Bramble Bees Florist is an independent store providing floral bouquets and gifts to a local community. Dickens Heath is a small village within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, an affluent area in the West Midlands. The Stratford-Upon-Avon canal flows around the edge of the village attracting canal boaters and walkers. The Market Square area was designed as a continental style plaza with a variety of shops and external seating areas for restaurants creating a lively heart for the community.
Bramble Bees Florist will open its doors to the public in September 2020. The owner came to me for training on how to set up a Facebook Business Page to build awareness of their new store within the local community ahead of opening to the public.
A lack of confidence and knowledge with the Facebook platform left my client feeling nervous and overwhelmed at the thought of using the social media platform. They understood the importance of visibility, but were anxious about posting regular content and knowing what to say to engage followers. With the COVID-19 restrictions in place, my client’s website design was put on hold, which meant social media was the only source of engagement with potential customers.
Using Zoom, we worked together to set up the bare bones of the Facebook Page. Their apprehension about using the social media platform led to my client turning over the remaining set up and content creation to me, thereby freeing up their valuable time and headspace to concentrate on working on the new business rather than in it.
We established the client’s initial goal for the page content which was to build awareness, grow the audience, and share news of the upcoming store opening. The goal will be revisited once the store has opened.
Page engagement in the first month has far outweighed my client’s expectations. The insights show a rapid rate in page followers, and a satisfactory level of audience participation.
It was agreed that we would share content seven days a week, creating relatable graphics with the client’s branding, and use SEO friendly copy for each post. My client has connected with the local community by leaving secret bouquets on residents’ door steps. We have been able to encourage recipients to share this on the page, which has invited lots of interaction, visitor posts, and tags on prominent community pages and groups.
There is a sense of excitement about the grand opening in September which we will build on throughout August. Once the store opens its doors our emphasis will be on maintaining brand awareness and converting content into sales – either in person, or via the online website.