Find Your Local Florist:Everything you want to know about flowers!
Over the weekend, our team headed to the 2012 Great Lakes Floral Expo in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There, we met up with Betsy Hall, Hall’s Flower Shop in Stone Mountain Georgia.
FSN’s own Brock Atwill had the opportunity to interview Betsy.
Thanks so much Betsy for the interview!
Keep an eye on the Bloomin’ Blog for more from the Great Lakes Floral Expo 2012!
Quick Reference
Cover Photos
Likes, Apps & Features
Navigating The Timeline
Milestones Highlights & Stars
Exploring The Admin Panel
(It’s a good idea to read the post thoroughly at least once)
Well, Facebook finally released the new Timeline as an option for Pages. Currently it is just a option, but according to Facebook, everyone’s business pages will convert to the Timeline format on March 30th.
I know when Facebook usually makes these types of changes everyone goes a little nuts, but I’m going to show you why Timeline is going to make Facebook an even greater promotional tool than ever before.
Now let’s take a look at the new fantastic features.
Brand has become a new favorite buzz word among advertisers and business owners. Just what is a brand? The American Marketing Association defines a brand as,
“Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.”
Branding your business is all about standing out from the crowd, but also to stand out in peoples thoughts — you want your brand to be memorable. When people in your area think flowers, they should instantly think of your flower shop!
Consistency is the key to branding your business. By using the same colors, logos, designs or other interesting feature on everything you can, you constantly remind your customers about your brand.
There are many new features of the Facebook Business Timeline that allows you to customize your page like never before.
The cover photo is the very large banner that now spans the entire top portion of your Page. This is a great new feature to visually engage your visitors right from the start! Do you update your store front monthly? Now you can show it off on your Facebook Page! There are a few rules, however, Facebook says:
Now, that’s a whole lot of rules, but the gist of it is, they want you to use photos or artwork only. Be creative and experiment with images your audience responds well to, such as holiday products, store fronts, delivery van photos. [Read more…]
When ordering flowers, it’s often for a special occasion or well wishing. For romance, birthdays, get well soons and even condolences, flowers are always intended to lifting the spirits of the recipient.
You know exactly what you want and won’t stop until you’ve got it. Perhaps the person you are sending flowers to has a favorite flower that must be used. Maybe you have a specific centerpiece idea in mind and you must have it. Whether you are shopping in store, online or on the phone, make sure to ask about the specific items your arrangement must include.
A florist keeps a good amount of flowers in their cooler at all times. However, they can’t possibly have them all. When ordering flowers from pictures, such as on a florist’s website, sometimes substitutions will be made if the florist doesn’t have a particular flower. Same goes for vase style, ribbon, etc.
How To Get Exactly What You Want:
Call! To make sure the specific flowers/vase/etc you want get used in your arrangement, call and ask if they have them in stock. If they don’t have them in stock, the florist will explain what will be used to substitute, or how long it will take to get your full request in stock. If you are ordering specific flowers for an event, this is why it’s best to order in advance.
You have an idea of what you want, but haven’t quite put your finger on it. You know you want flowers, you know what the occasion is, but you don’t know the first thing about floral design, so you’re just browsing. [Read more…]
Business is competitive by nature. For florists, every opportunity to stay in the spotlight is crucial. Staying on your customer’s minds will keep them, and their friends, coming back for more. Here are a few ideas for florists to showcase their talents in their own communities.
Think of great door prizes, interesting themes and other fun activities guests can enjoy while in your shop. Take this opportunity to showcase a wide range of designs throughout your shop. Let your visitors know just what’s possible by your talented staff. Introduce them to unusual and unique flowers available.
It seems like the two just go together. We buy flowers based on photos in a book or online, we photograph them at weddings, and florists brag about their talent with pictures of prior work. Most florists would like to have a portfolio, but don’t feel confident enough to do it themselves. It’s not hard to make professional-looking flower photos, but it does take practice.
Here are a few hints that will make your photos sparkle.
So, we all heard the buzz surrounding Google+ Plus when it came out a couple of months ago, however they weren’t allowing businesses to set up profiles back then. Well, as of this week, Google+ Business Pages can now be created. FSN is here to help you set up your own Google+ Business Page. Please read over this post carefully to make sure Google+ is right for you.
I know exactly what you’re thinking… “I have a Facebook Page, why on earth do I need a Google+ page too??”
To be honest… there aren’t a whole lot of reasons for florists to use this new social network, except for one big one: It’s Google. Google is by-far the main search engine people use when looking for something online. Listing your business information on Google+ very well could boost your rankings. There is currently no way to know for sure, but I could definitely see your Google profile and G+ Page being connected together in the future.
Remember: the key to social networking is being where your audience is; this is likely not Google+. While tons of people signed up for Google+ in the beginning, the activity level began sinking fast. With the addition of Business Pages, this may change, but for now Google+ is full of tumbleweeds.
Setting up your business page is actually pretty simple, just follow along with the images below. [Read more…]
As local florists, we understand the importance of helping our local communities by supporting non-profit groups and charities. However, doesn’t it seem like every time you turn around someone has their hand out for “FREE” flowers? Non-profits and other deserving organizations that traditionally have had very minimal budgets for flowers now have NO budget. In addition, the normally generous floral retailers have also experienced a steep decline in revenue. This results in florists often feeling like their business is running as a non-profit!
So how do you handle this “donation monkey” dilemma? When cash flow gets tight, one of the first areas that tends to get cut is MARKETING. However, during an economic downturn, this is probably the LAST place money should be cut. During this weakened market, it is more important than ever to be in the faces and minds of the public to maximize business. Brand recognition and community involvement go hand-in-hand when building a positive business image. For this to be a partnership of the donor and recipient, the business owner needs to be more aggressive and up-front with their needs and the non-profit organization needs to be more understanding and willing to barter.
In response to the increased requests for donations, our business approach has been to consider each request as a marketing opportunity. In the past, we were often very generous and would just give the organization free flowers, gift certificates or auction items with very few questions and asking very little in return. This is no longer the practice. Our business has sold out of “FREE” and is currently not restocking! In order for us to stay in business and be available to make future donations, we have to remain fiscally responsible and business savvy. We must receive something in return for our investment and involvement.
As a way of maximizing the return on investment, we use a very detailed Donation Request Form. This form allows us to collect information identifying the organization making the request, their floral purchasing practices and whether they have actually been a customer of ours in the past. Obviously, organizations or groups that have supported us in the past with their floral purchases take precedence over total strangers making requests. The form also outlines the event’s specific details regarding target audience, goals and expected [Read more…]
A QR code is an image that can be scanned by smartphones (such as an iPhones or Droid phones) to connect to a webpage of the creator’s choice. QR is short for Quick Response because it can be read quickly by a cell phone.
Basically a QR code is an image you can easily generate and use on printable material that will link to your online website.
Think about it like this: It’s Mother’s Day and you are promoting with posters, flyers, mail outs, etc. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a little button they could click on these print outs that would take them right to your website’s Mother’s Day selections? This is where QR code comes in!
All you have to do is create a QR code image that links to your shop website’s Mother’s Day page. This image can be used on all your printed promotional material and sent out to your customers. (Always include all shop contact info for those who don’t have smartphones.)
For your customers with smart phones, the mystery of where the QR code will take you is usually enough to make them scan it. (I know I can’t resist scanning them!) Seeing your beautiful Mother’s Day bouquet selections pop up on their smart phone is a much better than anything they can see on a flyer or poster. It is also very easy and convenient to order straight from their phones! (FSN Member Tip: FSN websites are completely mobile friendly. Customers can make purchases just like they would on your full website.)
Our member florists never cease to amaze me with their incredible talent for floral design. We saw where several of our florists recently got recognized for their talents and really want to give them a shout out!
“Glendale Flowers has been the West Valley’s go-to florist since the 1930s. Owner Maureen Wilson marries traditional European arrangements with modern styling, much like Glendale Flowers’ historic but contemporary storefront. The craftsman bungalow is filled with beautiful greenhouse-quality foliage and brimming arrangements of premium flowers. Wilson’s favorites change daily — today it’s a tie between circus roses, lily of the valley and French tulips – so customers can expect reliably fresh ideas.”
Way to go Maureen and team!North Raleigh Florist – Floral Design Winners / Designer of the Year
WAY TO GO FLORISTS!!
Are you or do you know a florist achieving great things in their community? Share your story with us!
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is something florists do not take lightly. Many go above and beyond to do their part to raise awareness of this disease in their own creative ways.
Here are just a few of the ways florists all across the nation are helping out:
We have having a People’s Choice vote during October for the winning entry with a $1 donation per vote. Proceeds will be donated to the local Relay For Life. Also, we took photos of all our entries & put a photo album on our Facebook page. The entry that gets the most likes during October will win a prize.
We also have pink rose specials for the month, & are donating $1 for each pink rose sold to our local Relay For Life. We are also giving out [FSN’s] Think Pink flyer to customers during October. It’s fun to watch people looking at our window display; laughing and having fun with it. We got so many cute entries. The decorated bras will be donated for an auction to be held later to benefit our local Relay For Life
