Orchid society question

[BrassavolaStars]

Hello all,

I hope you are having a good Memorial Day weekend.
I am not quite sure which section to post this on, so moderators, feel free to move this thread.

My orchid society based in the NYC area has lost a significant number of members since the start of the pandemic, and I wanted to know if anyone had some ideas for me to get new members for my club.

I have already posted some flyers in the local area and so far, have gotten one new member that way. I am planning to also make a several posts on NextDoor to see who might be interested.

Are there any other things I should be trying? Any especially good places to put up posters?


Thank you.

[Roberta]

First, that's a problem, I'm afraid, that all societies have. Shows are a great place to recruit members. If there is one in your area, make sure to have a sign-up sheet handy. Perhaps a local nursery would be willing to have an "orchid culture day" where various society members can do talks on basic orchid culture. (and of course pass out flyers and collect names and email addresses) The human touch is really important.

[estación seca]

The Desert Valley Orchid Society has an active Facebook page. I would think this could work with other social media, as well. I'm not involved with any social media so I'm not the person to ask. Realize most younger people interact with hobbies via social media, not newsletter and not online forum software.

The social media groups were open to all from the start, not just members. A very few members posted photos of their flowers. More and more people joined the page, members and non-members. They were encouraged to post their own photos.

We held a July ice cream social last year which was announced on social media, free to members. The public was welcome for a small fee - our membership fee - and included with new memberships was a small SVO Cattleya seedling we bought for the occasion. It was a great success. We will repeat it this year. If any of you are visiting Phoenix in July you're welcome to attend.

At our Show we signed up people and gave them a free plant on the spot. Some were plants members propagated for this purpose, and others we bought from commercial vendors to resell at our Show. When the membership person ran out of plants she walked into the sales area and grabbed something. She signed up 48 new members.

We announced on social media and in our newsletter that we would have a pre-meeting one hour before each regular meeting to address growing questions, and to discuss a basic topic with growing orchids. Last time it was potting media. There were at least 20 of the new members there.

[BrassavolaStars]

Originally Posted by estación seca

The Desert Valley Orchid Society has an active Facebook page. I would think this could work with other social media, as well. I'm not involved with any social media so I'm not the person to ask. Realize most younger people interact with hobbies via social media, not newsletter and not online forum software.

The social media groups were open to all from the start, not just members. A very few members posted photos of their flowers. More and more people joined the page, members and non-members. They were encouraged to post their own photos.

We held a July ice cream social last year which was announced on social media, free to members. The public was welcome for a small fee - our membership fee - and included with new memberships was a small SVO Cattleya seedling we bought for the occasion. It was a great success. We will repeat it this year. If any of you are visiting Phoenix in July you're welcome to attend.

At our Show we signed up people and gave them a free plant on the spot. Some were plants members propagated for this purpose, and others we bought from commercial vendors to resell at our Show. When the membership person ran out of plants she walked into the sales area and grabbed something. She signed up 48 new members.

We announced on social media and in our newsletter that we would have a pre-meeting one hour before each regular meeting to address growing questions, and to discuss a basic topic with growing orchids. Last time it was potting media. There were at least 20 of the new members there.

I like those ideas. I will check out the DVOS facebook page to see how it is run. I also really like the ice cream idea. I am just not entirely sure how to even get people to be aware of the events who aren't already in the club or on the facebook page. Essentially, how do I get people to sign up for a social media group since we are not having our own show?

---------- Post added at 07:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:53 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Roberta

First, that's a problem, I'm afraid, that all societies have. Shows are a great place to recruit members. If there is one in your area, make sure to have a sign-up sheet handy. Perhaps a local nursery would be willing to have an "orchid culture day" where various society members can do talks on basic orchid culture. (and of course pass out flyers and collect names and email addresses) The human touch is really important.

I agree that the human touch in important. I was thinking about renting out a small kiosk in a mall. Maybe that might intrigue people who are passing by. I was not sure though. I did post a flyer in a local orchid shop that we have nearby. I will try to get a flyer to the other two that are a bit of a distance away. I am not sure I am bold enough to recruit at another society's show since we are not having our own.

---------- Post added at 08:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:56 PM ----------

Originally Posted by fishmom

My O.S., Diablo View, has done the free plants at shows and the orchid talks at libraries with good results. I personally have given away plants on social media and included info about the society, and several new folks have joined as a result. We continued to meet during the pandemic, using Zoom, and now that we are meeting again in person, the Zoom link is still offered for most meetings. The choices of speakers is greatly enhanced by using Zoom, we have had some international speakers without the difficulty of getting them to our area.

We are also having the zoom link available in addition to the in-person meetings. I agree that it is great as it also allows us to have speakers we normally would not have been able to have. Unfortunately, the drop in membership has led to a significant drop in income and we have been in the red for 2 years which has made getting speakers very difficult. At some point we should try to have an auction as those are huge moneymakers. The problem is that we can't have an auction if we don't think we will have a big enough crowd.

[isurus79]

In Austin, we ditched the flyers and spent money advertising shows on Facebook and Instagram. We saved a ton of money and effort, plus dramatically increased our show attendance. This method is also useful since those platforms will send you the exact number of eyeballs looking at the advertisement and the number of people clicking on the ad. I'd say an active social media presence is very important! Also, sending out notifications on the various local Facebook groups is helpful as well.

Originally Posted by PuiPuiMolcar

If you can partner with the local nursery to host an "Orchid day" and advertise the online group to come to the event, you can get people feet in the water, then after that you can ease them into the society.

This is right on-par! Austin hosts these types of events and draws a lot of people in. I moved to San Antonio area last year that society got 19 new members from their team up with the local botanical garden to engage with the community.

Originally Posted by BrassavolaStars

I know there is a local orchid show coming up, but I am not sure I could be so bold as to try to pass out cards at another society's show.

Success favors the bold You could also chat with the orchid society folks hosting the show. I bet they'd be fine helping you out since they likely have similar recruiting issues.

Originally Posted by BrassavolaStars

Unfortunately, most of the libraries will not allow me to post flyers as it is against their policy of advertising for private entities.

Getting a non-profit status for your society could help that.

Originally Posted by BrassavolaStars

I agree that the human touch in important. I was thinking about renting out a small kiosk in a mall. Maybe that might intrigue people who are passing by.

Not to be rude, but do people still go to malls? I used to avoid those kiosks like the plague since I had no interest in what they were trying dump (or spray!) on me!

I'd say ditch the flyers and get more active on Facebook and Instagram. Also, team up with other societies and hold in-person events at local gardens where plant lovers naturally congregate.

[Leafmite]

Our society works with the other Ohio orchid societies in our area (Cleveland, West Shore) and even OS Western PA to advertise the other society shows. We send out information to members for the Cleveland show which is first, then pass out the information for the other shows at our own show to those who attend. Other orchid societies might be willing to put out a flyer or something for your own society if you offer to do the same for theirs. The societies here know that people will join the society nearest to them, anyway, so we are not competing for members.

If you have local orchid vendors or even other plant nurseries, see if they will put a flyer or pass out fliers for interested customers who come to their business. If the nursery sells orchids, that is always a bonus.

For many years, I worked the membership table for our orchid shows. At shows or any public forum, what works well to get new members is to give away a free orchid when people sign up and PAY to become a member and then, if you give away a 'holiday' orchid, tell people they get another free orchid and tell them when that is. Emphasize that the two plants are worth more than the cost of the membership if they bought the plants themselves (which is true as we buy the orchids in bulk). People who are interested in orchids will take you up on the offer and, very likely, show up at a meeting to learn how to care for the orchid (you can tell them that if they come to meetings, your society will be able to help them learn how to take care of the orchid). I really recommend the free orchid. Our society tried to cut costs on our shows and not hand out a free orchid and there was a noticeable difference in how many joined.

Even if there is no second plant or even a first plant, find other ways to demonstrate that your orchid society is a good deal. Do you do group orders with other members to save on shipping? Do you have speakers who bring orchids to sell?

Most people like a good bargain and joining an orchid society really is a good bargain for those interested in growing orchids. The new orchids are a good incentive.

After getting people to join, make sure the first few meetings have GOOD SPEAKERS or a FUN PROGRAM so that people keep coming. Often, new members will invite a friend to come with them so you get even more members.

Good luck!

[fishmom]

My O.S., Diablo View, has done the free plants at shows and the orchid talks at libraries with good results. I personally have given away plants on social media and included info about the society, and several new folks have joined as a result. We continued to meet during the pandemic, using Zoom, and now that we are meeting again in person, the Zoom link is still offered for most meetings. The choices of speakers is greatly enhanced by using Zoom, we have had some international speakers without the difficulty of getting them to our area.

[Mountaineer370]

Libraries are a good place to post flyers. It seems that many people who are interested in books are also interested in various types of plants. Yes, I recognize that, with the advent of electronic books, making an actual trip to the library is not as common as it used to be. Still, there must be lots of libraries in the NYC area, and if you put up flyers in many different ones, you could attract at least a few people.

Our society hosts its own orchid show each year, and one way we advertise is to print up hundreds of bookmarks with both the show information and the society information. I always take a supply to my local library, and other members do the same.

I don't personally have any social media accounts, but from what I hear, it's pretty popular these days. So if you don't already have one, a FB page is probably a good idea.

Also, why not reach out to your "lost" members and invite them back? Maybe give them a discounted membership for re-joining.

Finally, since every grocery store, hardware store, and big box store is selling orchids these days, you could place flyers on their bulletin boards, for the stores that still have those. It may catch the attention of someone coming out of the store with their brand-new, first-ever orchid, wondering how they're going to keep it alive.

[PuiPuiMolcar]

Depend on how involved is your neighborhood, the Nextdoor app have a very small reach and most attention you'll get from it doesnt go beyond people clicking the like button unless you're very frequent or sell orchids on it. It's catching air if you try to gain attention in the sea of social media. It's best to focus it locally first until you can grasp the flow of the social feed of the internet.

Facebook plant group of your city is a good approach if you just want to spread awareness. The community itself is already focus on plant within your area, the harder part is getting them interested in Orchid. So you'll have to do some footwork and advertise your orchids to grab some eyes.
If you can partner with the local nursery to host an "Orchid day" and advertise the online group to come to the event, you can get people feet in the water, then after that you can ease them into the society.

If your society have enough people, you can also start a community group on FB like estacion's, and get people to you instead.

Despite being known to be terminally online, younger folks are active at in-person meetup more than you think. They are a lot more selective where they want to be at. Thanksfully, I think FB plant group tend to have a good mix of both old and young generation.

What I am trying to say here is that, people need motivation to be interested in something, the light bulb doesnt turn on by itself. You've got to turn confusion to curiosity, then curiosity to clarity, eventually clarity to exploration. Most people in general are ambiguous or confused by orchid because they lack the information to grow them. They do not know the existent of an orchid society until they have a reason to look for one.

I'm on the mission to get my plant group to get into orchids this way, and it's been doing well so far. The group I'm in host meet-event every two months where they exchange plants, and I would use the opportunity to show off and educate them about orchid every trade.

Edit: To be frank, from where I am, I dont think I've seen the orchid community mingle with other plant community that often. Most the plant event I have been in are either rare plants + succulent + fern or carnivorous, the bonsai and orchids society are always in their own island. Most people who go to orchid show are people who already know about orchid, it's the one from co-op events (nursery, museum, botanical garden
places with lot of public traffic etc) that get most attention from outsider.

[BrassavolaStars]

Thank you all for the helpful advice.

We do have a facebook page with a couple hundred members. It doesn't seem like posting the meetings gets people to show up though. I will try and see if I can make a group to go along with it. It is currently an individual business page.

What we do not have is a proper website. I may try to make one on Wix this week as I think not having a website with a calendar and information is asking for trouble.


I know there is a local orchid show coming up, but I am not sure I could be so bold as to try to pass out cards at another society's show. We have not had a show ourselves in a very long time.

There is a local library that was interested in us hosting a workshop. I think that sounds like a good idea. Unfortunately, most of the libraries will not allow me to post flyers as it is against their policy of advertising for private entities.

The one that really irritated me is that when the NYBG orchid show was going on, I brought them a bunch of flyers and postcards to put in the store. I thought that would be a gold mine for new members.

I told the people at the NYBG that we do not sell plants and are therefore, not competition. In fact, I told them I believed we would only end up encouraging people to visit the show and buy their plants. They agreed to put up these flyers and postcards but never actually did