It’s the beginning of January, it’s currently frozen outside and although January isn’t a month where flower farmers sit around twiddling their thumbs, there is less that we can do on our farms at the moment.
It’s also only 3 to 4 short months until we’ll be wanting to sell all our flowers again to customers who we need to know all about us and be waiting avidly for the moment we have blooms ready.
This is where the #flowerfarmerama challenge comes in. A wonderful way to make sure you connect with your customers and tell them all about what you can do for them. Find the list of Prompts to take you through January here
This is the 3rd year we’ve run this now, and there are lots of Questions we get asked, - so here are the answers to some of our FAQ’s
Do I have to be a member of The Business of Selling Flowers courses to take part?
No, we welcome everyone who is flower farming to take part, and the more farmers and growers we have taking the challenge the more likely local customers are to find you, and find out more about #locallygrownflowers generally. Wherever you are in the world and whatever stage of growing you are at that has to be a good thing. The members of our courses do get extra information and help with how to complete the challenge, particularly those on our Flagship The Business of Growing Flowers course, and our Selling all your flowers marketing course.
Do I have to already be a flower farmer?
#Flowerfarmerama is equally great for those who’ve been in business any length of time. If you’re just starting up, this challenge is a wonderful way to tell your story, kickstart your marketing and get a customer base. You can also get help from the wonderful Flower farming community.
I didn’t see this at the start of the month / In January can I start now?
Yes, the prompts are great for promoting your business at any time. It’s just that in January it’s great to join in together and not show pictures of mud and empty beds. We’ve also given you just 20 prompts for the month, so you can have days off, not post at the weekends, or slot in your own promotions - however fits in with your schedule. We have designed the prompts to work together to tell your story so we would suggest you use them mostly in order.
I’ve not really used social media before - how do I get started?
Like most things, practice makes perfect, and just showing up helps. You can use any form of social media, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, You-tube - but that really depends on where your customers are most likely to be. This is where our prompts help you to engage with a community and to find your customers. If you want extra help we do recommend our Selling your flowers course which covers Social media.
Hashtags - Help…. should I use them?
Hashtags are great for getting customers who are interested and local to find you. Read this blog here with some of our suggested flower farming goodies
Do I need to have professional photos?
You are trying to sell yourself and your business, so do put out the best photos that you can, particularly ones of you. A grimacing selfie won’t sell as many flowers as a professional shot of you holding a bucket of flowers. If you really haven’t got any good ones, make a note for later in the year so you know what shots you will need. However phone photos are now excellent, so just make sure you haven’t got annoying backgrounds and get posting.
Can I post on Facebook as well as Instagram?
You are likely to have different sets of customers on each different social media platform. Some may work better for you. You can link the accounts so that they all populate with the same thing. BUT, although this can work, you may miss out on customers this way as each platform has different requirements.
Here’s what others have said
Morning everyone
Just want to share a little success with you
I’ve been ignoring my Facebook page for a while. It’s not as pretty as Instagram and I find it clunky to use. But thanks to the prompt from Claire, Carol and Paula to take part in #flowerfarmerama earlier this week, I posted a couple of things on Monday. It must have been the time when everyone was sat at home on their phones on the last day of the holidays….
My phone went mad. I’ve already doubled my Facebook followers, gained loads of likes and countless comments and lots of new enquiries from customers and florists. Previous posts had a reach of around 300 people, my latest has a current reach of 12,500.
It has become clear to me that FB is a great route for connecting with the community and actually getting orders and ultimately money through the door.
Most excitingly of all, I got a call from Cheshire Life magazine yesterday who want to do a little section on me next month and how 2022 is the year for British flowers. And they may come back in the summer for a full feature article! Wowee!