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Extra Features and Video Online FloristsReview.com R E A D O N L I N E 49 STEP 1 Effective social media strategy begins with setting aside the time to create a cohesive plan. I recommend setting aside an entire day to begin if you are starting from scratch or a few hours a week if you are simply reviving accounts that already exist. One of the most important steps is deciding which social media platforms to participate in and become discoverable to new customers on. e apps mentioned at the beginning of this article are the ones I currently recommend for most flower businesses to maintain a presence on. For those looking to do less, I recommend staying active with Google My Business (google.com/business) and Facebook, at the very least. When determining which accounts are right for your business, it is important to know the type of information that consumers use each app to get. Facebook Sales-related content, direct links to products, special hours, job postings, design portfolios, events and press Instagram Design portfolios and sales-related content Stories (Instagram and Facebook) Press, reshares, special hours, job postings, behind the scenes, design portfolios, F acebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google My Business, Yelp—the growing list of available social media platforms becomes more diverse each year. For many small-business owners, it can be overwhelming to determine where to direct your attention regarding social media strategy. Deciding what to post and which social media platform to share it to can be a lot like staring into space. With such limitless options, decision fatigue is real, but do not let it lead to the fatal error of sharing nothing at all. In today's marketplace, consumers increasingly look to smart devices for leads on where to spend their dollars. ere is no guarantee that a great website will be enough to land yourself on the top Google results page for consumers in your region or that your next customers are even using a browser-based web search to make their purchase decisions. Opting out from the world of social media will create a shrinking customer base for your business. Likewise, starting a social media account and then neglecting it by posting erratically, with large gaps of time between activities, can cause potential customers to fear that you are no longer in business or that you are not a reliable source from which to shop. Whether your business caters to a hyper-local customer base or a global clientele, creating a cohesive social media plan is the first step to building a pool of loyal repeat customers. STEP 2 Next, create your social pillars. A social pillar, sometimes called a social bucket, is simply the themes by which you want to categorize your work. I recommend starting by identifying six or nine pillars (staying in multiples of three). Beginner examples of what your pillars could be include: events, live streaming, humor and struggles TikTok Design portfolios, behind the scenes, humor and live streaming Google My Business Design portfolios, special hours, health and safety policies and responses to customer reviews Yelp Design portfolios, special hours and responses to customer reviews WHAT TYPE OF CONTENT BELONGS ON EACH APP ¡ What's New ¡ What You're Famous For ¡ What's Keeping You Busy ¡ What's Coming Soon ¡ What Makes You Happy ¡ Sales 49

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