us keep the products. At one stage I was doing too many promotions as the novelty was great fun but now we are very selective. Some products are great but some are things we would never buy and therefore couldn’t recommend - these we stay away from’
‘We also try to repost stories about dogs who are looking for homes. We managed to get a Bulldog adopted in America last year after we posted about his plight. One of our amazing followers drove three hours to the shelter on three separate occasions. That dog now lives happily with her and her other two dogs’
It looks like your instagram account is great fun to do - how do you see your instagram account continuing in the future?
Layla doing what she does best
‘We have great fun running Layla’s IG account. It’s given us the opportunity to do some great things such as attending Crufts after being invited by Zoflora pet-safe disinfectant. It was a fun day as we got to meet lots of people who we have only spoken to on IG before. Crufts is a great day out for any dog lover and Layla loved all the attention she received’
Yes we love meeting Instagram friends in the flesh. Do you see Instagram as a positive place? We’ve only received one negative comment (which was politically based) but we mainly see it positively - its fun and informative - if its not fun then we’re not interested. Have you ever experienced any negativity?
‘We post positive pictures from our adventures and travels around the UK. Now we have a little boy Alex and are enjoying photographing them growing up together’
‘We’ve personally found IG to be a great place to be. Full of animal lovers who support and encourage each other and who want to share in each other’s adventures. We’ve only had a few negative comments, but I can’t even remember what they were about’
That’s certainly the best thing to do. Do you have any interesting product reviews coming up
‘With everything that’s going on we don’t have any big reviews planned, we’re just enjoying having a bit more time at home as we’re working from home at the moment. Hopefully we can start planning summer holidays soon!’
Layla also has her own products for sale - tell us about them
We have some items for sale on Layla’s website such as mugs, T shirts and caps that we have made from her IG pictures. We set it up after having a T shirt printed for my friend’s son that received loads of comments, so we decided to expand the idea.
You recently had a new arrival in the house - has it been easy welcoming a new member to the family? Any tips on how to train a new member of the family?
Layla has become the best big sister to our son Alex! She’s such a great dog with a wonderful temperament and personality. Even when he was a tiny baby she was gentle with him and now they play with each other’s toys together. She follows him everywhere and even sleeps outside his bedroom when he goes for an afternoon nap! I think she certainly see herself doing lots more babysitting in the future!
Thank you for taking out the time to chat to us. We will continue to watch Layla’s adventures with great interest .
We’d love to hear more about your favourite Insta dog accounts below