In addition to all the information I have on my slides, I was making notes all through the breakfast and early session to work into my presentation as well. I’ve numbered the slides here, but you’ll have to count them on the printed copy:
Slides 9-10: Why blog?
As we heard in the breakfast session, consumers want/need educational material. A blog is a great place to put some of this information. You could create a section on your blog for “Care and Handling Tips”, and have posts for the different types of flowers and arrangements.
Mike’s study also found that the greatest barrier for younger consumers is that they don’t know how or what to order. These consumers probably do know how to read a blog, so adding content to your blog that is very basic could help draw younger customers to your shop. I can almost guarantee a series of posts about corsages and boutonnieres as prom season approaches would be a great draw, and you could probably sell some different styles merely by highlighting them.
Slide 12: Blogs as a marketing tool
“Customer evangelism” is a fancy new term for “word of mouth”. This is where your loyal (or PO’d) customers talk about you, good or bad. Be careful what you say or do, as it may be easily broadcast to thousands. Personal blogs will tip the balance of business to consumer interactions back toward the consumer again.
Slide 13: What to blog about
Do you have e-mail newsletters like Chad, Marty and Tina? Put copies on your blog! You can keep the newsletter special by delaying posting for a couple of days. As I mentioned in a previous slide, there is a growing reluctance for consumers to give out their e-mail address. Blogs are anonymous, so there will be a certain percentage of consumers who would rather read a blog. But, if they see great value in your newsletter, they might sign up. Blogs and e-mail marketing are complementary technologies, and it would be good to do both.
Slide 14: Where to get content
SAF gave us great “Hip givers guides” at breakfast. You have a number of great ideas in there. Mike’s presentation has some interesting statistics–some you’ll want to share, and some you’ll want to use to plan content.
Hey Rich,
I totally enjoyed your blog presentation at SAF. I know that many of the florists in the room didn’t quite get it, but it was still important for them to hear it. In another year, they won’t be able to remember a time when they didn’t know what a blog was.
I felt like when you sat down, we’d barely scratched the information you had to share. Thanks for jamming a lot of good stuff into a very short period of time. It rocked.
BJ