Use the Art of Storytelling to Connect with Floral Clients on Instagram
If words have power and pictures are worth a thousand words, how much more powerful are the two when combined?
Storytelling is of the most potent ways to connect with others because everyone has a story to tell. As a florist or floral designer, do you have a story to tell? Is it about how your brand came about? What sparked your interest in flowers? Why did you choose to make a career out of flowers?
An effective way to share your story is through one of the world's biggest social media platforms: Instagram. What began as a way for people to share about their businesses, daily lives, and families through aesthetically pleasing photos quickly shifted into more. Users realized an image paired with a captivating caption has a long-lasting effect for their businesses and Instagram page.
Content manager at Boom Essays, Grace Carter, perfectly explains the importance of adding a caption to your Instagram photo. She says, "Good Instagram captions have the ability to add even more context to the post—which could make a big difference increasing engagement, bio visits, or click-throughs."
Both as a small business and as a floral designer, Instagram is the perfect platform to grow your brand. A stunning photo of a bouquet of cherry red roses paired with a thoughtful caption highlighting the story of the bouquet or wedding it was in would have a more significant impact than only the photo and few words describing the flowers. Possible future clients will notice your savvy designing skills and see your passion as a florist, which will lead to them wanting to inquire more about your business.
Instagram Captions Are an Art
An impactful caption begins with forethought. A caption written in a rush truly doesn't have the same effect as one written with intention.
Planning a Instagram caption also gives room for you to create the story you want to tell and pair it with a suitable image. Make sure that each post touches on a critical point of your target or dream client's story. Include the pain points they experience, like the difficulties of sourcing a floral designer who matches their style.
If an impactful caption begins with forethought, it ends with precision. Though you have a story to tell, those who come to your Instagram page will not want a long, rambling caption that doesn't offer value.
As a small business floral designer, your goal on Instagram is to give your followers a snippet of what you're about and who you are. Keeping the stories short allows for followers to become curious about you as a florist, making way for them to peruse your other posts and then follow your brand on Instagram.
Stories, Not Statistics, Connect With People
People would rather hear the story than hear a statistic. If you've designed for ten companies over the past three years and 80% of those companies have become recurring clients, it's more meaningful to tell about your experiences with those companies than just throw out numbers.
In a Forbes article, business coach Chris Westfall sums up why stories over statistics are vital when doing business. He says, "Experience—your personal experience and mine—is what's unique. Experience makes the data meaningful."
Call to Actions in Instagram Captions are a Must
Stunning images of floral archways, bouquets, and centerpieces combined with captivating storytelling captions are critical, but they won’t be enough to generate the growth of your Instagram account. Once you've hooked your followers with the image and story, they need to know what to do next.
Is the next step calling a number to inquire about your floral design business? Is it to follow your Instagram page to stay updated on your latest ventures as a florist? Is it to visit your website to subscribe to download your lead magnet? Or is it merely to reply to your question, "What do you want to know most about floral design?"
A call to action is more than a question; it sparks the viewer to move from spectator to player. Once you give your Instagram viewers a method to join in the game, your brand's awareness spreads from one person to the next.
As a florist and floral designer, you do have a story to tell. It's about your brand, who you are, why you do floral work, and what you've accomplished. Now the goal is to write your stories, combine them with engaging images, and allow them to speak a thousand words for your brand.
