Emotional Content, 24/7 Responsiveness Helps Group Rack Up 7 Million Followers—and Millions of Views for Videos About Animal Rights

For Immediate Release:

June 8, 2018

Contact:

Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

Los Angeles – PR News has just announced the winners of its 2018 Social Media Awards—and landing the title of Best Social Media Team is PETA for its round-the-clock work on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where the group has nearly 7.2 million followers combined.

PR News praised PETA’s social media team for its fast and aggressive strategy—plus a splash of emotional appeal—in answering questions from members of the public and responding to current events, such as the Super Bowl, the shutdown of Ringling Bros. circus, and Hurricane Maria. PETA’s engagement with celebrities such as Miley Cyrus (who has 41 million followers), Ellen DeGeneres (who has 78 million followers), Jermaine Dupri (who has 1 million followers), Ricky Gervais (who has 12 million followers), and Kat Graham (who has 3 million followers) also helps boost its online profile.

“Just five years ago, PETA’s videos received 2 million views in a year, and now, we’re reaching more than that in one day,” says PETA Vice President of Marketing Joel Bartlett. “PETA’s social media team is working 24/7 to show the public how each of us can make the world a better place for animals, from the orcas trapped in SeaWorld’s tanks to the sheep sheared bloody for wool and others.”

Among other high-profile campaigns, PETA’s #BoycottSeaWorldDay—a protest of SeaWorld’s history of premature animal deaths—garnered over 5 million video views and attention from CNN, Teen Vogue, and other national media outlets. After PETA responded to whistleblower footage of a terrified dog being forced into rushing water on the set of A Dog’s Purpose, the movie’s premiere was canceled and numerous theaters refused to show it. And after hunters tried to “troll” PETA by using its “Shoot Selfies, Not Animals” Facebook frame, it backfired—the Arizona Game and Fish Department even had to ask hunters to stop spreading PETA’s message of compassion.

PETA’s motto reads, “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way.” For more information, please visit PETA.org.