I Created A Social Media Strategy for a Small Business
Having a social media strategy is increasingly important in today’s digital landscape. Social media is a way to connect with customers and stay relevant in a world with constant distractions. Not all small businesses have the time or resources to hire a social media manager, however, there are ways for them to successfully curate their content to the best advantage.
I designed a week’s worth of content for a Flower Shop.
The local florist has a Facebook and Instagram page that they occasionally cross-post to. They have lots of potential content but no upload schedule and no cohesive theme or aesthetic to their posts. Many posts also have long captions that might cause people to scroll past without reading.
example post 1
example post 2
My social media strategy is broken down into 3 parts: a unifying theme across multiple posts and platforms, colorful fun designs, and short engaging captions.
My Theme
Since it is currently September and the Fall Equinox is coming up soon, I decided the theme for my social media posts would be “The First Week of Fall”.
The summer wedding season is just ending and there are no major upcoming holidays so the shop will have a bit more time to dedicate to posting on social media. With that in mind, I created one post a day for both Facebook and Instagram. The shop owner told me she’d like to have different posts on each platform so I made different content for Facebook and Instagram that still followed the same theme.
I used Canva to design my posts and added photos from the flower shop that would fit the autumnal aesthetic.
I paid special attention to the color palette. In addition to warm fall colors, I wanted to incorporate some purple since it is the owner’s favorite color and she frequently uses it in the shop and social media. Most importantly, I wanted all the posts to flow from one to the next while still showing as many different styles of flowers as possible.
Facebook Posts
When designing the Facebook posts, I decided that in addition to the week-long theme, I wanted each day to have a distinct topic. I first picked a warm purple color palette and searched for some fun “fall” elements I could use to decorate the various posts. Next, I selected unique photo frames and designed the layout of each post before adding photos I thought matched the day’s topic. I played around with the photos and layout until I was happy with them all. The final step was writing short, snappy captions that engage the audience. Below you will find my designs along with a mockup Facebook post showing what each one would look like in someone’s newsfeed. If you want to view the full slideshow of designs in Canva, you can do so here.
Day/Topic: Monday; Decorating the shop
Caption: “Change is in the air. We are decorating our shop for fall and can't wait to show you what's inside!”
Monday
Day/Topic: Tuesday; Bright colours (the shop uses British spelling)
Caption: “Feeling inspired from these vibrant colours. Which flowers speak to you the most?”
Tuesday
Day/Topic: Wednesday; Excited for fall
Caption: “Who's excited for the changing season? We are ready for some pumpkin spice!”
Wednesday
Day/Topic: Thursday; Bouquets and centerpieces
Caption: “Our little shop is busy making some beautiful creations just for you! Come visit us and see.”
Thursday
Day/Topic: Friday; September weddings
Caption: “There is something magical about a September wedding! We are blessed to design flowers for some lovely couples this month. Wishing all the newlyweds many happy years ahead!”
Friday
Day/Topic: Saturday; Autumn vibes
Caption: “Happy Saturday! Tell us, what do you love most about autumn?”
Saturday
Instagram Posts
Instagram has a very different aesthetic from Facebook and while I kept the “First Week of Fall” theme the same, I wanted each platform to be distinct. I knew I wanted to create a “puzzle” format for Instagram where each individual post is part of a whole that will create a bigger picture once it is complete.
To do this, I carefully customized the size of my image and divided it into six parts using a grid. I used the same background color for all six posts and made several graphics and text overlap the grid lines. Each grid had a unique photo layout that looked nice by themselves and together. Once I finished the complete design, I cut the image into six squares and made sure to number them so the puzzle would fit together correctly. Below you will find mockups of the individual posts and how it looks all together in an Instagram feed. If you want to view the full design on Canva you can do that here, and see the mobile Instagram layout here.
Day: Monday
Caption: “Happy Monday! Here are some sunflowers to start the week.”
Monday
Day: Tuesday
Caption: “Welcoming the changing season with flowers!”
Tuesday
Day: Wednesday
Caption: “Who doesn't love mini pumpkins? They look so cute next to our flowers!”
Wednesday
Day: Thursday
Caption: “Fall is a time of bountiful harvest, and our shop is overflowing with flowers!”
Thursday
Day: Friday
Caption: “We hope these colourful blooms inspire you today!”
Friday
Day: Saturday
Caption: “Enjoying this mild fall weather at our shop. We hope everyone has a lovely weekend!”
Saturday
Complete puzzle picture:
Design without grid marks
mockup mobile Instagram feed
Final Thoughts
As someone who rarely uses social media personally, I quite enjoyed designing content for a business. I thought carefully about the brand and what I wanted the social media posts to convey. I stuck to my theme and made sure that not only did the individual posts look nice, but that they looked even better together. I realized each part of the process was connected: choosing pictures that matched each other while still showing different styles, finding a layout that worked best for each photo, matching the caption to the post, etc. It felt like a crash course in social media marketing!
I think having a unifying week-long theme is a great strategy for a Flower Shop. Since the flower industry follows the seasons and holidays already, it would be easy to incorporate this into their social media content. During slower times of the year they can maintain a daily upload schedule; while during busy months they might decide to only post 2 to 3 times a week instead.
Overall, I learned a lot of valuable skills during this project and am very proud of the finished results!
