 Angela Treadwell-Palmer |
Social media is the biggest cultural shift since the industrial revolution. If you want to be in business five years from now, you should embrace the online/social world, or you could be on the ever-growing list of bankruptcies and closings. You need to adapt. Did you know?
Here’s the kicker. This is what no one seems to understand in our industry: The fastest-growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old women. Isn’t that the “golden” group of customers the consultants talk about? Isn’t this the group who has money to spend? Isn’t this the group that isn’t hip enough to be a part of social media? Facts are facts, people. They may be on Facebook because they want to see what their grandkids are doing. They may be connecting with old colleagues and childhood friends, but the bottom line is they are there in force, and they are looking to engage and share ideas and knowledge. They are currently your best customers, right? So why aren’t you engaging them there? Still think it’s not worth it? My personal geek (a.k.a. my business partner and husband) just got back from one of his favorite conferences. This is the conference where geeks share ideas. He’s an Internet and social media geek. Since the Internet and social media change rapidly, no one can be an expert. Beware of someone who claims to be. None of the self-proclaimed “experts” in our industry attended this conference. Surprised? I’ve been looking outside to see what other industries are doing and how they continue to be so successful in these hard economic times. What industry is embracing social media? Did you guess pizza? That’s right, its take-out pizza. Domino’s and Pizza Hut have two of the hippest, most happening, and truly beloved social media campaigns today. Are you going to tell me people NEED pizza? They need pizza as much as they NEED plants. So, why are people buying more pizza when there’s less money to spend? It’s fun. Social media allows the buyers to be part of an engaging community of pizza lovers. Do you have a community? I don’t mean your local community. I mean a dedicated community of followers who think you are the expert in everything there is to know about plants? I guarantee you don’t. I’ve looked at a lot of big websites and Facebook pages. I subscribe to every e-letter I can find. I delete most of them now because they bore me. Will your community find you? Once they find you, will they find what you’ve posted interesting? Read your last 10 Tweets and Facebook posts. Read your company’s e-letter. Are they relevant to your community? Is there a “voice”? Is someone on your staff sharing personal plant-related experiences? Do you find them interesting, or are they just sales announcements? If you don’t find them insightful and interesting, why would your community? Many garden centers and nurseries around the U.S. are failing. The world has changed. It’s your turn to change. Or—by all means—avoid social media like the plague. That will leave room for another garden center to develop engaging information designed to kick yours swiftly in the proverbial arse. Angela Treadwell-Palmer owns Plants Nouveau, a company on the cutting edge of plant introductions. Learn more about the company and sign up for Treadwell-Palmer’s edgy “Weeding Gnome” e-newsletter at www.plantsnouveau.com. |
Explore the January 2011 Issue
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