June 2020 - 28

SOCIAL MEDIA
Using
Social Media
Effectively During
Uncertain Times
Now more than ever, garden centers must provide
frequent, dynamic and reassuring social media content.
By Grace Hensley
W
ith our suddenly enforced social isolation due to
COVID-19, social media has become our window
to the larger world. Beyond endlessly refreshing
the news, or sharing photos of elaborate meals, it's also how
we communicate and connect with our customers about the
rapidly changing adjustments we make in our businesses.
Right now, our customers are craving both information
and entertainment. The most important thing is to be online
using the channels your customers use.
Of course you have updated your website with new hours
and policies, and emailed your newsletter list with practical
tips and encouragement. Now is time to strengthen your
social presence.
Whether it is Facebook or Instagram, providing dynamic
content daily is imperative to provide reassurance and
consistency. Now, more than ever, social media matters
Helpful Social Media Tools
Here are four practical ways to use social media for your
business:
1. Communicate: Whatever you do or sell, your top priority
is to communicate with your customers and clients. As
an independent garden center, you need to communicate
changing rules, like reduced business hours, or whether or
not you have curbside pickup and delivery.
This works the same if you are a landscaper complying
with your state rules, or even a designer announcing new
28 | LAWN & GARDEN RETAILER | JUNE 2020
ways you are connecting with your clients with virtual tours
and coaching.
Use the Instagram Grid to post a simple square image. Do
not try to get all of the information onto one tiny square,
which is impossible to see on a tiny screen; use a graphics
program like Canva to design a simple visual like: Your
Business Name + Announcements, or take a photo of you
cupping your hands around your mouth. Then overlay the
date, or " New. "
As long as the text is not along the edge of the photo, you
can use the same image on Facebook. Then, use the caption
or description to outline your updates and new details.
2. Show, Don't Tell: You may need to offer some new
products or procedures. If you are a garden center, adapt to
the surge in Victory Gardens and offer " Preplanned Veggie
Packs " or " Goodie Bags " with designed plant combinations
for sun or shade. After all, you are the one who knows what
grows best in your climate. Make offerings for four, or 40, or
400 square feet so people who have containers can be just as
successful as those with hobby farms.
If you offer landscape or design services, offer virtual
design sessions, or reassure your clients that you are only
doing essential maintenance activities that maintain the
health of their valuable landscapes while complying with
state rules.
Reassure them that you are being extra careful with
cleanup and social distancing, and ask them to maintain the
same standards - that is, that they don't chat you up while
June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2020
