Its efficacy as a pick-up line is debatable, but this otter’s silly message (“you are otterly adorable”) doesn’t annoy customers the way blatant sales posts do.
People login to Facebook for a number of reasons. To name a few:
- stalk a crush
- admire baby photos
- learn what Disney princess/breakfast food/Mean Girls character/Lady Gaga song they are
- engage in some “civil political discourse”
What no one wants to see: overtly sales-y posts. This feels especially true with the proliferation of part-time, work-from-home gigs. (Who among us doesn’t have at least 10 Facebook friends hawking Lula Roe leggings and Rodan and Fields skin products?)
Directly promoting a product or service lands on virtually every social media expert’s list of bad Facebook habits. It’s okay to pitch, “but you need to be creative,” explains Nick Steeves, chief product officer at Wishpond, an online marketing firm that has worked with brands such as Fairmont, Sony and Walmart. Basically, he says, posts need to provide some value to customers, whether that’s in the form of entertainment, useful information or an exclusive deal.
If you need some examples, look no further than your peers. Here are a few value-laden Facebook posts flower shops employed for Valentine’s Day 2017:
- Exotic Flowers in Boston, Massachusetts dodged the hard sale by posting a photo of a centerpiece with the caption, “What should a Valentine’s Day card reveal?” It linked to a blog post about how to pen a good card message, offering guidance for lovers with writer’s block.
- In Victoria, British Columbia, Brown’s the Florist took a similar tact, sharing a 10-point list of simple and inexpensive romantic gestures that included writing a love note by hand and indulging in an activity that makes you both laugh.
- In other V-Day posts, Brown’s the Florist tickled customers’ funny bones by posting cheesy pickup lines juxtaposed with animals, such as “You’re otterly adorable,” and “Up for any monkey business?”
You can tuck these ideas away for February 2018 and also adapt them for other events. Customers need card message advice for all occasions — particularly for sympathy arrangements — and romance tips work for anniversaries, proposals, prom, and more.
For more ideas, check out “Facebooking With the Stars.”
