This 'n' Data

The poll position

Here’s what industry folks have been telling us in recent online polls. Be sure to check www.gardencentermagazine.com each week to cast your vote on various pertinent topics.

How long is this story?
Having multiple social-media outlets at your disposal is great. Until you have to decide when, where and how to pass along your marketing messages. Should this be a Tweet? A Facebook status update? A blog entry? To simplify things it helps to ask: How long is this story?

Let’s say you just received a shipment of petunias in the local college’s school colors. Your message: “Just in—purple and white petunias. Show your school spirit! Gear up for the game-watching party.” Short, sweet and perfect for a Tweet or Facebook status update.

Now, let’s take this a step further. Later that day, your annuals manager decides to create a school-spirit container garden using the petunias. And, since he’s such a go-getter, he also constructed a display using the finished container as a centerpiece, which is surrounded by all the merchandise needed to replicate the look at home. This lends itself perfectly to a “how-to” tutorial—definitely a compelling story. But much longer, of course.

Now is the time to turn to your blog. Write an entry giving step-by-step instructions with accompanying photographs. But don’t let this masterpiece languish in cyberspace. Post a link to the entry on Facebook and Twitter to drive traffic to the content. If your store’s e-newsletter will be issued soon, be sure to make this article part of the story mix.

Another option: Produce a short video of your manager giving instructions on how to create the container garden and post it on YouTube. Subscribers to your YouTube channel will receive an update that a new video has been posted. But, again, don’t leave it at that. Post a link to the video on Facebook/Twitter to inform folks who don’t frequently visit YouTube. An embedded video in your e-newsletter is an option, too. Check with your service provider.

This may seem counterintuitive, but it’s often the short messages that alienate your customer base. Let’s go back to our petunia example. A quick update about flowers in the local school’s colors seems genuine and newsworthy. But a brief blurb touting “Two-Days Only! Petunias at 20 percent off!” is seen as spam. Creating too many posts in this vein is a surefire way to erode your social-media base.

Sarah Martinez, managing editor