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1-800-Flowers Gets a Facebook Headache

Tim Parry July 29th, 2009

Good news for 1-800-Flowers - it debuted its online store on Facebook today.

Bad news for 1-800-Flowers - its press release does not tell the world how to access its online store on Facebook.

So if you go to Facebook and search 1-800-Flowers, here’s what you’re going to see:

(Click the image to enlarge)

Not a flattering representation of 1-800-Flowers. And if you truly are a fan of the merchant, you’ll take it with a grain of salt.

Hopefully for the merchant, other Web surfers (press and otherwise) who read the release go directly to the 1-800-Flowers Website to access its Facebook page.

None the less it’s a great idea by 1-800-Flowers, even if the Facebook page (at facebook.com/1800flowers, by the way) limits the choices to four on screen. Click on one of the selections and it will open that product’s page in another window, so you can go ahead and surf the whole 1-800-Flowers selection.

And 1-800-Flowers says future versions of the store will integrate Facebook users’ birthday calendars. What better way to get that “Oops-I-Forgot” shopper?

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Related Topics: E-commerce, Multichannel Surfing, Etc. - General, Etc.

2 Comments to “1-800-Flowers Gets a Facebook Headache”

sheron sheron Says:

August 20th, 2009 at 12:39 am

1-800-Flowers says future versions of the store will integrate Facebook users’ birthday calendars. What better way to get that “Oops-I-Forgot” shopper?
Jeff Molander Says:

August 26th, 2009 at 12:31 pm

Great example, Tim, of a company failing (IMHO) to be strategic about social media. There are countless other examples for sure.

Jim McCann and his otherwise brilliant team are jumping on the social media hype-and-spin bandwagon and, as I see it, failing to truly innovate. I see this use of Facebook is a gratuitous one based on what I’m observing so far. Can your readers afford to follow?

Even Mr. McCann himself says…

“Facebook is redefining the social Web, a cultural and social phenomenon that has changed the way we connect with one another,” says 1800Flowers CEO Jim McCann as he whips the ’social media’ hype engine into overdrive — blowing by rational thought.

Please. Facebook cannot re-define the social Web. Facebook isn’t doing substantially more that other social networks — it just has more adoption mass.

Secondly, the social Web isn’t a cultural or social phenomenon that’s changed the way we connect with one another. The social Web merely makes what we’ve done for generations easier, faster and boarder-less.

Stated plainly, Facebook isn’t God nor is social media changing anything about human behavior. We’ve been doing this for ages — just not as fluidly.

Can we please get over it?! :) If we can we’ll have a lot less egg on our face, as Tim points out. We’ll be STRATEGIC marketers again!

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