Find Your 1. FIND NEW CUSTOMERS – Facebook is great for small businesses because it gives you the ability to search directly for ‘fans’ in YOUR local area.
Simply type your city or surrounding cities into the “SEARCH” box at the top of Facebook. This will give you a list of top 8 profiles, but at the bottom of the list click “See all results from CITY” and it will show you everyone on Facebook close to your location. These are real people from YOUR community. Use your best judgment to friend those who match your customer demographic and will be interested in what you have to say.
Facebook also has a feature that suggests friends/pages to their users. If your shop is ‘popular’ in your area, it will start suggesting itself to other users in your area.
How to add friends to your Facebook
2. INTERACT DIRECTLY – Simply interacting with your ‘fans’ will establish a stronger, more personal relationship.
When you post interesting updates to your Facebook wall your fans will see those on their own page’s Facebook wall.
Post things like:
- Recent blog articles
- Pictures of flowers and deliveries
- Events you’ve hosted
- Weddings you’ve done
Pretty much anything you think is interesting about your shop.
It’s very easy to post things to your wall. Simply copy the web address (URL) of the page you want to link to and paste it into the box on your shops page where you change your status.
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS – Updating your status with upcoming workshops, or big events is a great way to encourage interest in your shop.
Facebook is a great place to promote your upcoming activities. Simply updating your status with announcements is the easiest and best way to spread the word without spending a dime!
Example: If you are going to be doing a presentation an a floral design conference talk it up on Facebook! Think of it as a teaser trailer for a movie. After the event, post your photos, videos, etc. and your fans will be eager to see what YOU did at your event. The same goes for big events, parties or galas you will be designing for.
4. POSTING PHOTOS – Photo albums on Facebook are the best way to get attention. Make albums like: Favorite Bouquets, Weddings, Big Events, etc, and add new photos every week or so.
For florists, pictures are a sure way to attract attention. Who doesn’t like pictures of flowers? When fans see your pictures of gorgeous spring arrangements, stunning wedding centerpieces, or other beautiful designs it is a sure way to gain valuable interest in your shop. Easily become you’re communities favorite florist!
How to upload photos to your Facebook Page
5. SUGGEST YOURSELF – Keep an eye out for event invitations, weddings and other announcements to subtly suggest your shop.
Many people use Facebook to announce upcoming events. Keep an eye out for upcoming parties, baby showers/births, weddings and other functions and send a message offering a Facebook Fan Discount if they use your services, or some other creative offer.
6. SHARE – Sharing cool blog articles, photos, videos, and other fun things you might find on the web keeps the attention of your followers.
Share
An easy way to publish to your Facebook wall is by sharing things posted by friends. Friend other pages who offer services related to you. Example: If you do weddings and are friends with your preferred caterer, photographer, or venue, friend them on Facebook.
7. PROMOTING EVENTS – Put together a fun DIY workshop at your shop and promote it on Facebook. Take lots of pics and be sure to tag your attendees!
The Facebook Event app is a very useful tool. With it, you can invite people to a function, and give them the opportunity to ‘Attend‘ ‘Maybe Attend‘ or ‘Will Not Be Attending‘. (Great for early head counts!) It also gives your fans a way to suggest the event to their friends who are also interested. Say you are planning a big Christmas Wreath DIY Workshop. You can easily promote it on Facebook to your fans, have
8. SHOP PROMOTIONS – Announcing your shop’s discounts, coupons and other promotions can generate interest in your shop and fans.
Update your status with discounts and daily specials to generate excitement around your shop. You can even do “Facebook Specials” for your fans to establish a true feeling of community and keep people coming back.
9. LINK TO FACEBOOK – Place links and widgets on your website so your customers know where to find you and how they can keep in touch.
Placing a link on your website is essential to gaining fans on Facebook.
For FSN Member Florists, we make it easy to put a link to your FSN website to Facebook. Simply login to your FSNf2f.com account. On the left side column, under the box labeled “Marketing,” click “Edit Social Media” and place a link to your Facebook Page next to the Facebook Icon.
Also, Facebook makes it very easy to place links or widgets* to your Page in many different ways. Simply go to their Widgets Page and click the type of widget you would like to place. I suggest either a Fan Box or a Page Badge. Follow the instructions on the page, copy the code and paste it into your website’s code editor. (This is a little advanced and you might want to send the code to your webmaster and let them place it where it belongs)
*Widget – a interactive box that links to your Facebook Page.
10. COMPETE – Stay a step ahead of your competitors by being the first florist in your community in Social Networking.
If your competitors do not have a Facebook that now is the perfect time to push ahead!
A good example of practical Facebook use is our very own Facebook Page. Be sure to fan us and keep an eye out on how we utilize Facebook to establish an even closer Network of local florists!
11. FAN FLOWER SHOP NETWORK – Okay, so this isn’t really a rule, but it’s a good thing to do!
We work really hard on the Facebook for Flower Shop Network and it is a really great example of how a Facebook for florists can operate. We are always posting interesting articles, tips, photos, and notes promoting local florists. Sometimes it helps to watch how someone else does something before jumping in head first, so fan us and keep an eye out!
I am very happy to have found this post. Thanks for making it so clear.
Thank You
Reading through your post gives me a chance to realize why I love reading things with so much ideas. It is nice to know that there are still excellent authors out there that can put wit into knowledgable information. Thanks for your contributions and eagerness to reveal your thoughts with us.
how do you make the name on the profile your shop name??
Darla, to use your shops name as your profile name, you must “Use Facebook As My Page” Check out the section titled Using Facebook As Your Page on this blog article: https://www.flowershopnetwork.com/blog/facebook-page-update-explained/ It’s a great read with all of the latest features of the new Facebook upgrade! Hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, just ask!
Hi Mandy,
I was just reading this today and ironically another blog about facebook for business and we have our facebook page as a “fan page” and not a profile or friend based. The other article I was reading says that it is against facebook rules to have a business as a profile. They need to be a “page”. I know a lot of shops and other places do have it as a profile, but the article I read today said that although facebook is not policing it right now they WILL be in the near future and any businesses that are set up this way will eventually be wiped out and they will have to start all over. Just wanted to pass that along – that’s a lot of work to be wiped out!
Here is the link to the blog
http://swodeck.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/companies-make-lousy-friends/
Mindy/ Buettner Florist
Thanks Mindy! (great name!)
You are totally right! Many florists and other businesses have set their profiles up incorrectly. They did add the Profile to Page Migration Tool a while back to encourage and allow people to save their profiles from deletion. You can also back up your profile information by going to “Download Your Information” under Account Settings just in case!
Thanks again!
I want to start a small business in selling my floral cakes these are all made out of fresh flowers and I would like to add some other small floral arrangements I just need some advice on how to get started also on how you can ship flowers. I would also like to show someone my work to get their opinion on if this is something that would work. Thank You Kay
Kay,
I suggest you contact your local florist association and your local wholesaler. What is your location?
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