Starting a YouTube channel landed 3 corporate clients for this flower shop owner.

The Goal

Spreading brand awareness

Boutique floral designer Jill Gaynor relocated to New York City from Santa Monica in 2014. With an entrepreneurial spirit and passion for flowers, Jill took a leap of faith and pursued her dream of owning her own business, City Girl Flowers. In September 2015, she uploaded her first Animoto video to YouTube—a how-to video showing viewers how to make a hand-tied bouquet. Her initial reason for uploading a video to YouTube was to improve the Google search ranking for her business. But when the video took off with over 3000 organic views, Jill quickly saw a massive opportunity for spreading brand awareness with video as well.

The Solution

Sharing expertise through video

In the months following the success of her initial how-to video, Jill used Animoto to create and upload more videos to her YouTube channel. "I look forward to sitting down in the afternoon after a full morning of flowers, drinking tea, and logging into Animoto. Marketing through video isn't just beneficial for my business," Jill says. "It’s also inspiring and a creative outlet to unplug from the rest of the day."

Jill created and shared a business overview video and a holiday video, but where she really saw success was with educational videos that showcase her floral arranging expertise. In preparation for Valentine’s Day, she created this video about how to make a DIY flower gift box filled with roses. The video took off, amassing over 20,000 organic views and putting her on the radar of new potential customers.

The Results

Exposure to thousands of new potential customers

Less than a year after uploading her first video, Jill’s YouTube channel boasts over 24,000 minutes of video watched, with the average viewer sticking around for more than a minute. Additionally, a music agent at a top talent agency saw the videos and hired City Girl Flowers to create florals for gifts, events, and meetings. If it wasn’t for the videos that Jill uploaded to YouTube, showcasing her expertise and beautiful designs, the agent never would have discovered her business.

Key Takeaways

• Spread brand awareness through education
• Improve search ranking with video
• Reach new potential customers