Selling flowers and staying top-of-mind with customers in a pandemic requires a full embrace of technology, according to a trio of creative marketers who on April 8 shared techniques, tactics and tools for creating compelling content, whether your business is temporarily closed or still offering contact-less delivery and curbside pick-up.

During Social Media Strategies for Florists, the latest installment in the Society of American Florists’ COVID-19 Webinar series, Carly Anechiarico of Blossom Flower Shops in Yonkers, New York; Jackie Levine of Central Square Florist in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Nicole Palazzo of City Line Florist in Trumbull, Connecticut shared their tips for getting in front of the camera (i.e. smartphone).

Ahead of that session, the panelists gave SAF editors a preview of what they planned to discuss. Among their tips:

• Relinquish your vanity. Don’t strive to look like a perfectly coiffed, heavily made-up news anchor. Just look like yourself on a typical day working at your shop. Part of Instagram Live’s appeal is its rawness; own it! “I was so nervous,” Levine said about her first live video. “No need to be! It’s a casual outlet, so just be yourself. Once you do it once, you’ll realize you can do it a million more times.”
• Forsake a script. Again, you are not a news anchor, nor a politician with a teleprompter. A scripted speech comes off as too formal and inauthentic. That said, it’s wise to prepare bullet points of topics you want to hit to avoid “rambling for days,” Palazzo said. The one phrase she is sure to repeat: City Line Florist. “When you constantly say your shop’s name, it sticks with the viewers and is in the back of their minds.”
• Get creative with your studio space. Allowed in your shop? Great! Give followers a behind-the-scenes look at where the magic happens. If you’re under stay-at-home orders, look for a bright and quiet space (i.e. away from family members on conference calls, exercising, watching television, etc.). Anechiarico recently brought home a bunch of flowers and gave an impromptu digital design demonstration on her backyard patio, a space she selected because it offered a lot of natural light.
• Stay connected — literally and metaphorically. Watch your WiFi. If it’s not dependable, briefly switch your settings to data for your videos. Strive to share videos on a regular basis, be it daily or weekly. Your followers are craving a little sense of routine in these uncertain times.

Watch the full webinar here.

For more tips on live videos, stay tuned for the April/May issue of Floral Management, which has had a delayed publication date to incorporate more information and advice about COVID-19.

Katie Hendrick Vincent is the senior contributing writer and editor for the Society of American Florists.