Hands On SOCIAL SAVVY


Show Customers You’re Truly Local


> Around major floral holidays, local florists aren’t competing only with other gift-giving companies and flower shops for customers’ attention. Deceptive order gatherers — third-party companies that use misleading websites, online ads, caller ID spoofing and impersonation calls to siphon orders from legitimate floral businesses — can make it difficult for consum- ers to recognize which businesses are truly local. Social media gives florists a powerful way to make that distinction clear. Once a month, Kuhn Flowers owner Michelle Morgan gathers her team


to plan content that showcases daily life inside the Jacksonville, Florida, shop. The resulting posts include behind-the-scenes arrangement time- lapses, delivery-driver spotlights and employees having fun at work. “We’ve found that people connect with people more than they connect


with products,” Morgan says. “We can post beautiful arrangements all day long, and those are still important, but when we show our designers, deliv- ery drivers, or what goes on around the shop, people seem to stop and pay attention.” That content does more than generate engagement. It gives customers


visible proof of the people, talent and physical operation behind the busi- ness — qualities a deceptive order gatherer cannot duplicate. “You want to proudly show the community, ‘I’m the local florist. We are


in the community. We deliver to your neighborhood. We know this specific corner,’” says floral business consultant Renato Sogueco, AAF, PFCI.


That message becomes particularly valuable ahead of high-volume


floral holidays. When customers need flowers, they are more likely to recognize and seek out a business they have already seen participating in the community, designing arrangements and making local deliveries. Morgan says customers come into the shop and mention videos


they’ve watched or designers they recognize. Although she can’t always tie those interactions directly to sales, she sees them as evidence that the content is building familiarity. “I think that’s really what social media is for; it’s about helping people


get to know who we are before they ever need flowers,” she says. “Then, when an occasion comes up, we’re not just another florist. We’re a business they already feel connected to.” To maintain that connection, Morgan plans content monthly and


creates it in batches during slower periods. She describes the approach as “potpourri”: a mix of employee spotlights, design time-lapses, seasonal pro- motions and snapshots of daily shop life. Community partnerships add another layer of authenticity. Kuhn


FAMILIAR FACES


Kuhn Flowers shares behind-the-scenes videos of its designers and daily shop life to help customers recognize the people behind the Jacksonville, Florida, business.


Flowers selectively highlights relationships with local organizations, events and businesses that share its values. Those genuine connections build com- munity credibility that deceptive order gatherers cannot copy. Visit SAF’s deceptive order gathering resource center at safnow.org/ deceptive-order-gathering for more guidance on protecting your business.


Sarah Sampson is a contributing writer for Floral Management. 10 FLORAL MANAGEMENT | November/December 2026 | WWW.SAFNOW.ORG


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