Now, y’all already know social media is a powerful tool for marketing our flower businesses. But, it’s so easy to get sucked into all the wrong things when it comes to creating a social media plan for florists.

When I was first getting our business off the ground, I thought chasing after followers on Instagram and having lots of likes on Facebook was how to get more customers. I assumed there was a direct correlation between likes and income.

Turns out, I was wrong.

In an industry obsessed with beautiful photos and effortless designs, it’s easy to see why so many florists think this is true. We all look to the famous florists for guidance and inspiration, including indications on how to make money. We assume more followers equals more income.

Turns out, that’s not the reality of the situation.

In the early days of my floral career, I used to believe Instagram was all about getting famous and having our work featured on one of them famous blogs. 

I’m so glad it only took me three years to see I was wrong (and as of this blog post, I’m still sittin’ here waitin’ for that opportunity to come my way #unfamousflorist).

It turns out, we floral designers get to play a totally different social media game – a game that doesn’t rely on chasing after more followers, more likes or more famous-ness. That makes it way more fun, in my opinion.

What Matters: Social Media Plan for Florists

One of the greatest advantages we have in our industry is that our customers have no idea how the heck this whole “floral design” thing works.

They have no idea where flowers come from or that peonies aren’t available 52 weeks of the year. Heck, they don’t know how much to budget for wedding flowers and they don’t even realise there are 8234 other options beyond roses and lilies.

As frustrating as all that is, it actually is our single greatest marketing opportunity – particularly when it comes to effective social media for flower businesses.

I know how overwhelming the whole world of social media feels. So, here’s four things to keep in mind when it comes to creating a social media plan for your flower business :

Know Your Audience

Your audience is not your peers. It’s not that flower friend down the road and it’s definitely not that famous florist on the other side of the world. 

It’s also not the editor of that famous blog. 

Nope, the whole reason you have a social media presence in the first place is to attract more customers to your business. As in paying clients. People looking for a floral designer.

So, the most important thing to remember is that the next time you’re posting to Instagram, post with those paying clients in mind. Talk about the things you know your customers need help with and be open with your expertise. Lead with phenomenal customer service and be helpful.

... This leads me to point #2:

Be Open with Your Expertise

This probably sounds too simple, I get it. But because our industry is so secretive, being helpful and open with your knowledge is the easiest way to get customers to buy from you.

At the end of the day, your customers have come to you because they have a problem. They see you as the expert. So be the expert. Be the guide. That one floral designer who talks about the things that no one else talks about.

Be open with your pricing. Talk about seasonal availability. Tell your customers there are 8234 other options beyond roses and lilies. Demonstrate your expertise and share your knowledge.

This approach makes it so easy to come up with a content strategy for your flower business. Because it can be as simple as just answering your customers' questions.

All you need to do is write down the last 20 questions you got from your customers (yes, even the super simple, seemingly obvious questions).

Then, answer one per post. When you finish answering those 20 questions, go back to the beginning and start over at Question #1 again.

Yep. So easy!

I promise you, it works. I know it seems too simple but this approach is exactly how we did it. It made one of the biggest differences in going from “nobody-florist” to “making-a-lot-of-money florist”

Our clients fell in love with us because we were helpful. Because we answered their questions ahead of time and because we talked about the things that were relevant to them.  Here’s a great example of a post from a few years back to give you an idea.

Consistency over Quantity

We flower bosses have an ever-expanding to-do list. (It never gets any shorter, does it?). To that end, don’t make your content strategy harder than it needs to be. 

In the beginning, make it your goal to post once per week (any less and your customers might think your business is closed). 

Once you’ve settled into that rhythm, build on that momentum. Your business is better off posting twice per week 52 weeks of the year rather than 52 times in a row and then missing out on the other 313 days.

As an aside, if you want to make planning even easier, I love using Planoly. Click here to check it out (affiliate link). 

Repetition is Your Bestie

When I was workin’ in my fancy pants corporate gig, any time we were creating a marketing plan, we knew we had to have a certain level of repetition in our media schedule. 

Why? Well, the average human needs to see something 8-16 times for it to register and take action.  That means you could talk about the same thing every day for 8-16 days and only then will it just start to register with your clients...

So many of my clients inside my Flower Boss Bootcamp laugh when they tell me, “Hey Kathleen, I just talked about my new wedding process for 14 days straight and it’s generated so much more interest than ever before.”

Yep. You bet. Repetition is indeed your bestie.

I know it feels boring and mundane and it’s not how the famous florists do it, but it works. 

It also means the framework you follow for a social media plan for flower businesses can be super simple. Make a plan for 30 days and just repeat that plan for 12 months. Kapow, a year’s worth of floristry social media content sorted.

Embrace the power of repetition and be relentless in your approach and you will see a difference.

Facebook + Instagram + Floristry

The very last thing to keep in mind when it comes to creating a social media plan for flower businesses is, depending on your audience, you might be catering to different clients on different social media platforms.

A one-size-fits-all approach might not be right for your business when planning social media for flower businesses.

I see it time and time again for my Bootcamp clients as well and it’s certainly the experience we had with our floristry business. 

In fact, in most cases, Instagram is a great platform to easily attract new, higher-value clients to your flower business. Whereas Facebook provides a wonderful opportunity to engage with local businesses and local residents, creating a sense of community and connection.

For our wedding business, we actually made the decision to just stop posting to Facebook altogether. 

We found Facebook attracted lots of low-value customers and budget clients. So, in order to make the most of our marketing time and energy, we just stopped worrying about it at all. (Quite literally, our last post to Facebook says “If you’re looking for us, jump on over to Instagram.”)

Moral of the story? Don’t assume Facebook and Instagram are the same things. Yes, it’s super easy to push your Instagram posts over to Facebook and think you’re making more impact. But, it might not be serving your floristry business.

Every social media platform available has different opportunities, different strengths and different challenges. Don’t assume you need to do it all.

And if you do decide to use both Facebook and Instagram to market your flower business, it’s quite likely you’ll need to cater to two different audiences. So, start experimenting to see what works for your flower business and dig into the nuisances of each. Track your data and keep adjusting.

Totally Overwhelmed by Social Media for Florists?

You’re not alone.

It can be super confusing and super frustrating to sort out a social media plan for your flower business.

I’m here to make it easy, to show you exactly what you need to focus on (and what to ignore) and how to make more money in your flower business. That includes my exact approach to effortlessly conquer Instagram.

And it’s all inside my Flower Boss Bootcamp.

My Flower Boss Bootcamp is the only program available to floral designers, flower lovers and flower farmers focused entirely on the business of flowers. The program is run entirely online, so we can work together no matter where in the world you’re located.

I’m here to help you build a better flower business, to show you how to get more customers, make more money and show up with more confidence.

Inside my Flower Boss Bootcamp, you get access to my Instagram Masterclass. I show you my exact approach to sorting out Instagram, including the right hashtag strategy to use, how to level up your feed and what to write in your captions. I want to show you just how fun Instagram can be.

Friend, if you’re dreaming of making more money in your flower business but feel totally overwhelmed with the marketing side of things, I’m here to help. 

Click here to learn more about my Flower Boss Bootcamp. 

This program will change the trajectory of your flower business. I promise (yes, there is a money-back guarantee).