Social media is one of the keys to the success of any flower business. Whether it’s through posting an ad or making a TikTok/Instagram post showing off your latest floral arrangement, social media can make or break a brand. But what is social media without its followers?

Social media also goes beyond the platform too. Search Engines like Google use social profiles as a signal search. Therefore, more followers equals a higher search rank for your flower shop.

If your florist social media is not getting any engagement, it might be time to rethink your strategy. Below are some ways in which you can take your account from 0 to 100 (literally).

Use Partners – to Increase your Florist Social Media Followers

Partners are key to running a successful business. Take the partnership you formed in the offline world and bring them to the online world.

Ask a local photographer or a restaurant if you can collaborate on a post. Instagram allows a user to invite a collaborator when creating a post. The post will be shown on the feed of both the collaborator and the person invited.

What does this mean? Both the collaborators’ engagements (likes, shares, comments, etc) will be visible on that one post. Your photographer or restaurant partners’ followers will get access to your account thus putting your floral vision on their radar.

Host a Giveaway or Contest – To Grow Florist Followers

Whether you have 100K or 100 followers, engaging with your audience is critical. Not only can you understand your consumer audience better, but you can also use them to gain new followers.

Try posting a giveaway for your best floral arrangement. You can follow an “engage, introduce, and follow” formula.

To enter a giveaway, brands often ask their followers to like a post (engage), tag two friends (introduce), and follow your account. Consider asking your followers to make their profile public and repost the giveaway post on their Instagram or Facebook story for an extra entry.

This will spread your brand to its network of followers, thus causing more engagement for your account on florist social media .

Post Consistently – to Build Florist Social Media Engagement

Consistency is key. You don’t want to be like your grandma, who posts her cats every hour on Facebook, but you also don’t want to only post once a month.

Posting at least three times a week will help you stay consistent in the minds of your flower business followers. If this sounds daunting, don’t worry! You can always use social media scheduling apps to help you plan your content in advance.

If Instagram is your florist social media of choice, don’t be afraid to use the story feature too!  The story features stays up for 24 hours, so it’s the perfect way to get your followers attention for a short time with quick, less-polished content.

If a story post gets a lot of attention or has good messaging, then you can also create a highlight on your profile. This way the viewers can see it after the 24 hours are up!

Scope Out the Floral Social Media Competition – Social Listening Tools

Social listening tools like Sprout Social allow you to tag specific keywords and find relevant posts on your platform of choice. This lets you watch the florist competition without contributing to their account’s growth and engagement.

If you notice that they are getting a lot of attention from Instagram reels, then you can consider adding them to your toolbox. Or if they are not doing great with memes, you know to avoid that.

These are just a few marketing tips to grow your social media. Be sure to explore all of them and figure out what’s right for your business. Happy marketing!

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Thank you for reading the Floranext florist blog. Floranext Love Florists and we are committed to bringing flower shops the best information and tips to run their floral business. Click here to learn more about our florist software and how you can upgrade your florist website or floral point of sale. 

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and it can be a fun and exciting occasion to celebrate with our loved ones. But as florists, it’s the busiest time of the year. The next few weeks can become a bit stressful. To help break up the cycle, we like to remind you to take a moment, smell the roses and laugh a little. We hope this collection of Valentine’s Florist Memes put a smile on your face! 

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Thank you for reading the Floranext florist blog. Floranext Love Florists and we are committed to bringing flower shops the best information and tips to run their floral business. Click here to learn more about our florist software and how you can upgrade your florist website or floral point of sale. 

As a florist, Valentine’s Day can be the busiest time of the year. With only a few weeks left until the big day, it may seem like you’ve already run out of time to plan an epic marketing strategy for your shop. The following ideas can help you turn last minute into first, and provide some more creative ways to boost your floral marketing for the Valentine’s Day rush.

Interact With Customers Via Social Media.

Social media marketing is a great way to market your floral business, especially for last-minute promotions. If you want to stay on top of current trends and reach out to customers, surf around Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram to find popular Valentine’s Day-related pictures that you can use in your post or profile picture. You could also create a special offer and advertise it on other social media sites. 

Floral Subscriptions

Floral subscriptions are another amazing way to get your customers to spend more during Valentine’s Day. Subscriptions help to create a long-term relationship with your customers, and they are also an excellent way to encourage repeat business. You can use subscription services as a marketing strategy and offer them as part of these special promotions. To get your customers on board, it is best that you keep all promotional materials professional and high quality.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a great way to promote your floral products and services. Sending out an email newsletter can get your clients to come back and make their summer florist order. Florists should have email sign-up forms to collect their clients’ information. Also, occasion reminders and cards can also be a good idea to remind clients about your services.

Banners and Product Categories

A banner is a great way to draw attention to your shop and products. Florists should use banners in the store and on social media networks to promote their Valentine’s Day specials. You could also categorize your products based on their popularity for Valentine’s Day. An engaging banner on your website or an over-the-top social media post about the sale can grab a customer’s attention and encourage them to buy.

Offer Incentives

Incentives like free floral delivery and free gift wrapping help to build trust in a customer. Many florists are hesitant to offer incentives because they think that it makes them look like they are promoting something difficult to buy. You should offer these incentives as part of your specials and make it easy for your customers to get them. Valentine’s Day offers can also be a great way to build your relationship with clients, as well as boost sales.

Promote Themed Valentine’s Day Add-ons

When you offer themed add-ons for Valentine’s Day, your customers can get creative and craft their own bouquets. Florists could pitch in themed items like flowers, vases, and ribbons to make a sale. Add-on promotion ideas can be as creative as you want them to be. You could offer roses with chocolate or a free balloon with each bouquet sold. Whatever you do, make sure that you stand out from the competition and keep your promotional efforts clean and professional. 

As a florist, you can use many different marketing techniques to boost business and make your shop stand out from the competition. These techniques need to be tailored to your business, and you should ensure that they are fully integrated into your day-to-day operations.

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Thank you for reading the Floranext florist blog. Floranext Love Florists and we are committed to bringing flower shops the best information and tips to run their floral business. Click here to learn more about our florist software and how you can upgrade your florist website or floral point of sale. 

With Prom season just around the corner it is important to use all techniques to increase traffic into your Flower Shop for Prom.

1. Promote Prom Services in your Local areas – discounts and flyers)

Here are some fantastic places to help bring in those dancing shoes to your shop.

• High school office
• Public Library
• Fast Food
• Local Hangouts
• 
Dress/Tux Shops
• Local hair, nail, and tanning salons

Tip: Offer a few enticing offers like free boutonniere with corsage purchase or free upgrade or add on.

2. Are You Invested?

A prom is a huge milestone for students and parents alike. So be invested in your customer.

Do you know their dress color, style, theme of prom, what they are doing before/after prom. Be excited as they are, teens love social media and do chat with each other. Creating a fun and pleasant experience will bring in more orders for your shop.

3. Offer More (Jewelry and Upgrades):

It surprises us that shops do not offer jewelry and upgrades when selling for prom.

Sell Jewelry, go for the bling, matching look and feel. What about the add on? Rhinestones, Feathers, Pearls, be creative!

Tip: These little extras will create a profit and makes a personalized corsage or boutonniere.

image via google.com

4. Are You Following the Trend?

This years trend is flowers to wear. Why not be creative and offer a flower headpiece or ring matching the corsage purchase.

5. Train Your Staff!

Your staff should be creative, think outside the box, there is an art to selling prom flowers. Do not be robotic. Have a training staff day for prom.

6. Is Your Website and Social Media Updated?

Keep your website and social media updated with beautiful and creative prom flowers. Pictures should be crisp, clear and trendy offer some specials. Don’t forget your short bio on prom flowers this increases your SEO and brings foot traffic into your shop.

Post on social media! Remember there is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest. A great way to promote and offer discounts.

Tip:  Offer a discount for any student who is willing to post on their social media account your shop’s name and image of prom flowers provided. Discount on Google reviews for your shop as well.

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Thank you for reading the Floranext florist blog. Floranext Love Florists and we are committed to bringing flower shops the best information and tips to run their floral business. Click here to learn more about our florist software and how you can upgrade your florist website or floral point of sale. 

image via vouge via pinterest

The holidays are an exciting time, with people getting together, wrapping gifts, decorating the house inside and in, and celebrating with loved ones.

For florists, though, this time can be overwhelmingly busy with orders for arrangements, large-scale installations, and creating and selling festive wreaths. For that reason, it’s a good idea to get ahead of the rush and organize your flower shop to set you up for success at this wonderful time of the year!

Photo via Olive & Rust

Make Good Use of Shelving

The first tip for the supreme organization this holiday season is to make good use of shelving. Organize all your vases and most-used items on your shelves in a way that makes sense to you so that you know where to find everything.

You may also want to label where different items should go on the shelves so that everyone that works with you is on the same page and puts things back where they go. This makes it easy to “grab and go” with these items when you’re in the heat of the busy season.

image via sallyhambleton.com

Rotate Seasonal In/Out

You want all of your holiday season items to be within reach during this busy time. Make sure to put away summer, spring, and fall items that you won’t use for a while so they’re out of the way.

Decreasing this clutter in your workspace will make it easier to be productive and simpler to find what you need as you work.

image via sallyhambleton.com

Floral Design Station

Make sure that your design station is equipped with all your must-have items for creating beautiful holiday arrangements and wreaths.

Having this functional space ready and reducing the trips you need to take around the store to create each piece will be largely helpful in you cranking through orders when you’re slammed.

image via Pinterest

Pegboards

Pegboards are a great way to organize all the smaller items you’ll use for holiday arrangements. You can hang mason jars from a pegboard and put smaller decor accents, scissors, clippers, and other must-have items in them for easy access and great organization.

This keeps these smaller items from getting mixed up and messy. You can even paint the pegboard a festive color for an amazing aesthetic along with great organization!

image via sheskindacrafty.com

Floral Ribbon

You always use ribbons in your arrangements, but the holidays call for even more festive ribbons. Make sure that you keep all of these spools organized in a way that works for you to avoid them becoming a tangled mess around the shop.

Some ideas for doing this include dedicating a cupboard with different compartments to ribbon, using an over-the-door hanging wire storage shelving unit to store and use ribbon from, or hanging ribbon on rods so it can be easily spooled without ever picking up the entire ream of it. 

The holidays don’t have to be overwhelming – they can be simplified with smart organization! Allow yourself to work smarter, NOT harder and you’ll be able to handle the holiday rush with ease. Do you have any great holiday organization tips? If so, share them below!

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Thank you for reading the Floranext florist blog. Floranext Love Florists and we are committed to bringing flower shops the best information and tips to run their floral business. Click here to learn more about our florist software and how you can upgrade your florist website or floral point of sale. 

A few new digital tools have just launched to let people create images from just text. The websites like DALL-E  and Midjourney use artificial intelligence (AI) to create never-before-seen pictures built completely by computers. 

We decided to re-imagine the floral bouquet and dozen roses in some familiar styles.  Enjoy our AI-generated flowers! 

We are taking ideas for new floral arrangements in the comments, so please make suggestions for ones you would like to see!

Lego Flower Bouquet

Stuffed Animal Flower Bouquet

Pablo Picasso Dozen Roses

Pop Art Dozen Roses

Salvador Dali Dozen Roses

Mondrian Dozen Roses

MC Escher Dozen Roses

Graffiti Roses

AI can make beautiful images, but there is no substitute for real flowers. Still we love flowers in art of all kinds. Send us your ideas in the comments below for more AI generated art in different styles – we will pick the best ones and add here! 

With Queen Elizabeth’s recent Platinum Jubilee celebration hitting the headlines, it’s the perfect time to take a look at royal flowers throughout the years! As florists, it’s fun to look at how flowers have played a part in events that have had the entire world watching. 

Image via mossflowerslenzie on Instagram

Royalty and their flowers

Wherever the Queen and or the royal family are, there is a-lot of pomp and circumstance involved. Whether it be a royal visit, memorial, coronation, wedding, royal event, and anything in between, intertwined in these events are flowers.

Flowers play a huge significant role in royalty events, either visually or symbolically. In the United Kingdom, the use of flowers are tied with many traditions and goes deeper than just an accent to an event. Things like the type of flower, design, color, scent can send a powerful message. 

image via Amlitmag

The Language of Flowers

Floral messages or “Language of Flowers” is called floriography. Floriography is the concept of communicating a message from the use of flowers. This type of language has been around for centuries, yet very popular with the UK royals. Floriography blossomed under the reign of Queen Victoria, who is linked to a few flower traditions herself!

image via marthastewart.com

Royal Wedding Flowers

Flowers have always been an essential part of weddings, but did you know that in royal traditions, specific flowers or symbolism of flowers have been included in every royal wedding since Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria?

Elizabethan Era | 1558 – 1603

• Pomander and posy were popular among Brides.
• Herbs had their place in bouquets, especially Basil. This acted as an air freshener for whoever carried the bouquet, as at the time, personal hygiene was not exactly what it is today.

Victorian Era | 1837 – 1901

• Sprigs of Myrtle in brides bouquets. Originally started by Queen Victoria as myrtle was grown at Osborne, a vacation home of the queen.
• White orange blossoms, which was one of Queen Victoria’s favorite flower. The flower also symbolizes Chasity. 
• Since Queen Victoria’s wedding, most if not all flowers in the royal wedding bouquet are white. Keeping the flowers white is a practical purpose making sure the flowers used are eye catching. 
• Flowers used in royal weddings are grown in the United Kingdom. 

George VI Era | 1936 – 1952

• Started by Queen Elizabeth II mother, Royal brides leave their bouquets at the tomb of the unknown warrior in Westminster Abbey.

Second Elizabethan Age | 1952 – Now

• Lily of the Valley has always been a royal favorite but it was until Queen Elizabeth II marriage to Prince Phillip, Lily of the valley has been incorporated into weddings. 
• Princess Diana carried an over the top bouquet for her wedding to Prince Charles, with a cascading shape that featured foraged, wild flowers.
  
• Kate and William spent a staggering $1.1 million on flowers. Lining the ceremony at Westminster Abbey were a mix of English Field Maple trees and Hornbeam Trees, each about 20 feet high. Her bouquet was a romantic nod to her new husband, featuring Sweet William blooms, inspiring a trend of adding subtle romantic touches via florals and other details.
• Current Royal Weddings have flowers embroidered on their dresses or trains – Rose for England, daffodils for Whales, shamrocks for Northern Ireland. 

image via RHS

Florals At Royal Events

Flowers are not just for Royal weddings but for other royal events as well. 

Coronation

• Queen Elizabeth’s coronation bouquet flowers represented the commonwealth. Orchids and lily of the valley represented England, Carnations for Northern Ireland, Orchids for Wales, Stephanotis for Scotland.
• Her coronation gown was embroidered with flowers and plants representing the commonwealth. The maple leaf for Canada, a lotus flower for India, and the protea flower for South Africa, among others.
• The oil to anoint the monarch is a secret but it’s know to contain flowers like orange flower, jasmine and rose.  

Christenings

• Prince Charles has started a tradition of his own at royal christenings, wearing a Dianthus Devon Wizard in his Jacket button hole. 

Funerals

• Typically in funerals, the flowers chosen to adorn the casket or at the ceremony are flowers that represent the person or emotion. 
• In Prince Phillips funeral arrangements, rosemary was used for remembrance, lavender for devotion, acanthus to his birthplace, Greece, white roses for June, his birth month, jasmine for strength, and sweet peas for farewell.

Jubilee

• For Queen Elizabeth II 70th Jubilee, she had a brooch custom made for her. The brooch has the flowers representing the commonwealth and lily of the valley, the queens favorite flower.

Chelsea Flower Show

• The UK loves their flowers and hosts one of the biggest floral shows on the map, the Chelsea flower show. 
• This years show and commemoration of the queens jubilee showcases  several decorative floral and plant displays, including a sculptural portrait of Her Majesty made from flowers. This is such a beautiful tribute to not only the celebration, but to the role that flowers play in the role of royal events  now and through history.  

Commonwealth Flowers

Even in the United Kingdom, the countries that form the commonwealth are also symbolized with flowers. 

England

• The Tudor Rose represents England.
• Most commonly considered a symbol of romance, this flower has had a darker meaning in England during the civil war known as the war of the roses. Now the flower represents England’s patriotism, “The Flower of England.”

Wales

• Wales is represented by the daffodil.
• Exactly how the flower  became the symbol for Wales is a mystery.
• The flower’s name in Welsh is: cenhinen Bedr, which literally translates as ‘Peter’s leek’ – leeks being a symbol of Wales since the 16th century. Both the leek and daffodil blossom at the same time, and the daffodil being prettier, seems to be the reason why it was selected.

Scotland

• The Thistle is the national flower of Scotland. 
• One of the highest orders in the royal circle is also named the order of the Thistle. 

Northern Ireland</p

• Shamrocks is symbolized for Northern Ireland. 
• The patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick is said to have used the shamrock to represent the Holy Trinity. 

Florists, what is your favorite royal tradition? Is there a tradition we missed? please share your comments 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.

Especially in recent years, plants have become even more popular. With some shoppers investing in plant subscription services and more and more strictly plant shops popping up around cities and towns, there’s never been a better time for florists to ensure that they are selling plants. This can help maximize profits, better serve customers, and have a more well-rounded offering overall. 

Let’s dig into what plants are best to sell in your floral shop to really rev up your business!

Reasons for Florists to Sell More Plants

As mentioned above, there are several reasons that florists should consider upping their plant selling game. The largest is simply because there’s an increased demand for them. Now that people work from home, they’re more interested in making their home their personal oasis, and for many – that means adding more plants into the mix. Other than that, people also have more time to dedicate to taking care of their plants. That is the perfect equation to increase demand.

Another reason people are more onboard with buying plants now than ever is because it’s an eco-friendly practice. With such an emphasis on going green in today’s world, that makes it appealing to your customers to fill their home with plants.

Ready to dive into what plants are the best for you to offer to customers? Keep reading!

What Plants Should Florists Offer?

Now let’s talk about some plants that would make great offerings in your floral shop – whether it be in person or e-commerce. These are outside of the more “standard” plants you probably already offer to allow you to expand the scope of your shop.

Monstera Deliciosa

This pretty plan has split leaves and it’s well known for its distinct look. That makes it the perfect decor piece in any home, allowing it to be easily styled by itself or with other stems or plants. Selling points for these plants include:

• Easy to care for and grow
• Long lifespan – they can live for a long time
• Large footprint – great to take up empty space in a home!

Rubber Plant

A rubber tree plant is also known as a Ficus elastica. These large trees can grow up to 50 feet tall. Care for this plant isn’t as difficult but there are a few key things to remember.

• Place in an area with low light.
• Water only when the soil becomes slightly dry. 
• Yellow leaves that means you have been watering the plant too much.

Lithops

This is a succulent that is a great product to add to your suite of plants. These are known to be living stones, as they mimic stones. There’s a huge demand for these, and they’re increasingly hard to find for consumers in some areas. These may be called split rocks or pebble plants.

Here are some selling points of lithops:

• Drought resistant – these don’t need much water!
• Can be grown both indoors and out
• They’re unique looking and people love adding them to a terrarium

Spider Plant

The spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) is considered one of the most adaptable of houseplants and the easiest to grow.

• Do not place in direct sunlight, they prefer little sunlight. 
• Keep soil dry in between waterings    
• This plant prefers cooler temperatures – between 55-65 degrees. 

Snake Plant

Another must-have plant in your arsenal is the snake plant. This is another one that’s known by several names: mother-in-law’s tongue, bowstring-hemp, or Sansevieria plant. These are nice to look at and they have a ton of benefits besides that, too! Check them out below:

• Great for people with no “green-thumb” – they’re incredibly easy to care for!
• They act as an air purifier and remove toxins from the air – impressive, right?

What plants do you currently offer and are you considering expanding more into the plant world? There’s so many out there, we can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this topic!

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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.

Floranext would like to say thank you to all the respondents who participated in our annual florist Mother’s Day survey. As always, this questionnaire provided us with illuminating results that allowed us to learn about current trends that florists should be aware of. Keep reading to find out what the results were!

Key Floral Trends – Mother’s Day 2022

Here are the top key floral trends of Mother’s Day 2022:

• Almost Half of Florists Noted that Mother’s Day Sales 2022 were way better than expected – While this is not as high as the number reported last year, it’s still great to hear that 47% of florists had a better sales outcome than expected this year.
• Website continue to be the major driver for Mother’s Day sales – Nearly half of orders come from florist websites, followed by phone calls with minimal walk-ins.
• Artistic expression still the key to success for flower shops – Arranged flowers are still best sellers for over 80% of shops, and candy/Chocolates still remain the top choice as an add-on.
• Still remains of an even split as far as who was open this year on Mother’s Day and what shops were not.  This has been identical for the past several years. 
• The average price of an arrangement for Mother’s Day has increased slightly but still the average remains between $75.00 – $125.For more detailed answers to each question see the charts below: 

What (if anything) would you do differently next Mother’s Day?

Floral Ordering:  “More mixed bouquets using the same flowers!”, “Order fewer flowers so we sell out.” and “less with roses and more mixed flowers.”

Preparations: “Have more ready to go arrangements”, ” Order less dish gardens”, “Quality check flowers more rigorously”, ” Grow more of my own flowers”, ” Rent a pop-up shop”, “Sleep More”, and “improve work flow.”

Hiring: “Hire more help”, ” Hire additional designers”, ” More Delivery Drivers”, and ” More front of store help to take orders, answer phones and additional tasks.”

Deliveries: “increase our delivery area”, “increase delivery charges”, “tighten the delivery area when closer to the holiday”, and “adding an additional vehicle(s).”

Marketing: “Start promoting the holiday sooner!”,” Do more with Online Ads”, “Focus more on online ads”, ” Begin promoting earlier, beginning of April”, and ” come up with a better marketing strategy – online ads, social media, email blasts.” 

Thank you for reading the Floranext Mother’s Day Floral Industry Survey for 2022. We are committed to bringing flower shops the best information and tips to run their floral business. Click here to learn more about our florist software and how you can upgrade your florist website or floral point of sale. 

Survey based on data from 158 florists (82% in the United States, 13% in Canada, 5% International). 

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Floranext offers great florist software, florist POS, florist websites and florist wedding proposal software. Our florist technology products are built by florists, for florists. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.