By now you've probably read the newsletter and noticed the change of logo and address. Change has come again to our community, and I want to give you a little more insight into what's happening (and some of the thoughts behind it).
1) The [del]FlowerChat[/del] Florist 2.0 Community?
After more than 11 years, FlowerChat has become the Florist 2.0 Community. For a long time I worked to keep FlowerChat as a separate entity, uninfluenced by our other endeavours, and as an independent body in the floral industry. The idea was noble, but when you go to set up a tradeshow display and realize you have so many business cards that you are confusing yourself (not to mention potential customers) reality sinks in. Trying to operate approximately 1/2 dozen brands in the small world that is the floral industry just is not feasible. This is the first move in consolidating those brands into a tighter identity that can share resources. Tighter, leaner, more effective. That's what many of you are doing in your shops, and it's what we had to do here.
2) Free To Read
While the decision to bring in the paid Pro membership system a few years ago was sound, and produced the results we wanted, everything needs to change with the times. Pro membership gave FlowerChat a more professional focus - the people who posted there did so because they viewed it as a professional resource, not just another social platform. Many of you will remember the state of floral chat boards back then... Even on FC, the most buttoned down of all, it could be difficult to sift through the lighter posts to get to the meat. Going Pro changed that.
Now that Facebook is taking most of the load for the light stuff I feel we can be a little more free with the forum. Just leaving Facebook to get here now represents that commitment to find a better professional resource.
I think it's really important to remember the strengths of a platform like the F20 Community vs the strengths of Facebook. Need to share something quick and light? Facebook is your thing. Want to know what happened the last time valentines was on a Friday? Try finding that on Facebook... Our site has over 11 years of real Florist communication and networking that is searchable any time. Want to pick up on that discussion from last month? It's ready to find and continue. That's where F20 Community shines and Facebook can't touch us.
3) A New Approach To Revenue
While Pro membership did help defray some of the costs of running the site, it's purpose was not as a profit generator. We may re-introduce Pro access to some marketing resources, etc, but the forums are going to remain free to read powered by other revenue sources.
This does not mean you're going to see a site littered with banner ads and animated GIFs. Saturating a site with display ads is pretty old school and we don't roll that way. Some ads may be shown, and we'll experiment with that in a tasteful way, but long term what advertisers really want - and what the Florist 2.0 Community is unique positioned to deliver, is engagement with a narrowly defined and targeted audience, both on and off our site.
More on that later ... but if you're interested in a preview just message me. Trust me, no one else is doing this
So, I hope you enjoy the newly minted Florist 2.0 Community. Please feel free to leave me a note with your thoughts, comments and suggestions either in the comments, by Private Conversation, or by email.
Cheers,
Ryan
1) The [del]FlowerChat[/del] Florist 2.0 Community?
After more than 11 years, FlowerChat has become the Florist 2.0 Community. For a long time I worked to keep FlowerChat as a separate entity, uninfluenced by our other endeavours, and as an independent body in the floral industry. The idea was noble, but when you go to set up a tradeshow display and realize you have so many business cards that you are confusing yourself (not to mention potential customers) reality sinks in. Trying to operate approximately 1/2 dozen brands in the small world that is the floral industry just is not feasible. This is the first move in consolidating those brands into a tighter identity that can share resources. Tighter, leaner, more effective. That's what many of you are doing in your shops, and it's what we had to do here.
2) Free To Read
While the decision to bring in the paid Pro membership system a few years ago was sound, and produced the results we wanted, everything needs to change with the times. Pro membership gave FlowerChat a more professional focus - the people who posted there did so because they viewed it as a professional resource, not just another social platform. Many of you will remember the state of floral chat boards back then... Even on FC, the most buttoned down of all, it could be difficult to sift through the lighter posts to get to the meat. Going Pro changed that.
Now that Facebook is taking most of the load for the light stuff I feel we can be a little more free with the forum. Just leaving Facebook to get here now represents that commitment to find a better professional resource.
I think it's really important to remember the strengths of a platform like the F20 Community vs the strengths of Facebook. Need to share something quick and light? Facebook is your thing. Want to know what happened the last time valentines was on a Friday? Try finding that on Facebook... Our site has over 11 years of real Florist communication and networking that is searchable any time. Want to pick up on that discussion from last month? It's ready to find and continue. That's where F20 Community shines and Facebook can't touch us.
3) A New Approach To Revenue
While Pro membership did help defray some of the costs of running the site, it's purpose was not as a profit generator. We may re-introduce Pro access to some marketing resources, etc, but the forums are going to remain free to read powered by other revenue sources.
This does not mean you're going to see a site littered with banner ads and animated GIFs. Saturating a site with display ads is pretty old school and we don't roll that way. Some ads may be shown, and we'll experiment with that in a tasteful way, but long term what advertisers really want - and what the Florist 2.0 Community is unique positioned to deliver, is engagement with a narrowly defined and targeted audience, both on and off our site.
More on that later ... but if you're interested in a preview just message me. Trust me, no one else is doing this
So, I hope you enjoy the newly minted Florist 2.0 Community. Please feel free to leave me a note with your thoughts, comments and suggestions either in the comments, by Private Conversation, or by email.
Cheers,
Ryan
