Floral stem trends have hit all time high with the use of social media platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram.

Surprisingly people have taken an interest in the actual floral and greenery stems of the arrangement rather than the overall look and feel. Of course, the look and feel is just as important but picking the blooms and greens is equally as important.

Florists, we understand how this can be a catch 22, as some florals and greens may not be readily available or could even be impractical. However, we must pay homage to the overwhelming interest in florals and their greenery counter-partners, as this has given florists the recognition they so deserve for their exceptional creativity and artistry status.

In this blog, we will list the hottest most sought after trending floral, greenery and succulent stems. Most florists will be familiar with these blooms however for those that are new to the floral industry, this will be your go to blooms cheat sheet.

2017  Greens Floral Trends:

These are the hottest trending greens right now and are here to stay for a long time.  Using these greens will beautifully accentuate any floral arrangement. Try incorporating a new go to green at your flower shop to any floral vase, or design piece you make to add that updated look and feel.

1. Trick Dianthus
2. Amaranthus
3. Poppy Pods
4. Seeded Eucalyptus
5. Silver Dollar Eucalyptus
6. Baby Blue Eucalyptus
7. Gunni Eucalyptus 
8. Parvifolia Eucalyptus
9. Jasmin
10. Tree Fern
11. Ming Fern 
12. Maidenhair Fern
13. Sword Fern
14. Myrtle
15. Italian Ruscus 

Tip: Mixing eucalyptus varieties in floral garlands looks absolutely breathtaking and offers that vintage look that is so in right now.

2017 Succulent Floral Trends:

Let’s face it, succulents in floral arrangements are here to stay. Strategically placed succulents in any floral design offer high impact. We also love the fact that succulents are so resilient and long lasting.

1. Burros Tail 
2. Echeveria Desert Rose
3. Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg
4. Echeveria Green Prince 
5. Hens & Chicks
6. String of Pearls
7. Trachyandra

2017 Herb Floral Trends:

If you are not using herbs in your floral arrangements yet then just wait, these are so current and will get even more popular in time.

Using herbs in floral designs are very popular because of the special  meaning behind each herb, which provides a specific good fortune. Try incorporating some of these trending herbs in your floral arrangements and wedding designs.

1. Sage, Wisdom & Long Life
2. Rosemary, Loyalty & Fidelity
3. Thyme, Courage & Bravery
4. Basil, Love & Goodwill
5. Mint, Virtue & Honesty 
6. Parsley, Merriment & Joy 

2017 Flower Floral Trends:

These flower stems offer that bohemian modish style that is so alluring and captivating for all. Paired with greens, succulents, and herbs these blooms make for a show-stopping presentation.

1. Dahlia
2. Ranunculus
3. Peonies
4. Juliet Rose 
5. Astilbe
6. Electra Spray Rose
7. Lisianthus
8. Agapanthus
9. Anemone
10. Protea King
11. China Mum 
12. Craspedia 
13. Allium 
14. Scabiosa 
15. Forget-me-knot
16. Thistle 
17. Limonium
18. Queens Anne’s Lace 
19. Veronica
20. Sweet Pea 
21. Wax Flower 
22. Baby’s Breath
23. Hydrangea
24. Delphinium

We hope that this list will be helpful in providing knowledge of the top trending blooms, greens, and succulents. Florists are there any floral blooms, greens, or succulents not listed? Please share an essential flower, green, succulent or herb that you feel every florist should utilize in their flower shop.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

Tackling fresh, new and innovated techniques for your flower shop could actually keep flowers sales stable and increase revenue during the summer months.

For some florists, the summer months can be dreadfully slow with decreased flower sales. Accepting the fact that customers just won’t buy flowers during these months is a big mistake!

The floral industry does have many peaks and perks, all seasons offer many advantages to build your flower business and gather new potentially long term buying customers. In this blog, let’s  discuss 5 easy ways to keep your flower sales sizzling hot all summer long.

#5 The Power Of  Deals, Coupons & Promo’s

Everyone loves a deal, besides that did you know that there is an actual psychology that comes into play when offering coupons and promos. Big brand companies understand this too well. They have made it a practice of mixing up coupons and promos to boost their retail sales.

Flower shop owners – deals, coupons, and promos apply to you too! Customers love flowers do not underestimate the power of a Deal. Make sure that during your slower months you offer the following:

Markdowns: Applies to both in-store and online. Try reducing prices on a specific category in your floral store like roses, hand-tied or even gifts, if you carry them.

Save A Bundle: This offer may seem as if it doesn’t apply to the floral business, however it indeed does. Offer savings on buy one get half off, this could apply to flowers with additional purchase at a discounted price.

Free Offers: Wow, this one is counterproductive, we are trying to increase sales here. Well, “Free Offers” actually resinate with customers more than any other deal (of course no surprise there). So how about offering an item free with purchase.

Flowerage Sale: Flowerage sale is held only in store,  generally items are placed outside if possible at a steep discount. These flower sales are done mostly during high traffic days such as weekends.

Did You Know: Most appealing to customers is items that are marked 50% off. The reason for this is it requires very little math and customers feel like that are getting a much better deal. 

#4 Offer Outdoor Florals/Decor

The important thing to remember here is that selling something in which you may not normally sell is perfectly OK and also a very smart business tactic.

Big brand stores do it all the time, they sell what is in demand. You may not have many loose flower sales but you can increase profits by displaying some creative outdoor planters during the summer months.

High-End Porch/Patio Floral Planters: These are so appealing, especially if displayed outside where each passersby can see them. Try incorporating succulents and plants in your floral design, this is an attractive way to allure customers to your flower shop and make purchases.

Sell Hanging Outdoor Planters: If you have not seen these yet, then you are in for a treat. Customers love these and these can be marked up at a great price. Go ahead add some plants and display them outside if possible.

Outdoor Decor: Outdoor decor can be citronella candles, lanterns, outdoor pillows and much more. This is a great way to maximize your sales.

#3 Try A Workshop/Floral Party

Florists, I’m sure you have heard of floral workshops and floral parties. Although a little marketing is required, they truly do increase floral profits substantially and is a great way to increase brand visibility.

Host A Floral Party: For adults and kids alike these parties can bring in anywhere from $45.00 to $120.00 per person.  Great way for kids to enjoy their birthday or a way for bridesmaids to get together, the possibilities are endless with floral parties.

Floral Workshop: Unlike floral parties where your attendees are more casual, a floral workshop is more structured as you are teaching floral arranging. Classes can range from beginner to master and can be purchased for the whole season.

#2 Cut Costs

We get it  #2 is not bringing in sales to your flower business, however, just as important as bringing in sales is practicing good seasonal habits on ways to cut costs.

Consider Summer Hours: We are certainly big advocates of having a business schedule and sticking to it, however, there are exceptions. Opening your shop does cost money so consider opening an hour later or closing an hour earlier with shorter weekend hours if you are slow in the summer months. This will also save you on payroll. 

Order What You Need: During slower months you may be able to get way with just ordering what is necessary and purchasing specialty items as needed. Try also cutting your flower order in half. If your floral supplier is close there are things that can be purchased quickly when needed.

Don’t Be Wasteful: We have mentioned this so many times, and we understand no-one is intently wasteful. Please consider that all items in your flower shop cost money, wasting paper, picks, and pins add up, please be mindful of this and make sure your employees are too.

Review Your Bills: Take a look at all your bills including utility. See how you can cut costs, a perfect example is a flower shop owner who was paying for cable tv yet had no tv in his shop. Cutting that off his bill saved him over $80.00 per month. There is also no shame in asking certain service providers for what deals and offers they have to save you money.

#1 Reach Out To Potential Clients

Slower months in the flower shop allow you to have extra time to market your flower business. Reaching out to potential clients for recommendations and clients who will book standings orders is a great way to bring in added revenue to your floral business.

Funeral Homes: If you have not done so already you should reach out to the Funeral Home directors in your area or slightly outside your area, to see if they will be willing to recommend your floral services and post a link to your website on their website.

Local Businesses/Churches:  Doctor’s offices, churches, restaurants, hair salons and many more businesses in your local area have the potential to order flowers from you on a weekly basis. Talk to them about delivering weekly to their businesses at a great price. Standing orders are a great way to keep money always flowing into your flower shop.

Wedding Venues: Go to wedding venues and discuss working with them on their referrals. Make sure to have your professional pamphlet on the wedding services your provide.

Tip: Create a folder which includes a pamphlet of your floral business and the best practice is to meet with them in person. Make sure to have different folders with specific content for each client.

Florists do you have a tip for driving up summer sales? Please share your feedback in the comment section below. If you have any questions please post below as well!

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

 floral designing is three-dimensional art which expresses creativity and imagination.

Florists you surely already know that you are an artist, though following these basic elements: Balance, Proportion and Rhythm, some flower designers and flower enthusiasts have put their talent to work and are being recognized for their amazing works in the floristry industry.

Flowers, as we know, are nature’s miracle and provide the perfect art medium, with beautiful colors and textures to create the most magnificent color pallet.  It’s no wonder some flower designers and artists are taking a step out of the box and looking at flowers in a whole new way.

In this blog, we want to share how florists and flower enthusiasts are taking flower arranging in floristry by storm with their creativity and superb technique.

Image via Instagram by Lewis Miller Design

Flowers In The Trash

Amazing how flowers in a New York City trash can actually make this trash can look so gorgeous like we always said flowers are simply powerful.

Equally as amazing is how much recognition floral designer Lewis Miller received for his exquisite floral art displays throughout  New York City. We love Lewis Miller for showcasing his floral designing talents and adding awareness on the powerful impact flowers have in any surrounding.

Image via Instagram by Putnam and Putnam

Lavish Floral Arches

It certainly was no easy task finding our showcase image for Putnam &  Putnam (Darroch and Michael Putnam). Their floral works of art are simply amazing and inspirational.

Image via Instagram by Sarah Winward

Floral Design Elements

Sarah Winward has really taken the floral design elements to a whole new level. Her floral arrangements are breathtaking with perfect balance, proportion, and rhythm.  Looking at her floral works will surely evoke feelings of serenity.

Image via Instagram by Stef Adriaenssens

Modern Floral Architecture

Stef Adriaenssens has been captivating Europe with his masterful modern architectural floral displays. His technique for balance and clean line design with lots of touches of the unexpected is beyond perfection. Simply amazing!

Image via Instagram by Justina Blakeney

Floral Portrait Design

If you have not heard of Justina Blakeney you are in for a real treat.  Justina Blakeney has gained recognition for her incredible works of art, the one being #Facethefoliage. We love the use of leaves, stems and flowers in these whimsical works of art. We also equally love the new found use of florals and plants which inspire followers to look at flowers in a whole new way.

There are so many floral designers and floral enthusiasts who are creating a buzz in the floristry industry. We certainly could not feature all in this blog, however, we will continue with this series of blogs a few times a year to offer recognition and thanks for all the inspiration.

Florists we would love to hear your feedback and questions. Do you have a favorite flower art artist? please share in the comments sections below.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

Owning and operating a floral retail business requires many different strategies.

There are some basic principles that do apply to all retail businesses, however, in the floral industry, there are some retail factors that will take precedence.

In this blog, we will discuss retail business basics that apply to the floral industry. Whether you are just selling floral arrangements or carry of variety of items in your flower shop these tips will help in establishing floral retail business rituals to maximize your sales.

Employee Training:

When it comes to hiring employees training, this is a Must Do! Employees are representing you, the face of your floral business brand.

Do not assume they know how to do everything, train them how to answer the phones, greet customers, and any other job-related requirements you have, even if it’s as basic as cleaning a workstation.

Often we hear from flower shop owners  “Well my employee won’t or can’t do that, it’s too confusing for him/her.”  Unfortunately in order to represent your floral business and if it is a job requirement, then your employees must learn and be trained in all, regardless if it’s comfortable to then or not.

Make sure your employees are always:

• Courteous to customers
• Look presentable
• Punctual
• Well educated and knowledgeable of their work duties

Know Your Competition:

Savvy floral business owners take the time to understand their competitors. Regardless if you are in a highly competitive location or small town, competition is still competition.

Know your competitors,

• How are their floral designs?
• What are they offering that your flower shop is not?
• How is their flower shop look and feel?
• What makes your flower shop different?

Knowing your competition is a way of maximizing your brand and standing out from the crowd.  It also helps keep you up to date with industry trends.

Know Your Retail Math:

When you own a brick and mortar flower shop, every inch of your floral business is potential for extra income. Knowing what to carry in a floral shop can seem pretty easy, however, there are floral business owners who are now providing other retail items such as candles, home decor, skin care, toys and much more.

Offering a variety of retail products is a way to entice visitors to your store. Understanding your retail math is the only way to maintain profits in your floral business.

Pay special attention to:

• COGS (Cost of goods sold): which is – Beginning Inventory + Purchases =Ending Inventory.
• Markup: a candle markup is easily done, however, a floral arrangement may be a slightly more difficult. Be sure to include in your mark up for any pins, pics, card message paper, and anything you use in designing the arrangement.
• GMROI (Gross Margin Return On Investment): calculate what is worth having for sale in your flower shop versus what is not. How large is your investment in this product line?  Is this product a “need” or a “want” in your community?

Note: I know how many times we mentioned this, however, florists please STOP GIVING YOUR MERCHANDISE AWAY FOR FREE. No-one is getting anything free in any other retail businesses. florists, we do love and appreciate that you are so kind hearted and giving. Adding extra floral stems here and there and not accounting for ribbon or other miscellaneous items are not good for your overall retail success. Giving a little here and there adds up fast. 

Know Your Merchandising:

Whether you carry a vast array of merchandise in your flower shop or just flowers and plants there is a technique to merchandising to the 5 senses.  Floral business retails shops do have an upper hand when it comes to the 5 senses, with such beautiful flowers and plants. That being said there is still a bit of psychology to play on to have your products resonate with visitors.

When merchandising your floral business make sure you are appealing to these 5 senses:

1.Sight

• Hard to believe however  85% of consumers say the color is what urges them to shop. A good tip is to limit your color scheme so it’s not overwhelming to your shoppers.
• The research concludes that shoppers prefer open floor space that allows for easy movement and good visibility of all products. If you have a smaller shop this can still be easily achieved by decluttering.
• Beautiful displays really do work in gravitating customers. Think about every detail of the display not just the products for sale but also furniture that is displaying the products these are all considered to be visually impactful.

Did you know: That subconsciously both females and males respond very well to the colors blue and green.

2.Smell

Appealing to the sense of smell comes fairly easy for flower shop owners who is merchandising for the sense of smell.

• Flower shops offer an array of appealing scents that are invigorating to shoppers.
• Make sure to keep your flower shop clean, this will appeal to both sight and smell.

Did you know: Of all scents, women prefer the smell of flowers over any other scent when shopping while men enjoy a more spicy scent. 

3.Sound

The sound in retail has been heavily researched and many retail chains have studied the impact of various music brands and how it impacts customers when shopping.

• Different retail stores will offer different kinds of music to maximize their sales.
• Book Stores for instances plays soft music to create a sense of slower time and alter one’s perception of how long they are at their store. While trendy young clothing stores for pre-teens and teens opt for more louder, energetic music which works better for their customers in hyping then to purchase.
• Florists sound is also important in your retail space and helps in creating atmosphere and eliminates sounds that may be negative to shoppers such as employee or other shoppers conversations.

Tip: There are tunes that are specific to your brand, flower shop owners consider offering songs that are specific to flowers, we know this sounds typical but works.

4.Touch

• It is human nature to just want to touch things, create an environment that allows customers to engage with the products you have for sale.
• When a customer touches or holds an item it gives them a more personal connection with the product for sale.
• Keeping your products at eye level encourages touching and sales.
• Touching is not only for products that you are selling, if you offer seating for customers, be sure that it is comfortable, this gives customers a sense of well-being.

5.Taste

Most floral businesses do not sell food, you may be thinking how do you engage the taste sense. Regardless if you sell treats at your floral shop, taste is a sense that can still be engaged by having small offerings to your visitors.

• Consider offering a cup of coffee.
• Allow for taste testing of your gourmet treats for sale.
• Think of displaying free hard candy on your counter.

These are some easy ways to understand and get started with your floral retail merchandising. Florists, let’s hear your feedback! Do you have any important retail advice/tips that have been or are successful? Please share all your feedback, tips or any floral business retail related questions you would like addressed below.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

Booking weddings are still one of the best ways to increase your overall flower shop profit.

Surprisingly, some florists do not take booking wedding clients too seriously or rather opt not to deal with the hassle of booking a wedding. Unfortunately, regardless of how much money your flower business makes, this is a big mistake as booking weddings bring in substantial profits and have proven to ensure future flower shop profits.

In this blog, we will discuss 8 ways to obtain more wedding clients into your flower shop through marketing and simple in-house tactics.

8: Creating An Ambiance

Creating a beautiful atmosphere will help ensure a sense of security with your wedding clients.  Mostly all of us buy with our eyes and emotions, our goal here is to have your wedding clients feel comfortable and ensure that you are the best florist for the job.

• Create a designated space designed for wedding consultations.
• Have proper comfortable seating.
• Have a computer/tablet available for quick image reference.
• Be prepared, make sure you have your wedding software open and ready for note taking.
• Offer your wedding clients something to drink.

7: Be Courteous 

Florists by nature are very courteous, friendly and giving people. However, there are times that wedding clients do request super outlandish things and even get their florist a little annoyed.  Nowadays your wedding clients will mostly do their homework and look at what appeals to them for their special day.

• Respect their needs and wants.
• Be excited and share in their enthusiasm for their special day.
• Educate your wedding client on what is possible and what is not.

The main thing here is, to be honest, if there is something you simply cannot do for the price or there is just no way of obtaining specific flowers, let them know.  Most wedding clients will take their florists advice and seek alternatives in their choices.

6: Paid/Free Ads On Wedding Sites

Most floral professionals have heard of The Knot, Wedding Wire, and so many others out there. We do recommend signing up for at least one of these sites for more exposure to your flower shop.

• You can increase your wedding bookings by 10 -40 more per year.
• Free Ads may minimize your visibility by covering some key elements that wedding clients like to see such as reviews. However, if the budget does not allow, a free ad is better then no ad.
• Set a budget and pay for some ads on wedding sites. After a year, review what profits were gained and decide if you would continue to advertise or lower or raise your budget.

5: Wedding Website

Nothing speaks more volumes than your own wedding website, it is perfectly OK to have wedding pages in your floral eCommerce website. If you are looking to expand your wedding bookings we recommended having a non-eCommerce website designed to showcase only your wedding services.

• Show your work in category pages. example: bridal bouquets, reception flowers, arches and so on. 
• Wedding websites that are loaded with galleries offer visitors many options to stay and browse which will increase your search engine optimization or SEO.
• Have a specific page designed to recommend vendors with backlinks and have them do the same for you on their website if they return the favor.
• Backlinks are considered SEO gold, so recommending vendors and have vendors recommend you is a win-win situation.

4: Social Media

The benefits of social media sites such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Youtube are essential in building your brand. Although you may not be booking many wedding at first, patience and diligence is the key.

• Post images on your social media platforms often, daily if possible.
• Offer wedding booking incentives.
• Be responsive to customers comments.
• Make A YouTube Video

3: Partner Up

There are many flower shop owners that would love more floral wedding viability but do not have the resources or time to fully devote to wedding marketing or consultations. If you are in this situation do not give up on doing weddings, remember this is all about making your brand well rounded.

There are many independent wedding floral contractors that will work solely with you for building up your wedding bookings. Generally, these independent wedding floral contractors receive a commission on all weddings they book for you and are held to only promoting your floral business.

Wedding floral contractors offer many benefits if time is of the essence for you.

• Book weddings and handle all consultations.
• Handle day to day marketing for weddings.
• Wedding floral arranging is done with your assistance and your designers in your flower shop.
• Handle all of the wedding flower ordering.
• Handle setup while the shop owner is responsible for providing delivery services, driver, and vehicle.
• Receive commission paid on the cost of wedding minus all flower shop owners costs.

2. Word Of Mouth

Sometimes, especially when you’re new to the floral profession, when doing weddings you need to give a lot to get a little and by little, this is financial gain or profit.  What you actually do get is a lot of future clients.

We do not by no means recommend doing wedding flowers for free. When starting out, show off what you can do and be reasonably priced, think of this a marketing tactic. Most wedding bookings and visits to your flower shop will come from guests at weddings you serviced and or recommendations from your wedding clients.

• Word of mouth is by far the best way to market your flower wedding business.
• Allows for long-term customer relationships.
• Keeps your business stable and consistently profitable.

1: Know Whats “Hot” In Wedding Flowers

Once you have all you’re wedding leads  schedule a consultation, have diligently set up a great designed area for your clients and are super courteous and respectful, are you current with the latest wedding trends?

It can certainly be a deal breaker for your clients if you are not aware of specific “Hot” trending wedding floral designs.

It is your job, as the floral professional, to stay ahead of trends and offer exciting options for your customers to show that you are “With It,” “Current,” and “Up to speed on floral wedding trends”.

• Take a wedding floral class on what is trending.
• Spend time searching social media sites for what wedding floral trends gets the most saves and likes.
• Practice specific wedding trends. If time and budget allow, set aside a day to practice various wedding trends. After completing the designs, you can post on your floral websites and social media platforms.

Florists, we would love your feedback! What tips can you share about booking more weddings that has brought profitable success to your floral business? Please add your feedback and questions in our comment section below.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

YouTube gets over 30 million visitors per day!

For florists who are not familiar with YouTube, YouTube is a mostly free website for hosting videos that allow visitors to sign up and are able to upload their videos on YouTube to store and share with other visitors. YouTube has 1,300,000,000 visitors that use it, Wow, now that is a lot of zeros!

Unlike the more recognizable social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, florists are still not reaping in the huge advantages of marketing their floral business with  YouTube. Maybe it is because most do not know how important YouTube can be in impacting your floral brand visibility.

In this blog, we will get to the nitty gritty and show you how you can start using YouTube to help your floral business grow and achieve maximize visibility.

Benefits of Marketing With YouTube

Be Found On Google – Marketing on YouTube will help find you on Google. Take a look at your next search on Google you will see many videos populate. (Be sure to have a great title, tags and descriptions.)

Grow Your Traffic – YouTube allows you to grow your followers. As we already know there is so much traffic on YouTube, this is an efficient way to help get tremendous visibility.  Be sure to include a Call To Action in all your videos by linking your URL.

Sell More – Hard to believe, but YouTube videos who direct customers to a selling page are more opt to purchase. We do not want to use YouTube for the sole purpose of selling flowers, our goal here is to make you vital and on top of search engines, that being said, selling more is surely a great perk!

Book More Wedding/Events – Showcase your beautiful wedding/event floral arrangements on YouTube, a short video is all you need. These are highly watched and have shown successful results.

Build Your Reputation – YouTube videos help you communicate better with your audience. It truly is a great way to send out your message, people are generally more captivated by videos. Make floral videos on tips, tricks, and tutorials, this will give your floral brand credibility.

Make A Video

I know you are asking… make a video! On what?!  Well, anything you like really, as long as it has to do with your floral business.

Here are some ideas for video content:

• Instructional Video/How To’s
• Behind The Scenes At Your Flower Shop
• A Flower Shop Commercial
• What’s In My Floral Cooler
• Get To Know us

It is really up to you and what you feel comfortable with, the key here is to make a video. Do not beat yourself up if it does not come out perfect on the first try. It may take a few times of rehearsing to get it right. This is the new age of marketing so consider this a marketing must do and just go for it!

Shooting Your Video

We do not expect Steven Spielberg or George Lucas to director your YouTube video, however, please pay special attention to your surroundings while filming your YouTube video.

Ask yourself these questions:

• How does your background look?
• How is your lighting?
• Are all your tools organized and ready?
• Does the video look professional?

If budget allows, there are so many students in the filming industry that would love to work with you for recognition as well. Reach out to them and see what they charge.

Not to sound repetitive, you need this for your floral brand recognition. This is a priceless investment and an investment that should be made few times a year to stay vital in the floral business market.

YouTube Title, Tags, & Descriptions

You made a video, shot the video and now you are ready to upload to YouTube! Great Job! However, unless you have a proper title, tags, and descriptions, your hard work will not reap in much success so let’s discuss this in detail.

Title

In your title description, which is the title of your video, use a clear title that easily says what your video is about. So google recommends using your keywords first and branding second, and since google owns YouTube we want to listen.

Let’s say our video is a “How To” on roses, here is our Title – How To Arrange  Roses In A Vase – My Flower Shop Name

Tags

So what are tags? Why are they so important? Tags are the keywords on your actual video. You will see the tags option while uploading your video, here you want to put the most relevant tags first as there is some who say that YouTube likes these the best. Pay close attention to add a command tag and then proceed this by generic tags.

Follow these 3 simple rules for adding tags:

1. Specific Tags – these are keywords that are specific to the content in your video. Using our title above, a specific tag would be Roses.
2. Compound Tags – these are tags with more than two words. Arranging Roses, How To Arrange Roses.
3. Generic– these tags can be broader, still keeping with the specific content of the video. For instance DIY, Tips, Tutorial, etc.

Descriptions

Your video description is equally as important as your title and tags. The first 3 sentences of your description will show in the search, so let’s put lots of thought in our first 3 sentences. Now, this part is important, MAKE SURE TO ADD YOUR WEBSITE URL TO YOUR DESCRIPTION.

Example: What if I show you how arranging roses in a vase can be fun and easy? Learn how to arrange roses in a vase by following these simple steps. To see more beautiful rose floral arrangements go to – http://myflowershop.com.

 Tip: Do not confine your video to just YouTube, be sure to post on other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and your website blog. 

Did You Know?

• YouTube was the idea of former PayPal employees
• YouTube started as a dating site
• Google owns YouTube
• Men visit  YouTube more than women
• 6 out of 10 people prefer YouTube over TV
• More than half of the YouTubers come from mobile devices
• Only 9% of U.S small businesses use YouTube
• The most watched non-musical YouTube Video is – Charlie Bit My Finger
• Follow by most-watched musical YouTube Video Gangnam Style

Florists do you have a YouTube video already?  How has YouTube increased your overall brand recognition and SEO?  Please share your feedback in the comment section below. If you have any questions please post below as well!

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

Inspirational Stories From Real Florists

We surveyed florists all over the world and gathered our Top 6 floral inspirational stories. It was not an easy task and we thank everyone who participated. So, with the busy Mother’s Day now over, why not grab yourself a cup of coffee, your favorite snack and take a moment to read these real florists short stories.

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My Grandmother And Her Garden –  Tarah

Every summer at Gramma’s house all my life has been full of ‘Purdy Flowers’ – as she pronounces it. Not a single corner of her yard is without a flowerbed and there are always hummingbirds and songbirds from dawn till dusk.

Every summer has always lead up to fair time. Gramma has competed in the local fairs for decades. I must add that Gramma almost always takes home Grand Champion prizes in every department she enters; crochet, canned goods, baked goods, photography, poultry, rabbits, goats, potted plants, vegetables, and my very favorite… cut flowers and floral arrangements! (she competes in the expert division). I just loved going out in the morning the day the flowers had to be entered and searching for the prettiest most uniform blossoms of each variety, cutting them in threes (for the holy trinity she said) and filling her kitchen with every kind of flower you could imagine surviving in Montana.

We filled jars and cups by the dozens with special cut flower elixir she made with soda pop, picked the best of every category for the cut flower division and prepared them for fair.
Then the fun part, bouquet making! All of the flowers left that had been cut that morning (Gramma calls them the ‘reject flowers’) went into our bouquets, we got to use the pretty little vases she keeps in her curio cabinet for these.

Every year Gramma would set aside a beautiful old Victorian boot shaped porcelain vase, I’d always make a monochromatic arrangement with it in pink just specifically so I can put her chenille flowers into cascade down the side of the boot. One of Gramma’s favorite flowers is a petunia so there are always plenty in any pink or purple, double or single. We’d always make an ‘arrangement in white’ in her milk glass and hobnob vases, a great place for lots and lots of her adorable feverfew flowers! We had so much fun making our little bouquets, it’s always a day full of laughter!
By far my fondest summer memories are during fair time with Gramma; spending the day playing with flowers and eating the ‘reject cookies’ that didn’t make the cut for fair.

She is my hero, my favorite person in the whole world, such an inspiration in every way in every part of my life. My little shop features many of her handcrafted treasures from her crochet work and beaded jewelry to her fresh baked goodies, and her canned jams and pickles (everyone loves these pickles!)

The biggest drawback to my shop ironically is that for the last handful of years since I opened I haven’t been out at my Gramma’s making bouquets in her kitchen for the fair…. So, I want to thank you for you’re putting this survey in your newsletter. I needed to remember why I wanted a shop in the first place, who’s garden started this. I think I’ll make a bouquet and take it to my Gramma’s and get our fair schedule set for this summer.

 

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Designers Choice – Harlins Renaissance -Shinese Harlins, Owner

I started my business at the moment in my life where a choice had to be made. I was laid off from a job. No money, no choices – so I took my savings and went to Phil Rulloda Floral University and received my floral certificate.

It was the best decision I’ve ever made. Being a florist allow me to use my creativity side. There is no color line – just balance, and harmony. I love when a customer loves the outcome. They come back. And when they say “designers choice”, my heart skips a beat!

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Flowers Touch Lives – Val Voigt- Detroit Lakes Floral 

A young man calls and would like to know prices on roses. He is going to bring his girlfriend some flowers. He places an order to be picked up. He arrives at the flower shop. He is so excited to bring his girl some beautiful roses.

In two weeks, he calls again and places another order for roses. He arrives at the flower shop. This time I ask him what is the name of this special girl? He smiles from ear to ear and tells me her name and how they met. She loved the first order of roses and now he says she will be very surprised and happy with the second order. He thanks me over and over for our service and says he will be back in two more weeks for some more roses.

That’s why I love the floral business. It touches people’s lives. We meet people and get the privilege of being a part of special events and moments in time.

 

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My Dream – Cynthia Dearnbarger – Flourish Flowers & Gifts, Old Town, Lewisville, TX

A dream in the making….

Years and years ago, I dreamed of opening a flower shop. I had completely forgotten about that dream, so many other things had taken priority and it was gone. Recently I have begun to dream again. God brought back this specific dream!

I am currently in the process of opening a storefront! The building is under construction and we are currently at our local farmers market, getting our name out to the community! Our hope is to bring life, love, compassion and hope to every person who gets an arrangement, bouquet or gift!

 

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 Love Conquers All – Cheryl Bakin-Parkway Florist

I was hired as an after-school high school helper during my junior year in high school. Because of the values instilled in me by my Dad, I knew that I had to be on time, and do my very best each day. I walked to the flower shop, which was inside the first Indoor shopping mall in the Pittsburgh area.

My boss was an older lady who was impressed that I showed each day on time, and tried to do and get done everything she assigned me to do. She kept me on after the Christmas holiday and began to teach me things, bow making, botanical, common names of flowers and plants and many other items large and small.

She instilled in me (or maybe brought out in me) a love for the beauty of flowers, and a desire to help others realize their dreams thru weddings, pretty everyday bouquets, and funerals. She taught me that education was very important, and to try to think out of the box.

After leaving the flower business at age 19, and going to work for corporate America for the next 20 years, I still kept my hand in the flower business and attempted to gain all the education — both flower and business — that I could. In 1987, I bought my flower shop. October 2017 will record a 30-year milestone of shop ownership.

That early training, as well as the fulfillment of my own dream of owning my own business, has helped me to mentor other people and get them onto a path where they can fulfill their dreams. Sometimes it is thru educational opportunities; Sometimes thru mentoring and being a good listener; sometimes it is being a trainer…….or just a role model.

In all cases, I try to always remember what my Dad and my first flower shop boss taught me……..”Kindness never goes out of fashion. Lead by example. Listen to all comments and critics. Be hardworking in all areas of your life, and you will succeed. And finally, Love conquers All”.

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A Final Goodbye – anonymous

During my late teens, I had a Yorkie  that meant the world to me. After a couple of years, I was forced to give my beloved dog up due to family members allergy. A family friend had found a good home for him in town about 40 minutes away from where I resided.  I was, to say the least, devastated and would have done anything and everything to keep him.  As time went on and now me in my mid 20’s, already set in my floral career I often thought of ways to kidnap my beloved dog from the family I gave him too. The issue here was I only knew what town he was in and not so much the house. I knew how irrational it was to try to kidnap my dog back, however, I just never felt a sense of closure or like I said goodbye.

As years passed  I never let go of the awful sadness of giving my dog away. Although the sadness was not as profound, it was always with me and made me feel like I failed him. After 10 years in the floral industry, I decided to open my floral business and was super excited to finally be a flower shop owner.  This was a great and overwhelming time in my life, I was very busy and focused.

Much to my surprise, I was also getting many bookings for weddings and one in particular which was referred by a customer. This customer was booking flowers for her daughter’s upcoming wedding in June. After 6 months or so her daughter’s wedding was finally here. I sent off the delivery driver to deliver the reception floral centerpieces and went to deliver the floral bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres to the bride who was at her mom’s house for pictures. Upon arriving I had, which was hard to explain a very airy feeling. I could not put my finger on it at this time. I was invited in and asked to stay and eat something. Which I did, not sure why, most of the time I just want to deliver the flowers and get out as fast as possible, but something kept me there.

After many conversations, the bride’s mother mentioned she had a lab who was at the groomers, then she proceeded to say she used to have a Yorkie who had passed a few years back.  At this moment it all came together for me. This was the family that took my beloved dog, Crazy, I know but I felt it way deep inside. I asked her where she got the Yorkie, “from a young girl who had family member that was allergic.” She then proceeded to take me into her bedroom to show me my beloved dogs ashes in a beautiful box which sat on her nightstand. At that moment she handed me the ashes and said this is him. I tried hard to hold back my tears I could finally say goodbye to my beloved dog.  I realized then he was so dearly loved and had family and no longer felt as if I had failed him or was a failure.

The lesson it taught  me was that not all decisions in life are ones we make, good or bad. The floral industry allowed me to mend my broken heart and finally say goodbye to my doggy. It definitely is a small world, and shows me that nothing happens by chance.

Florists, do you have an inspirational story to tell?  What keeps you in the floral industry? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below. If you have any questions please post below as well!

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

Share A Story Of Inspiration!

We will be choosing 5 submissions to feature in our weekly Floranext blog. Please take a minute to share a short story about how being a florist has had a positive impact on your life. We are open to stories about any florist related topic that had a direct affect on you personally.

All postings will get credit via name and backlinks in our upcoming Floranext blog. Please take our survey by clicking here!

Thank you so much for participating in keeping our floral industry whole and supporting all new and upcoming florists.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

Florists, did you know you make a huge difference?

The world as we know it would never survive without floral professionals. With potentially one of the busiest floral holidays here, it’s no wonder florists may be feeling frazzled and drained. It’s our job to remind you just how amazingly awesome you are and how your career choice makes such a difference. Not just for your community but in general for all humankind!

Yes, we know that sounds deep and profound but it’s true. Florists you create so much beauty, emotions and memories. Your passion for the floral industry is recognized and very much needed.

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Florists Have Been Around For Centuries:

Earliest known flower arranging dates back to ancient Egypt to 2,500 BCE.  Egyptians were the first to cut and place flowers to decorate and add color to their surroundings.

• Florists were so sought after and so necessary that it was almost royalty to be a florist.
• Back then (and even today) the most beautiful accessory, gift and decor accents are arranged flowers.
• Flower arranging made these miraculous gifts from Mother Nature to evoke everlasting emotions.

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Flower Arrangements Benefit Health:

Did you know that studies continually find that floral gift giving has a tremendous impact on our health? You would be surprised to know that lavish gifts, money, tech gadgets and clothing have little or no benefit to our general health.

• Studies find that patients in hospital rooms with colorful floral arrangements are in often a better, positive mood, need less pain relief medication and have overall lower blood pressure.
• Flower arrangements also have a profound effect on your workspace and home. Making you more productive, able to think clearer and also calmer.
• Surrounding oneself with flower arrangements helps increase your sex drive, evoking increased erotic feelings.
• Flower arrangements boost senior citizen’s spirits. Researchers at Rutgers released the shared results of a six-month behavioral study on the health effects of flowers on senior citizens. The study shows that flowers ease depression, inspire social networking and refresh memory as we age.

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Why We Need Florists So Much:

Florists, could we ever imagine what the world would be like with no flower designing? The impact would be tremendous and we imagine a less cheery, more drab world.

• No special way of adding color and beauty to one’s life.
• No way of giving a gift of flowers which convey our deepest gratitude.
• No way of marking memories in our life’s journey with the addition of floral arrangements.
• Weddings would not be the same.
• Life would just not be the same. People count on their florist professional. Remember that!

Your contribution to the world is so special, so enduring, floral designs run deep within the receiver’s soul.

Think of all the ways you as floral professional impact patron’s life changing events.

Adding special memories;

• New baby
• Child’s first play
• Prom
• Graduation
• First date
• Breakup
• Showing love
• New job
• Birthdays
• Get Wells
• Mother’s day
• Weddings
• Holidays
• Anniversaries
• Offering beautiful floral arrangements for sympathy in helping to convey condolence and enhance the service.

Florists, during this busy holiday think of what a superstar you are and how your career choice impacts the lives of all and helps the world. We want to send all floral professionals across the world a special thank you for all you do in helping everyone’s life journey. We hope that you have a very prosperous Mother’s Day! Please share any feedback or questions in our comment section below.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.