Slides for the the Social Media Basics Workshop at the Maine Florists Association Convention 2013.

1. FSN provides business solutions for florists.
We provide the following services just for florists:
● Online Local Florist Directory
● E-commerce Websites
● E-mail Campaigns
● Florist-to-Florist Transfer
● Free Marketing Resources
● Social Media Assistance

2. Social Media Workshop
Using Social Media
To Market Your Website
Wait …..
Social Media is so much MORE

3. “Marketing is what you do in
business when you try to convince
people to want and to buy what
you have to sell.”
― Jon Miller, Marketo

4. Florists Have The Advantage
Why does social networking work so well for florists?
● Florists work in a very visual, creative field.
● Always have alluring content for visual sales.
● Florists are relationship builders.

5. Social Media ...
...a networking tool that broadens
brand awareness, trust/authority
and builds relationships,
leading to increased business.

6. “Conversation among members
of your marketplace happen
whether you like it or not.
Good marketing encourages the
right sort of conversations”
― Seth Godin

7. Facebook Target Market
● All age levels use Facebook
● 25-50 year olds are predominant
● Women use more than men

8. Facebook Marketing
Strategy
● Build brand awareness
● Build customer loyalty
● Develop relationships

9. Why Facebook?
● You will likely find more of your local audience
on Facebook than any other social platform.
● Easy to learn
● Fits into any routine
● Detailed analytics

10. What To Do on Facebook
Give more,
get more.
By posting photos,
asking questions,
and tailoring posts to
get get more
interactions (likes,
comments), you will
increase your Page's
visibility.
● Learn to use Facebook As A Page
● Post at least 3 times a week, even
if you have to schedule them in
advance.
● Promote your website by sharing
links in statuses and using links in
photo captions
● Share pictures of your best
arrangements to entice sales/gain
FB interactions (Don’t forget to add
a website link in the caption.)

11. What To Do on Facebook
When in
Doubt, Think
in Real Life
When interacting
with customers on
social media,
respond the way
you would if that
person were
standing in front
of you in real life.
— Liz Jostes
●
Use hashtags (#example) to tag
your tweets, especially local and
city tags.
● Create Facebook Events for workshops,
open houses and other store happenings.
● 'Like' Pages of authority (FSN) and
those in your community (Chamber,
partner businesses, etc)
● Create An Offer, either online or in store,
to convert Likes to $$. (Currently a free
service.)

12. What NOT To Do on Facebook
Keep it
Relevant
Don't post random
videos or funny
pictures on your
page just to be
posting. You will
always find
SOMETHING
related to flowers
to post.
● Don't overuse the same status
over and over again.
● Don't 'sign' statuses or replies
with shop names/phone numbers.
● Don't offend (no political, or
derogatory posts).
● Don't spam (Don't copy/paste
your promotion on every Page
you can find).

13. Facebook – Who's Who
Trigs Floral, Minocqua WI
facebook.com/trigsfloral
Bentley Florist, Burton MI
facebook.com/bentleyflorist
Something Sweet, Paragould AR
facebook.com/somethingsweet126
(Posts great photos!)
(Has great status updates.)
(Uses photos to entice
customers.)

14. Twitter Target Market
● 18-29 year olds
● Urban Populations
● Blacks and Hispanics

15. Twitter Marketing Strategy
● Quickly share information
● Gain feedback
● Build relationships with customers,
partners and influencers

16. Why Twitter?
● People follow Twitter accounts to be informed
and reminded about your services.
● Real-time voice for your shop.
● Fits into any routine.
● Can be automated.

17. What Do I Tweet?
A Shop's
Public
Broadcast
Think of tweeting as
short announcements
and reminders for
what's happening in
your flower shop.
● Tweet about promotions, events or
workshops.
● Tweet photos of arrangements or
behind-the-scenes.
● Tweet reminders for holidays
● Retweet local announcements or info
● Retweet anytime someone mentions
your shop.

18. What To Do On Twitter
Link Your
Twitter Feed
Automate your Tweeting
by linking your most-used
social networks, such as
Facebook, to it.
“I just posted 6 new photos
to Facebook.”
However, it's not a good idea to
feed your Tweets to Facebook.
● Tweet with a real message, not just a
name and phone number.
● Use hashtags (#example) to tag your
tweets, especially local and city tags.
● Use a URL shortener to fit longer URLs
in to 140 characters.
● Tweet anywhere with your mobile
phone.
● Get your notifications sent to email for
effortless correspondence.

19. What NOT To Do On Twitter
No Personal
Tweeting
When using Twitter for
business, avoid tweets
that are irrelevant to
your business.
“Eating lunch today with
friends” - Not okay
“Treating the whole staff to
lunch downtown today!”
- Okay!
● Don't be a self-promoting spammer.
● Don't update every once in a while. It’s
designed to be frequent! (Use Feeds)
● Conversely, don't over tweet. Wait at
least few hours between tweets.
● Avoid auto-responders. Comes off as
cold/tacky.
● Don't add “PLEASE RT!” to every post.
● Twitter success does not depend on
your followers count.

20. Twitter – Who's Who
Monday Morning Flowers, Princeton NJ
@mondayflowers
Academy Florist, Winnipeg, MB
@academyflorist
FloristsReview, (Magazine)
@FloristsReview

21. Pinterest Target Market
● Women
● Adults under 50
● Higher incomes
● College educated

22. Pinterest Marketing
Strategies
● Brand Awareness
● Relationship Building
● Product Awareness

23. Why Pinterest?
● It's a custom-made visual storyboard or
portfolio for your potential audience.
● More than social media, Pinterest is a social
tool you can use online and in store.
● Visually show customers what you have done,
can do, and also what you want to do.

24. What To Do On Pinterest?
Make A Range
of Boards
Good idea to plan your
board strategy.
If you could build your
own selection guide,
what chapters
(boards) would you
use?
● Pin great photos.
● Use good pin descriptions
with keywords.
● Use calls-to-action when
linking to your website. (Click to
see more of our Mother's Day
selection...)

25. What To Do On Pinterest?
Always Give
Due Credit
Never strip the credit
link from pins, unless
they are wrong and
you are correcting
them.
● Pin pictures of your own
arrangements with links back to
your website.
● Repin pictures of designs you
WANT to create from others in the
industry.
● Use the mobile app to easily upload
your own photos and pin on the go!

26. What NOT To Do on Pinterest
Keep it
Relevant
Keep the recipes
and beach pictures
to your personal
Pinterest.
● Don't edit pins that aren't yours
to link to your website.
● Keep boards organized, don't
post a bunch of cookie recipes to
your red roses board.
● Don't ignore the descriptions.
Using good descriptions with
keywords helps get your pins
found.

27. Pinterest – Who's Who
TCU Florist, Fort Worth TX
pinterest.com/TCUFlorist
Allan's Flowers & More, Prescott AZ
pinterest.com/allansflowers
Flower Shop Network,
pinterest.com/flowershopnetwk

28. Instagram Target Market
● Young Adults 18-29
● Hispanic/Latinos
● Urban populations
● Women

29. Instagram Marketing
Strategies
● Brand awareness
● Quick information
● Product awareness

30. Why Instagram?
● Using filters, you can create great-looking
photos on the fly.
● Easily share these photos with your social
networks.
● Very user-friendly.
● Geo-targeting lets you reach your local
audience.

31. What To Do On Instagram?
Create A
#Hashtag
Create and use a
unique hashtag for
your flower shop to
use in pics of flowers
and products.
#CityFloristBostonMA
● Use filters and tilt-shift to make
photos look better.
● Post often, but only once or twice a
day.
● Use hashtags, especially your city's.
● Use Instagram to post to your
shop's Facebook Page.

32. What To Do On Instagram?
● Geotag your location when posting from your
shop. (Geo info reads from FourSquare.)
● Encourage others to tag your products in their
pictures with your hashtag.
● Find users that get results and use similar
strategies.

33. What NOT To Do on Instagram
● Don't post pictures that you did not take.
● Don't offend. Don't post about anything
political or offensive.
● Don't ignore the descriptions and
hashtags.

34. Instagram – Who's Who
English Garden Florist, Raleigh NC
instagram.com/englishgardenraleigh
La Boutique Pompon, Paris FR
instagram.com/boutiquepompon
P. Allen Smith, Arkansas
http://instagram.com/pallensmith

35. Google+ Target Market
● Men
● ????
● Tech Savvy

36. Google+ Marketing
Strategies
● Build brand awareness
● Build relationships
● Build brand authority

37. Why Google+?
It's Google's Social Platform
If you want to play Google's Game, you have to wear their
uniform.
● It's Google. Having a presence on Google+
could help boost rankings.
● G+ information & reviews show up on your
Google listing.
● All posts get seen, no post rank (like in
Facebook).

38. What To Do On Google+?
Your Google+
Local Page
Exists!
Find it in local search
and claim it by
clicking Manage This
Page, under Is This
Your Business?
● Post as often as you are able
(scale this depending on
engagement).
● Post pictures of latest
arrangements.
● Post links from your website.
● Encourage customer reviews.

39. What To Do On Google+
● Create a compelling and memorable
'About' tab.
● Organize your customers with Circles
(VIPs, Men, etc.), post specific content
to each.
● +1 Posts from friends and customers.

40. What NOT To Do on Google+
Keep it
Relevant
Don't post random
videos or funny
pictures on your
page just to be
posting. You will
always find
SOMETHING
related to flowers
to post.
● Don't overuse the same status
over and over again.
● Don't 'sign' statuses or replies
with shop names/phone numbers.
● Don't offend, no political, or
derogatory posts.
● Don't spam Don't copy/paste
your promotion on every Page
you can find.

41. Google+ – Who's Who
Designs By David, Los Angeles CA
gplus.to/DesignsDavid
Trias Flowers, Weddings & Gifts, Miami FL
gplus.to/TriasFlorals
Mayesh Wholesale Flowers, (Wholesaler)
gplus.to/Mayesh

42. LinkedIn Target Market
● Professionals
● Businesses (indirectly)

43. LinkedIn Marketing
Strategy
● Brand awareness
● Information gathering
● Relationship building

44. Why LinkedIn?
● Increase professional awareness.
● Gain access to business tools and forums.
● Find and connect with professional and
corporate clients.

45. What To Do On LinkedIn?
Optimize Your
LinkedIn URL
Use your company
name or other specific
keyword in your
LinkedIn profile URL to
help it get found by
search engines.
● Fully Complete Your Profile
including a professional image and
website link.
● Connect with colleagues,
partners and those in the industry.
● Give and Receive
Recommendations by asking
people in your network if they’ll
provide one for you, and offer to do
the same for them.

46. What Not To Do On LinkedIn?
Not Your
Kid's Social
Network
Remember LinkedIn is
a professional social
network. Don't tYpE
LiKe Dis. Don't make
spelling errors. No wild
photos. Keep it
professional.
● Don't Lie on your profile.
● Don't ask for or endorse people
you don't know, again, it's all
about truthfulness.
● Work Your Connections -
LinkedIn is about building on
relationships you already have.
(This is not Facebook)

47. Social Media Cheat Sheet
● Use a separate Business Account for your shop,
instead of a personal profile, if possible. (Facebook, Twitter,
Pinterest, Instagram)
● Choose a profile picture and stick with it. Use your logo
or shop photo, something memorable. (Any platform)
● Fill out your Business Information completely and
consistently, including a link to your website. (Any platform)
● Find businesses who do social media well, and follow
their lead. (Any platform)

48. Cheat Sheet - Posting
● Make sure your posts are adding value to your page.
● Remember — be engaging to your followers, no matter
how many or few you have.
● Monitor your social networks. Whether you check them
every day, or have updates sent to email, always monitor.
● Be real. Just remember to be yourself and represent your
flower shop as you would in the store.
● Learn the times of day your audience is most active
online and schedule posts around that time.

49. Cheat Sheet - Lingo
● Hashtags - a word or a phrase prefixed with the symbol
#. When used, it adds your message to the group of
messages that also contain your keyword. (Twitter, Google+,
Instagram, Facebook)
● Mentions – Mentions are a way of tagging (or
mentioning) someone you are connected with in a status
update, tweet or comment. Use @Username to mention
someone. (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram)
● Shares, Retweets & Repins – Just like forwarding email,
shares and retweets are pushing information from the
original source to post on your own page, feed or board.
(Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest)

50. Cheat Sheet - Followers
● Concentrate on local followers; they are more likely to
become customers.
● Inviting – Invite friends, family and staff to like your page.
You can also usually find followers to invite by e-mail.
● Following Others – Find others in your community on
social networks and follow them. Follow profiles of
authority in your industry. (Networking and gives you
content to share.)
● Use Hashtags - especially city-specific tags when
appropriate. #florist #BostonMA They will help you get
found locally.

51. Social Calendar
Daily Social To-Dos
At least once, daily.
● Post photos to
Facebook/Instagram (Photos
gain the most interactions.)
● Ask questions in Facebook
statuses.
● Post about the latest shop
news on Facebook /Google+
● Share articles from your blog
or from the floral industry.
Topics To Post About
● Current holidays
● Birthdays
● Sympathy Flowers
● Romance
● Just Because Flowers
● Get Well Flowers
● New Babies
● Houseplants & Gifts
(Don't forget, you can schedule a lot of this to go out automatically.)

52. Social Calendar
Monthly Social To-Dos
Tasks to consider each month.
● Send out monthly Emails.
● Manage reviews on your site and other social review sites
(Yelp)
● Like/Comment on fellow Pages in your community while
Using Facebook As Your Page.
● Make a shop video!

53. Social Calendar
Occasional Social To-Dos
Try doing these tasks every 3-6 months.
● Organize photo albums with only best photos, good names,
description and cover photos.
● Write a guest article for a local or industry blog/magazine.
● Organize a flower photo shoot to get exceptional photos for
promotional materials.
● Host an open house or workshop and promote with
Facebook/Google+ Events. (Don't forget to post pictures from the
workshop to Facebook/Instagram.)

54. Social Feeds
Social Feeds Make Being Social Easy,
But you have to do it right!
FB
Twitter
Your Website
Instagram
Pinterest
Link To Your Website!!
Link
Link
● Try to link back to your website
as much as possible.
● Use Facebook to announce or
post new content.
● Twitter will auto announce new
activity for all social posts and
updates.
Connected to share updates
where the arrow is pointing.
Link posts back

55. Social Resources
Facebook Timeline For Florists
http://bit.ly/YygaMq
What Is Pinterest & How Can It Work For Florists?
http://bit.ly/H2f6z3
Instagram & Florists
http://bit.ly/XE8XeG
Setting Up Your Google+ Business Page
http://bit.ly/YygaMq

56. Questions?
Jamie Jamison Adams
SEO/Inbound Marketing
FlowerShopNetwork.com
jadams@flowershopnetwork.com