And yes, we said “team member” because even though Katie’s the boss and owner, she is still a part of the team! Usually with the “meet the team” blog posts, we start out with a little background info on that person. And while that’s important and interesting, you can read all about Katie’s background here on our About page.
Bottom line is that she started in botanical garden management and then through a series of life events, she wound up in digital marketing. I asked her, “But what made you get into digital marketing?” and in true Katie direct style, she said, “To get more work.” Look, sometimes life throws a series of curveballs at you, then you make some decisions and pivots, and then you realize that hey, I’m pretty good at this other thing. And I like it.
Katie says she enjoys problem solving and helping both large and small businesses grow. And while we agree that she’s definitely good at that, we think what she’s really good at is spotting trends in our industry (both horticulture and marketing).
“I stay up on marketing trends by reading, travelling, and following fashion and culture accounts on Instagram,” she explains. “I really enjoy fashion in particular, and fashion illustrates trends that are happening in the wider culture.”
Okay, we found that fascinating, so we dug in a little deeper with her on that. Katie explains that the fashion industry is one industry that spends a lot of money on marketing, so she pays attention to how they do that and what they’re lifting up. For example, “couture” means clothing that is high end, custom made, and largely hand made. And that handmade aspect can be seen repeated in the horticulture industry as well.
She also follows people who are 25-35 years old — what they’re doing, what they’re interested in. And those things tend to pop up in other industries, including horticulture. This age group has many varied interests, and they’re not keen to limit hobbies or experiences. Translated into gardening? People want different things from their gardens and plants. They want gardens that are beautiful but that also have purpose and reflect their values and lifestyle.
Interestingly enough, this also reflects our own Garden of Words team. We are filled with people who, yes, love our work, but our work doesn’t define us. We are also artists, gardeners, collectors, travelers, and readers. We like to do things and experience the world. And that makes our work in marketing more nuanced and authentic.
And speaking of authentic, Katie has some marketing tips that you can put into action today:
- Show yourself and your team as real humans, not just a business (yes, it’s true — people buy from people, not businesses).
- Show whole people! Don’t just show hands doing things or holding products. Show entire human bodies doing the thing, packing the products, creating the objects.
- Don’t take too long to make decisions and then act on them. You can waste time and money overthinking big things in your business. If you know something isn’t working, change it. If you know an offering isn’t really aligned with your business goals, stop doing it. Don’t wring your hands over it.
Katie’s Offbeat Tip: Find ways to show the handmade process in your content, not just the finished product. Show people digging, potting, watering, putting flower arrangements together, mixing up potting soil, cutting back plants. Describing it or writing about it is one thing, but showing the actual process and how people are involved takes your marketing to a whole new level. And a level that people resonate with.
