Social media is king when it comes to publicizing Petal It Forward event. Not only does it provide an outlet for real time happenings, it can help generate buzz for your local event on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
Melissa Maas of Bank of Flowers in Menomonee Falls and Pewaukee, Wisconsin, put teasers out on social media to get customers excited about her event last year. She schedules her posts in advance to make sure the information is spaced out and adds details as they get closer to the event. The day of Petal It Forward, she assigns someone to capture the more candid moments and post them as soon as possible to create excitement.
Nicole Palazzo of City Line Florist in Trumbull, Connecticut, also posted in advance on Instagram and Facebook with teasers such as “something big is coming,” and uses the flowers and Petal It Forward stickers as images last year.
“It gets everyone excited and curious,” said the shop’s marketing manager. “I do ‘on the scene’ coverage of the campaign, posting photos and stories as we go. I’ve made an ‘event’ page on Facebook. It’s amazing free advertisement. We asked everyone to post their photo and tag us on social media.”
Lafayette Florist, Gift Shop & Garden Center in Lafayette, Colorado and its Good Samaritan Medical Center’s satellite store, also used the element of surprise to build excitement for the big day using Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. “We do a hint on our Facebook page on where we will be on the date, and a hint of what we are doing. We don’t let people know because we want it to be a surprise,” said Sandi Yoshihara-Sniff, AIFD, AAF, CPF, who manages both shops.
McShan Florists in Dallas, Texas, doubled the impact by cross posting with the Dallas Police Department last year. Even if you don’t have a partner in crime, so to speak, you can ask people to tag your shop on Facebook and use the hashtag #petalitforward or your shop’s information to post on Instagram.
For the fifth year in a row, the Society of American Florists is leading the industry in the Petal It Forward concept. During this “random acts of kindness” flower giveaway, consumers receive two flower bouquets (or flowers) — one to keep and one to share — to demonstrate the Rutgers University research that shows flowers make people happy and are encouraged to post on social media about their experience using the hashtag #petalitforward. This year’s Petal It Forward event takes place on Wednesday, Oct. 23 — and there’s still time for floral industry members to plan their own local events.
SAF provides resources to help member florists Petal It Forward, including tips on where and when to stage a giveaway, talking points, T-shirt and flower card templates, sample social media posts and more at safnow.org/pif.
For more Petal It Forward social media ideas, see “Florists Share Winning Social Media Strategies from Petal It Forward.”
Renee Houston Zemanski is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
