How these Thai cats have 16k+ followers on Facebook, and how you can too
A few weeks ago, I came across something that absolutely blew my mind, and reiterated just how crazy powerful social media and the internet can be.
Mo and I were eating dinner at one of our usual spots, a little old restaurant by the river near our house — one that serves traditional Thai meals in a cabana-like building with no AC and barely any menus in English.
In other words, a place that is totally off the grid…
Or so we thought.
“Have you ever seen a cat swim?” The owner asked as he served us our meals while revealing an iPhone from his pocket. He pulled up a video, and there it was — a swimming cat.
He then started showing us other videos too, scrolling though an archive of what was later known as the “Huatakhe Cat” Facebook page — filled with even more equally unique cat antics.
But for now, I was only focused on the swimming cat, because this particular video had over 10,000 views, along with 9,100 likes, 18,000 comments, and 3,500 shares.
Mind you, all this Facebook traffic is coming from a restaurant that doesn’t even have a website.
The man then proceeded to tell us that people visit his restaurant from “all over” just to see his internet-famous cats. And with a “just for fun” Facebook page of 16,000+ followers, i’m sure that’s been pretty good for business.
Naturally, this whole cat fiasco got me thinking. If this guy can go big online, then why can’t I?
Why can’t anybody for that matter?
Sure, these cats were special, (with other unique “talents” like going completely idol for hours on end) but what made 16,000+ people fall in love with them in the first place?
Not just that, but how does each video get impressive engagement results every time?
At first I thought we had some sort of marketing genius on our hands, but after having zero luck finding any information on the Huatakhe river restaurant online — I decided to rule that out.
So where did the total Facebook success come from? Simply dumb luck? Unlikely.
Diving deeper, I was able to come up with three major reasons for these cat’s internet stardom, and how their owner was able to build a Facebook following from the ground up for them.
Obviously he’s doing something right, so I’ve deciphered how you too can implement what he’s been doing to strengthen your own content marketing strategy, and start growing a following on Facebook (or any other social media platform) today.
1. Consistency is key
Posting content consistently establishes authority and credibility. It builds awareness and has the ability to engage an audience.
Just look at the Huatakhe cat’s most recent videos.
As you can see, new posts are uploaded about once a week, with an increase in videos within the past month.
I asked the owner how and when his page essentially “blew up,” and he told me he gained the most amount of followers (roughly 7,000) when one of his videos was shared by an even bigger cat fan page.
It’s simple, more content equals more opportunities to get noticed.
Not only that, but there are tons of other reasons “behind the scenes” to why posting content consistently is crucial — such as boosting your potential to rank on Google and how the Facebook algorithm decides to put your content in front of people who might be interested.
Consistency drives traffic, and is a big reason why every Huatakhe cat video can expect strong engagement results each and every time.
2. People love authenticity
What is it about a couple cat videos that makes people want to share them with their friends and family?
One word: authenticity.
Each video is original, and filled with a bunch of personal touches and humor. Sure, there are are probably other swimming cat videos on the internet, but there aren’t any exactly like these.
The Huatakhe cat videos are unique, because they are their own thing.
These videos shed light into what happens everyday at the Huatakhe river restaurant, and with barley any self promotion, each video feels like an invitation to experience the fun for yourself.
Authenticity is honesty, and nothing’s more honest than a guy filming his life from a cell phone.
People want authentic and transparent content because it encourages engagement.
It opens the door for a relationship with the content creator, because they invited you into their world first by putting their personal life out into the open.
Think about it, are you more willing to engage with someone you think is trying to sell you something? Or with the person that is appears to be dedicated towards building a relationship with you?
Authenticity is the most inviting way to build a follower base because people don’t see your content as a transaction, but instead, they see it as a way for you to share a part of your life that you’re already passionate about.
Authenticity builds trust.
3. Real follower engagement is everything
The final piece of the Huatakhe cat’s Facebook follower growth has come from its engagement with its audience — building a community of people who share a common interest.
People are encouraged to engage with each video, because they can ask questions or make comments and receive a personalized response from the page owner.
When a follower engages with social media content, often times it means they are in favor of whatever that piece of content is.
When a content creator reciprocates and responds to that follower’s interactions, it shows that they care and value the time they’ve invested into viewing and engaging with it.
Sometimes that’s all people want to feel.
Authentic engagement is a great way of showing an appreciation and support for the interactions of a follower base, showcasing how their input, thoughts, and ideas aren’t to be taken for granted.
Real follower engagement should make them feel valued and heard.
Building a Facebook page, or any social media following for that matter, takes time and effort, but I hope this example shed light onto how much opportunity is out there for content creators who are consistent, authentic, and appreciative of all the support they can get.
After all, if this restaurant owner with nothing more than a couple cats and an iPhone could do it, then so can you. All you have to do is start sharing and inviting people into your world today.
You really could be just one click, share, message, tweet, or post away from your next big break, and you’ll never know unless you try.
Just like how the Huatakhe Cat Facebook page probably never expected a 16,000+ following when its first video was uploaded a few years ago, you never know what will happen.
Hope you got as much out of this story as I did.
Thanks for reading!