12/12/07

Okay, social networks for pets are nothing new (just Google that term). But here’s a cute twist. Are you a dog owner or dog lover? And maybe an art lover, too? I don’t own a dog myself, but one of the coolest new sites I’ve seen lately is Mog-Dog.com, a new online business created right here in the Twin Cites. It was founded by a colleague I used to work with and his wife, and they’re both accomplished graphic designers (which you can tell!) Mod-Dog is not a social network per se, but talk about a way to involve a community, and to do it in such a visual, fun way! Come on, dogs need their own note cards and Christmas cards—didn’t you know that? Okay, okay, their owners need them. But how fun! (And you could always have Fido sign with a paw print.) Not only cards, but you dog lovers can now decorate your pad with a high-quality modern art print of your very own breed.

The Mod-Dogs team has already created art for 16 breeds, offering both an art print and matching cards for each. Artwork for 28 more breeds is in progress, and, if yours isn’t on the pending list yet, you can submit a request and it will be added. In addition to the specific breed artwork, Mod-Dog offers some very cute general doggy note cards and holiday cards. And they even offer fun free stuff as well, including screen savers for Mac and PC.  The Mod-Dogs team tells me that what really made the difference for them in being able to set up their online business was a service called Shopify. “Since we’re not programmers, it gave us a way of setting up a nice shopping cart on our own.”

But one of the coolest features of the Mod-Dog site is the blog. I think the founders have really done a great job here of giving visitors useful and fun information—in a very visually attractive way. Good design matters! The cool thing about the blog is this: note how they don’t just hawk their own products, or relate stories about their own customers, but they feature any type of product or store they think their readers will enjoy—related to dogs, of course!  I think that’s a prime example of how do social marketing!  It’s not just about selling stuff—it’s about sharing interesting information, stories, tips, pointers, and even other products that you know your customers will like. What a way to get engagement and build loyalty.

I give a very big WOOF to that!  :-)