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Extra Features and Video Online FloristsReview.com R E A D O N L I N E 55 But what if you don't have a big following on social media? Try collaborating. Collaboration Working with local businesses such as wedding planners and event venues is a great way to reach new audiences. Collaborators combine their social media networks to extend their reach. Richardson does a lot of collaboration via social media. "Our business is all about working with other vendors to make sure a job or an event goes smoothly and looks great," she shares. "Because we are in the wedding/event industry, a lot of our collaborations are connected through planners or our clients booking a team of vendors." So, it makes sense to target clients by pooling your online audiences. "We also participate in styled photo- shoots every so often, which provide inspiration and allow us to grow in our creativity," Richardson notes. After shoots, collaborators will post the video galleries online, listing everyone else who worked on an event and sharing their handles. ese videos then show up on everybody's pages. is increases everyone's reach, builds goodwill and is a generous way to give a shout-out to others who contributed their creativity to the endeavor. e Cottage Rose has a place on its webpage for allied-industry vendors to sign up for collaborations. Richardson points out that florists can also get professional videos and photographs of their work if there's a photographer or videographer in the group. "Collaborations are great because they allow the product to be photographed or filmed professionally, which can then be used for a florist's portfolio," she said. "Professional cameras capture flowers in a way that phones just can't." Optimizing Your Website with Video Videos can improve the SEO (search- engine optimization) of your site, according to HubSpot, because visitors spend more time on the page watching them. e extra time they spend on your webpage helps you rank higher on search engines, adding to page quality. Social media users are generally happy to watch any video, but 94 percent will watch "explainer" videos to learn more about a product, and 84 percent make a purchase afterward. So, make short videos explaining your products and services to your customers. TIP: Test your webpage videos by posting them to your social media streams. Which videos get the most engagement? Use those on your website. en remake the ones that didn't make the grade and post them on social media again. You want to put the "stickiest" videos on your website to keep customers there long enough to make sales. Google, YouTube … and You You can also make Google, the search- engine giant, work for you using your video content. "If you have a business YouTube channel and you're creating good evergreen content [content that answers common or uncommon questions that consumers often ask], it's possible to get your videos to rank on Google," Blanchard states. is is because Google now features web and video snippets that answer specific search questions. Say you type "potted Anthurium care" into Google's search engine; up pops a snippet from somebody's webpage or video that answers the question in a nutshell. Evergreen content in your videos could potentially appear in the search results. It's a nice way to be discovered. To take advantage of this, take a minute to google various questions your customers have asked you, like "how to keep flowers fresh" or "DIY boutonnière ideas." If you find a search term that doesn't have a video, make a short step-by-step video, title it with the search term, and see if Google uses it in searches. Conversely, after you make a video, see if there are any searches that it will fit into, and put in a title and keywords to better encourage it to show up there. As a side note, create a Google "Business Profile" (business.google. com); keep it updated; and feed your newest information, products and services directly into the search engine. at way, when a prospective customer searches for your business, your website will appear at the top of the results—instead of that Yelp page where a customer left a one- star review because you are closed on Sundays. Final Notes For best results, be consistent with adding new videos at about the same times each week so that people know to look for your content on those days. And stick with your schedule. As you make new video content, you will learn what works and what doesn't, and once you get more comfortable with video marketing, you'll learn ways to make the work easier. Frank Blanchard frankblanchard.com Ferrell Richardson thecottageroseflorals.com

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