Presenting

to hear stories, see behind the scenes, see how things are done, learn hacks, etc. Jot down ideas, focus on your point and build your content around that point. Make sure your point comes quickly though; the fi rst one to two seconds is the most important to keep them watching." Excellent advice! For Cho, the reward has been more than just views; her business has seen real bookings generated by her TikTok presence, a trend we expect to see continue growing well beyond 2022. Next on our journey to understand #fl owertok, we spoke with a young fl orist in America's heartland about how TikTok has helped her change the trajectory of her corporate fl oral design business. Lexi Nardini (@ lex.n.lilacs on TikTok), of Kansas City, Mo., has been making videos on the app for just six short months and already has 50,000 followers supporting her fl oral work—a level of rapid growth which is nearly impossible on other apps more favored by fl orists. For Nardini, one of the greatest joys of the platform is sharing her lifestyle as a fl orist. As our industry continues to grapple with an aging workforce and the expected future shortage of fl orists, we found this detail of her inspiration to be especially heartwarming. On her channel, subscribers can peek into the fl orist lifestyle through her video series titled "Day in the Life of a Florist." On these videos, one can see hundreds of thousands of views registered, but even better are the streams of comments. You don't have to scroll for long before seeing a viewer proclaim "dream job!" or ask "omg, I wanna be a fl orist so bad, any tips? Is starting in a grocery store a good idea?" While it is undeniable that Nardini is doing great work as an ambassador of fl oristry, we mustn't close the book MYTH BUSTING TIKTOK MYTH TikTok is just for kids. TikTok users are based mostly overseas. TikTok users don't have much disposable income. TikTok is just a place to watch pointless videos. TikTok is hard to monetize. FACT More than 75 percent of TikTok's roughly 1 billion users worldwide are over age 20. That's prime demographics for fl oral purchasing power! Approximately 78 million TikTok users (7.8 percent) are based in the U.S., and an additional 8 million (.8 percent) are in Canada. More than 90 percent of TikTok users have annual household incomes greater than $25,000. TikTok has an engagement rate 14 percent higher than Instagram among micro-infl uencers and 16 percent higher than YouTube. Fifty percent of TikTok users have bought something after watching TikTok LIVE videos, and users are two times more likely than users of other social apps to recommend the products or services they fi nd on the app. there. In her comment threads, you will also fi nd hundreds of viewers declaring themselves as local to her area and asking where to fi nd her fl oral work for purchase—the kind of marketing results every online business aims to achieve. For Nardini, who has always dreamed of devoting more of her business to wedding work, this opportunity has opened doors to her key demographic and provided a stable stepping stone from the world of corporate fl owers to her true passion. For fl orists looking to gain valuable bookings for parties, engagements, showers, weddings and other types of events, it is essential to meet your customers where you can reach them best: more target audience, more consumer trust, more views— something TikTok is delivering magnifi cently! So, we challenge you to hold your reservations at the door and download TikTok today, before the fl oral category forges its stars in stone. Still in its infancy, #fl owertok has a relatively small base of creators raking in big-time views and authentic engagement with fl ower consumers, leaving room for a new generation of fl oral creators to rise. e question is: Will you be brave enough to join them?

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