Stop Overthinking Social Media: Real Strategies That Work
Vonda will be the first to admit social media isn't her thing — she scrolls occasionally, mostly when Lori insists "you've got to see this." Lori is fine on Facebook but confesses that having to post to Instagram herself while Ellie was out of town nearly triggered a panic attack. If either of those sounds familiar, this episode was recorded for you. Lori invited two people she meets with weekly, Chris Grigas (sales and media, based in Albany, New York) and Karrie Wallace (marketing manager, based in Houston), both of the Bill Doran Company, for an honest conversation about what's actually working right now on Instagram and Facebook — and why most of us are making this harder than it needs to be.
The biggest mistake: not showing the product
Karrie's job involves a lot of scrolling — branches, competitors, flower shops — and the miss she sees most often across the industry is simple: people want to see the products more than anything. When someone lands on your profile for the first time (and social is where most new customers first meet your business), your best foot forward means a concise profile, highlights set up, and a feed that actually shows what you sell. The second miss is personalization — the individuality that makes your shop stand out among every other business online. "People have to see what they're buying, otherwise they won't bite."
Instagram vs. Facebook: know your audience
Chris leans Instagram-first for business: it's the more artistic, visual, link-driven platform — the place people long for what you're selling — and he auto-posts to Facebook to cover both. Karrie pushed back with a broader view: Facebook still holds real opportunity, including Marketplace, if you learn the platform. The rough demographic split she sees is 30-and-under on Instagram, 30-and-up on Facebook — and Vonda jumped in with the retail-florist reality check: the customers with disposable income are largely the Facebook crowd. The takeaway isn't either/or; it's knowing who your audience is and strategizing for both. Chris added a wholesale wrinkle that applies to shops too: know whether you're talking to your customer or your customer's customer, and frame accordingly.
A practical posting plan (and the content you're ignoring)
Asked to pretend she was running a flower shop's accounts, Karrie laid out a workable cadence: three to five posts a week — two promotional posts featuring products, one behind-the-scenes (processing, the truck unloading, the workroom), and an occasion or customer highlight. That last one is the underused goldmine: user-generated content. Think about how you shop on Amazon — you read the reviews first. When customers post your work, that is your review section; repost it, collaborate on it, and say "look what we had a hand in."
On formats: you've got four content types — still posts, carousels, videos/reels, and stories — and Karrie's research is blunt about where the algorithm is pointing. "Videos and carousels are all the algorithm is really recognizing." Single still photos will still reach your followers, but reels and carousels are what get pushed to the explore page. Ten slides is roughly the carousel sweet spot, though the message dictates the length — a Happy Mother's Day post might need two or three slides, an educational post more. And as Chris put it, these are tools, not parameters: a two-slide carousel is perfect when it's a front-and-back or a "how it started / how it's going."
Education builds trust — and sometimes goes viral
Chris's most-viewed post came from the Golden Globes, where actress Kristen Bell marveled on camera at an enormous "rose" — which was actually a composite rose, a floral design built to look like one giant bloom. Without stealing her thunder, Chris posted an explainer: he loved her enthusiasm, but you can't pick that rose anywhere in the world. It hit around 105,000 views, with people tagging her in the comments. The lesson isn't "chase celebrities" — it's that educating your customers ahead of the ask positions you as the expert. When someone walks in wanting the Golden Globes rose, you've already proven your credibility. Lori pointed to Erin from McNamara Florist doing the same thing during the Olympics. It's also why outside social media managers often flop for flower shops: someone who's never been on the bench, set up a wedding, or worked a sympathy order can't write with that insider empathy.
The advice both guests landed on: stop overthinking it
Karrie's parting note: don't run your brain through the mud hunting for the next viral idea. In the age of AI, audiences are craving organic, authentic, human content — a truck unloading fresh product is impact. Chris piggybacked: early social media was filters, posing, lighting, and boring. Now people want messy hair, laughing, real life. Raw footage is often the best footage — his favorite recent post was a March Madness basketball promo where someone stuck their face in the camera. Lori's all-time favorite flower shop video proves the point: a team at two in the morning before Valentine's Day, floor trashed, dancing to Britney Spears — and it made her want to work there. That's the feeling you want your customer to have: "those are my people. I want to shop there."
Key takeaways
- Show the product. A concise profile, highlights, and a feed full of what you actually sell is the first impression that converts.
- Instagram skews younger and visual; Facebook still owns the disposable-income crowd. Know your audience and use both.
- Try the cadence: 3-5 posts a week — two product posts, one behind-the-scenes, one customer highlight or repost.
- The algorithm favors reels and carousels over single photos; think of formats as tools, not rules.
- Educational posts make you the expert before the customer ever calls — and authentic, unpolished content beats curated perfection right now.