The Floral Hustle

 

Hello flower friends. Today I wanna talk to you about that thing that's probably like driving you crazy, but you know that you need it. You know that it's good for you in so many ways, but don't know how. And that is Instagram. We're gonna talk about how you can use Instagram to get more wedding bookings and.

Instagram just seems to be a really, really object. And out of that is really driven off your own user behavior and also not being able to be like, I posted and all this miraculous shit happened. It is. In my opinion, a slow and steady wins the race and slow and steady never feels good, especially when maybe you have a day job and you're working so hard there, and then you're working on this side hustle, and then you're investing time, investing resources, investing time away from your family on this platform.

And then on top of it, you're on this platform that you, every time you look here or there, or anywhere. You feel imposter syndrome and you're like, everything on here makes me feel like I'm not good enough. Makes me feel like my business isn't a real business, isn't doing big things. And I can tell you from coaching so many different flos now Instagram is very deceiving.

You don't know I have actually even. Gotten the estimate sent to me from someone who I was like, this florist is, oh my God, this florist is so cool. I bet you they're making so much money. They just got a really cool studio. And then I looked at one of their estimates and they weren't even charging fucking labor on the things that they were making.

They were charging 18% flat labor fee. For everything that they were doing. 18%. And I mean they had, one of the tables had 10 pillar candles on it and they were charging $55, so obviously they weren't even charging for their product correctly. 'cause how can you have 10 pillar candles for $50? So like I looked at that business before I saw this.

It was like, oh my God. Like there is so many things that seem interesting and seem like this person is successful because I liked the way that their Instagram looked. But Instagram isn't the truth, y'all like Instagram is capturing people's highlight reels that often are so curated. It's not even the highlights.

You're just getting this very small segment of what they think are the highlights of what they think is cool. And once I really disconnected for one, I like wanted to coach that Flos. 'cause I was like, holy shit, you are not going to be very happy in a couple years when you've really worked hard and you're not making any money.

And for two, you're kind of damaging the pricing in this market, which is a whole separate thing, but. Once I realized that the only thing that really mattered was how I felt about it, what's happening in my business, the money I was actually making, I started to really think about Instagram differently, and I stopped thinking about how I let other florists or other people feel, make me feel like shit.

I just disconnected from that, that. That is probably something very cool that they've worked very hard to get and good for them. Instead of, I wish that could be me. I kind of flip my mindset to like, how could I cheer them on? But also how could I maybe even learn like a strategy that they're learning or some tidbit that could help me to be a more effective marketer?

I. So when I started paying attention to like, okay, what really popped out about this? What did I think was really appealing? And is this appealing to me as a florist? Is this appealing to me as a potential couple? Is this appealing to me as a wedding professional going, I wanna work with this person. So once I really step back, anytime I see something that makes me feel ick.

Makes me feel fratty feelings, makes me feel imposter. Syndromes are us, makes me feel like I'm not good enough or this person is cooler than me. I'm pretty fucking cool people like, but I still think sometimes, God, that person is so cool and what they made is so cool and I mean, it happens to everybody.

And so for one, just realizing that those feelings are normal is. Kind of one big, huge step into this process, but how can you use those things that you learned? How can you really use Instagram in general to book more weddings? So notice the things that are happening, but don't let yourself be sucked in.

Don't let yourself be overcome by how it makes you feel. Like shrug it off. And if you can't shrug it off, you need to unfollow them. If that person gives you the ick. There are actually a couple florists that just give me the ick, like I, there's something about their energy even that repels me that like I'll look at it and I'll just be like, even looking at this, whatever they made just for some reason doesn't feel good because.

Of a million different reasons. Maybe it's, I mean, one of 'em was because of politically how they were putting themselves out there and that didn't feel good. Um, another one, I knew that they were grossly undercharging, and I just felt like it was a disservice to continuously support that person when they're damaging our interest rate, and you can make that decision to unfollow them.

So like I make sure, like things that I look on on Instagram make me feel good. I also make sure that I am using Instagram as a business tool. Yes, I learn things about parenting sometimes and I learn things about I. Um, I get served content about, um, autism and about being a parent to a kid with a DHD about having a DHD 'cause I have, um, A-D-H-D-I, I get served things about homesteading now because we're buying a farm and I get served videos about cows, but I make sure that I'm living that content consumption.

I have locks. On my social media app that locked me out after that, and I have to enter my code to use the app after that. So I put like little kind of feel safes in place to help me not over consume. If you are over consuming, you need to try to institute those same things because you could have a shitty perspective about Instagram because you're realistically spending a ton of personal time.

Soaking in Highland Cow videos or soaking in cute puppies or personal development things that are just like. Bromance is are us like, yeah, I got sucked into it for a while. I like just loved watching motivational when I, especially when I started really getting into my fitness, motivational women that were super buff, that were like in the gym being brick shit houses and like also just like then looking like a million bucks afterwards looking so put together.

But like realistically, that time sucked me away and made me feel. I was spending more time on Instagram. So if that is you, then you need to make sure that you're really limiting that time because your perception of what Instagram is doing or taking from you can really be skewed if you're investing a lot of personal time.

All right. The next thing is you need to come up with a plan. Half the people are really frustrated with their results on Instagram, but you have no fucking plan in actually executing your vision or what you should be doing. So I have done a ton of episodes on content pillars. Do you have content pillars that you consistently, you know, post within those guidelines?

Like I post about. For, let's just say for my floral business, a la carte flowers, full service weddings, uh, I post about, uh, cultural weddings. Uh, I also post about me and about us comment, uh, content because I want people to fall in love with the business, fall in love with me as a human. It's more like about us meet us Monday.

I, I so lovingly called it for a while and I post about like, growing flowers, being a mother. Um, I'm gonna be posting about the farm, you know, so like that's a content pillar. If you guys are, are really unfamiliar with what content pillars are, I follow a method called the JK five. It is. Jenna Kutcher, who is a, the host of the Gold Digger podcast.

She was a wedding photographer and turned into this like business. Genius and literally like this framework makes it so easy to just have a strategy. So if you know, if you're posting within one of your content pillars, like she used to have mac and cheese, like she loved all things mac and cheese, that was a content pillar.

It made her seem real, it made her seem approachable. It made her seem. Just like really Minnesotan for one. Um, I think she lived in Wisconsin at the time, but mac and cheese is very Wisconsin too. Like it is something that made her relatable. And so are you posting a mix of. Business content. Are you posting a mix of like re relatable content, fall in love with you?

Content like having this mix is going to help you book more clients. If you are just posting promotional content that is not going to long-term resonate with people. You need to have that, that moment that somebody's looking at your, your profile page. And they were like, I like her. She's kind of sassy.

She's fun, like she does beautiful work, whatever it is. Like there's some, you know, showing what you can do, showing what you offer, but showing why you're their best choice. And I think we often miss that because we're so worried about driving that next connection and making sure that everybody puts, you know, their best foot forward.

You need to make sure you are driving those connections, but you need to make sure that they wanna fucking connect with you, which is the person that you are, the brand that you are. The feeling that you give off. Are you giving like warm stay at home mom side business vibes or crabby, prissy creative vibes or stuck up snob vibes, or I'm too good for you vibes, or whatever the vibe is like.

Ask somebody. When you look at your Instagram, what are three words that you would use to describe my business? Like ask Instagram that, do an Instagram poll, or what would you guys like to see more content of? I see Floris all the time asking this in, in my market, and I think it, it is such a great tool because you are, you are asking for feedback.

What do you guys wanna see more of? Do you have a Frenchie that everybody think is cute and they just literally wanna see more of a frenchie post that in your Instagram stories? That is a place for you to truly build that likability. Like I just, when I was walking out here, it is April 1st, and it is not April Fool's on everybody because.

Seriously, we are getting a shitload of snow. We actually came home from a cabin up north because they were gonna get a foot of snow there, and I have to be back here to meet with my mastermind girls tomorrow. And I was like, we're just coming back early because I'm just done with this snow shit. But like, I took a little five second video of, for real, like we have an inch of snow outside already.

I mean, it's April like, but it is. Hey, I hate the snow too. Somebody can relate with that. I post pictures or videos of my kids being cute and adorable. Bodhi being a badass at Jiujitsu Bella playing her violin, me doing life, me going to CrossFit, me going to, um, the wholesaler and experiencing like what it is to walk in the wholesaler and showing like what it is a day in the life.

Like stories are a great place for you to build that why they should choose you. Kind of dialogue in that person's head. So why should they choose you? Are you showing that? Are you showing like your relatability? Are you showing that you really care? People wanna do business with people who care. And if you are disconnected, if you are like, Hey, I'm just gonna post that.

I'm accepting bookings. Yeah, maybe I'm gonna post. I'll share a post that I did that talks about I'm now taking 2025 clients or whatever, and then I share that on my stories and I put a link to connect with me in my Contact us form on our website. We can use links in our stories and use them strategically to just directly connect them with where you want them to go.

I would much rather get an email in my inbox than a dm. A dm, they're just, they can fling anywhere. There is purpose and intention behind them going in and filling out that contact us button on your site. So are you really showcasing why they should do business with you? How they can do business with you, what they can do business with you at?

Like when I launched the silk flowers, like. People reached out to me just because they saw them on my feed, like I am showing them what is possible. I am showing them this beautiful arch that I've made that they can rent and I've talked about. They can rent it, and then I've shared it in my link, in my stories with a link to my contact us form to ask questions like you can use that as a lead magnet tool.

Hey, reach out here and I'll send you my brochure that has my starting at pricing in it. There are so many ways for you to start really building that connection point because inevitably we want to get them off of Instagram and onto your website, hopefully, and connecting with you via email or whatever way you prefer for them to connect with you.

Like I prefer an email because I can keep track of it a little bit better. Um, I love Gmail 'cause it reminds me if for some reason I didn't reply, it's, it makes it so much easier for you to, to, to just keep track If you have a CRM, it's helping create an automated follow up process for you. Like there are so many things that are better when we get them off of Instagram and I do the same with.

Zola or the knot or wedding wire, like I wanna get them off of that platform and in my ecosystem. So what are some ways that you can book, like directly book, I just mentioned one, put your contact us form, link in your stories if you have to. Every day. Every day have some like a picture of a beautiful bouquet and text overlay that says.

Connect with us. We're still, um, accepting 2025 weddings, or we have limited 2025 availability. Inquire here. Uh, you could, if you have an a la carte program that could be your next line of defense. Check out our a la carte offerings. Check out this link right here, like it's directly to your shopping cart on your website.

How easy is that? But that's another call to action, another connection point, because not only are potential clients gonna wanna look at that couples, but wedding planners or, you know, I have a photographer that, that uses my a la carte for her elopements, for courthouse elopements, like, and she just orders them.

You know, it, it's, it's transparency that isn't out there. And so if you can lend transparency anytime, that is going to be immensely valuable. So the other way to book, and I, I talk a lot about this is are you adding value? Are we adding value or just taking Instagram has a lot of take. I mean, it is a lot of taking, it's like plum full of taking.

So are you giving, are you giving back or are you just consuming? And if you are truly adding value, if you are, are giving to the Instagram gods. People can see that you are creating content that is worth consuming. You are creating content that's worth sharing potentially. I forever, like my goal was to create shareable content.

I wanted to create videos that were helpful that wedding professionals would want to share to their Instagram stories. Like that was a big strategy for me for a while. Like I would make videos several times a week. And I went on kind of a hiatus from that just because I make so many videos now. It's kind of, it's kind of a lot.

Um, but I got shared all the time. So can you create content like, Hey everybody, I wanna just talk to you about like my top 10, uh, fall flowers and why. Like they are my goal to fall flowers or I wanna talk to you about like three things that you can do with your wedding flowers after your wedding. Uh, I want to show you some really cool new centerpiece bowl options that you might not have think of.

'cause I just got them. Look at this new candle trend. Like I just got the new ribbed, um, taper. Candle chimneys and like they are so beautiful. Like you could just do a video showing those and talking about like different candle trends, like how ribbed is hot right now. There are so many possibilities for you to add value and when you add value and you're not just taking, that is going to tip into your favor.

People look and are drawn to people who are just giving. And especially other wedding professionals, they are looking for shareable content that they can share in their Instagram stories so they can add value to their audience. So if you look at your Instagram, ask yourself, am I adding value? 'cause if you are.

Then there must be some other equation that might be missing. But I have clients all the time that reach out to me and they say, I saw your video on, I asked, they reached out. And are you adding that value or are you just taking, alright, the next thing. Is making sure if you wanna book more brights, if you are a preferred vendor, you need to make sure that you are tagging your venues, tagging your vendor friends.

It is going to put you in front of so many more people if you are showing up, being tagged, because you'll show up when you tag them. In the third box over, which is the tagging box. And in the tagging box, especially if you are a new bride, new couple getting married, and you're like, I don't know what vendors, and then you see this beautiful wedding literally that is very similar to what you want, why would you not like go and look at that post and then look at the vendors?

Here's this person who already knows what they're doing. So you need to make sure that you are using an effective tagging strategy because with those tags you will show up in for one, a venue you've already been to and likely done a similar thing. People are not that like creative, they're, they're often going, I loved that.

And as someone who has like crazy relationships with. Vendor venues especially, and with certain photographers and certain, like I just, I have my people, like, I have my little like clan and especially at one of my favorite venues, essence Event Center, like I fill their fucking Instagram because for one, I show up for them because I really do care about their success.

I, I love the venue manager, like I seriously, like, would consider her a very close friend. I love her like she is an amazing human. And anything they would ask of me, I would do it for them because they do the same thing for me. Like I have got that bond like this Sunday. I am hosting the Minnesota Floral Collective event there.

They're donating their space because I show up for them every month for open doors. They have an open house every month. I don't care what it is. If I'm so fucking busy, I would figure out how to do something for them. And not charge them because I am showing up for them because they show up for me. They let me, I hope, host, um, couple my workshops there every year.

It's a beautiful space. The, the venue manager that I mentioned is also a photographer, so anytime I do something, I not only whatever photographer is there, but I get her pictures and I love her pictures. Her pictures are amazing. Like she is such a good photographer, so like. How can you form those relationships and just make sure that you're tagging consistently so that it's also just showing up, showing up, and then make sure anytime you tag them in post, you go and add the story, and then you tag them again, because then it's gonna show up.

When you tag in a post, it shows up under their heart. When you tag in a story, it's showing up in their dm. So that's two very different places. People pay way more attention to the DM than the heart, because the heart's like anytime somebody liked fucking something, any comments, any whatever, which are also important to make sure that you're being responsive.

But that DM is where it's at for immediate gratification. And if you want somebody to then go and take an add to story. Because they just have to hit a little button. If you want them to be able to just hit the button, you need to make sure that you're adding to story and then tagging everybody, because then they're going to add to story because again, easy content for somebody to share in their stories, and then you are getting all of their audience exposure.

So that's when it becomes like this domino effect of awesomeness is that you use an effective tagging strategy. Of course, also having a hashtag strategy, making sure you're, you're ging yourself to your area. If you don't have on your Instagram profile where you're located, somebody will come on your Instagram page and have no clue if you are looking for help with social, this is.

Something that most people like are struggling with and I get 'cause it feels overwhelming. Go to the floral hustle.com/social and I have a free social media guide. It is jam packed of like a social media audit, walks you through content ideas, walks you through how to do things. It is so comprehensive and it's free.

So please go check that out. I hope this little Instagram pep talk slash how you can book more clients. 'cause also we didn't even get into like really fully immersing into vendor and that's how you're going to book more clients is making sure you are connecting with other vendors. Not, I mean I connect with other florists 'cause I love florists, but wedding planners, venues.

All of those things, you wanna make sure that you're going in and strategically interacting with other people's accounts. So your name gets out there. If you are just going in there consuming and not adding value, you are not gonna grow your name with Ven vendors, venues who are in front of potentially anywhere from 30 to 70 clients a year that you could potentially be in front of.

If you really build a relationship with them, that relationship can start with commenting on a post. That relationship can, especially stories if you reply to their story, like, this is amazing. This is so beautiful. I, I love this. Oh my God, whatever that is gonna go into their dms. They're gonna see, like, you sent them a message and it's just you commenting on their story.

So make sure you're interacting strategically. I spend 10 minutes a day strategically interacting with other people's content on Instagram. I do it in the bathtub. It's a ritual every night. It's like bathtub time. I make sure I'm interacting. So pick a time, make sure even if you have to schedule it out, schedule at that time so you can make sure that you are investing strategically in your business's growth.

In ways that really matter, and I've covered so many of those ways that it's mattered, but even drill down to one, like every day this month, I'm gonna go in and I'm gonna strategically interact with other accounts For 10 minutes, I'm gonna go and follow 10 new accounts. And you know, an easy way to do that.

Go to one of your favorite photographers, your favorite venues, and go in and click on their followers. Okay. I recognize all of these people. Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow. 10 a day, you will grow your Instagram. If you go in and start following 10 a day, usually at least 30 to 50% are gonna follow you back.

Especially if you start going and, you know, commenting on their stuff. They're gonna be like, they, this person is so nice. They're, they're commenting on my, my things as well. Like, I for sure wanna follow them. Hmm. I'd love to meet them like. It. The possibility is endless. So thank you so much for listening, flower Friends, and you have an amazing flower filled week.