Building Your Florist Brand
Let’s Talk About Building Your Brand As A Florist.
19 Tips That Will Get Your Florist Business Noticed.
1. Create a Logo and a Colour Palette
Don’t always go with the cheapest option when having your Logo designed. A professional designer will work with you to create the logo that suits your business. They will advise on the choice of colours that will work for signage and any other areas you will use your logo.
2. Your website
Having a fabulous website is only half of it. You need to keep it updated. You need to work on your SEO - Search Engine Optimisation, What is this I hear you ask, well it is how Google Finds your website and shows it to your customers. I would advise you doing a basic SEO course and learn how it works so you can do it on your own website.
Here are some simple SEO tips that you can start to use immediately
Every photo you upload to your website should be descriptively named and every photo should have a different name.
So the photo below here is named on my PC as "Wedding Bouquet of Pink Roses at Kays Flower School" , on my website the alt text is "Pink Bouquet of Roses at Kays School"
You can see how you can easily change the name but using the same description, so now if someone googles "pink wedding bouquet" "pink rose bouquet" "pink roses" ?? This image may come up in their search, drawing traffic to your website.
This is just One SEO tip for florists, especially as images sell our trade.
3. Google My Business
A free amazing free resource that really help your business be found on Google. If you are not already there, sign up, claim your spot, add your location to google maps. Up load photos, videos and offers regularly and ask clients to review you here
4. Facebook for Florists
Facebook is a fantastic free tool for florists to display their designs and creations. If you dont already have a Facebook page, set one up now. Students say to us, "oh i dont like being on Facebook" you dont have to be personally buy your business does. Use your Business Name and start posting images of your work, you should be posting 2-3 times per day. Video gets seen more than anything else, so if you dont want to talk on the video yourself, video your shop, your flowers, your designs, just get content up there about your business.
5. Instagram
Perfect for the florist as it is so picturesque, however Instagram is now less about the image and more about the people and their story. Instagram stories is an amazing avenue for communicating with customers, potential wedding couples and corporates etc. Just keep posting content.
6. Reviews
Nothing is better than a testimonial or review from your customers. After you have provided a service email your customers and ask them to review your business on Google page, your facebook page, or by email to upload to your website, Clients are more likely to review you directly after an occasion when they ate still feeling on a high, so be prompt about asking for a review or testimonial. Video Review hold a lot of value, if they are happy to do one grab it with both hands.
7. Address Negative Reviews
DON’T remove or block negative reviews. By doing so you will irritate the poster and they may then get all their friends to post on your page also. Deal with it and address the customers complaint, dont get annoyed or smart, keep your response professional and apologetic. The nicer you are the harder it will be for them to respond with more negativity. Agree to rectify the mistake etc if need be,
8. Twitter for Florists
Twitter is an amazing platform for brand awareness for your business, you may not get direct business from it, but you will become recognised as a professional in your field. From this you may be contacted by radio stations or journalists to discuss flowery matters. This can be the best advertisement your business will get and costs nothing.
9. DON’T Link Facebook & Twitter or Instagram
I know it seems like an easy option to post on one and automatically post on the other, but one of these FREE platforms will suffer as a result. Social Media is about being social and talking to people. It would be better not to post that to post an automatic linked post.
10. Hashtags for Florists
Instagram is one of the main places to use Hashtags (#) This is how people will find you. If you are posting the photo that we used above it would be #Pinkflowers #Weddingbouquet #pinkweddingbouquet #weddingflorist #weddingflowers #kaysflowerschool #topflorist search hashtags on Instagram and you will get the hang of it. You can add up to 30 Hashtags on instgram
Top Tip - as a business we use a lot of the same hashtags regularly, saving them in your notes on your phone will allow you to copy and paste the ones your regularly use. Research your hashtags too, there may be some your missing out on.
11. Pinterest for Florists
We all know about Pinterest, every bride that comes to us has their dream wedding board on pinterest, but maybe not the dream budget. But Pinterest is very useful for florist when looking for inspiration or ideas to decorate different types on venus. Be aware that some the fabulous flowery venues on Pinterest are probably a photoshoots and not necessarily real weddings. But like all platforms, your business needs to be there.
12. Snapchat for Florists
Updating this blog in March of 2020 and Snapchat is no longer a platform used by many business. It has become less popular as a platform, but as with all its good to be there and pop in every now and then,
13. Linkekin for Florist
Linkedin is now a very popular platform particularly among the corporate world. You have the opportunity to publish blogs and articles and is a great way of building your authority within the industry.
14. Social Media Training for Florists
Get yourself and your staff some training in all of the different social media platforms, it teaches you to be more efficient and productive with your time using these networks.
15. Advertising on Social Media
As above get some training and learn how to place adds on social media. Social Media is an inexpensive form of advertising and when used properly can result in fantastic results
Below are a list of experts we would advise in the different social platforms.
TWITTER - Samantha Kelly (AKA The Tweeting Goddess) - http://tweetinggoddess.com - Covers all over Ireland & UK and manages twitter accounts also
FACEBOOK - Louise McDonnell - https://louisemcdonnell.com/
Instagram - Denise Inspired - https://www.inspiredauthoritybuilder.com/
Funding may be available from your Local Employment Office for training in the above also.
16. Blogging & Vlogging for Florists
Blogging is a fantastic way of increasing traffic to your website and also promoting your expertise. Blogs do not need to be thousands of words and can be lots of photos also. Maybe blog about your most recent wedding, remember your basic SEO when adding the photos. You could blog about seasonal flowers, blog about yourself and how you got into the flower industry. Remember with blogging, you can blog about anything just dont get too controversial and upset people.
Adding a Video log - Vlog - is also a huge benefit, but if time and facilities do not allow, at least get one done.
17. Brand Everything
You have your logo, now use it. Brand your Aprons, Jackets, Car/Van, Cups, Floral Boxes, Business cards, Ribbon. Anything that can make people aware of who you are and what you do, brand it. Use your Brand Logo for all your Social Media Profile Photos. Every Letter / Card or Envelope sent out has your logo on it. We recently bought a rubber stamp with our logo on it and makes branding envelopes much easier and cheaper.
18. Develop a Colour Scheme
Using your Logo create a colour scheme for your Flower Business, use the colour throughout everything you do and all your floral designs in so far as possible. Overtime customers will recognise your packaging and when they think of flowers they will think of your packaging and recognise your logo and will most likely google you and because your website is so fab they will find you.
19. Spend the time on your Brand
All of what we discussed can be time consuming, but we all know we are living in the Digital Era, Social media is not just for fun it needs to be part of your marketing strategy. It can be very inexpensive if you do it correctly and spend productive time on it.
If you feel you are spending too much time creating content and working on your social media, consider out sourcing it and freeing you up to do the things you love - flowering
