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How We Built Iowa’s Most Engaging Garden Center

Six months.Thousands of new customers & followers.

Canoyer Garden Center is one of Iowa's most trusted names in gardening. They partnered with us to build a social media presence that matched the experience people had when they walked through the greenhouse doors.

Before we ever made one post…

Canoyer Garden Center had been growing plants for decades. Their reputation in Central Iowa was never the problem.

Their challenge wasn’t quality.
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It wasn't customer service.
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It wasn't product.
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It was attention.
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Incredible businesses aren’t automatically visible online.

Grow awareness

Turn Canoyer Garden Center into the most recognizable greenhouse brand in the Des Moines metro and beyond.

Turn awareness into action

Create content that convinces online consumers to visit in-store and shop Canoyer’s high-quality products.

Build good customers, not just followers 

After a successful first visit, keep Canoyer top-of-mind through social media to ensure second and third visits happen.

Social media was the tool, but business growth was the goal

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A man smiling and holding a pot of red and blue flowers in a greenhouse filled with colorful hanging and potted plants. 
Great content doesn't happen by accident.

We built a strategy behind our goals

  • Canoyer had 40 years of history, deep community relationships, and a reputation built on quality. We leaned into the people behind the business, the plants they grow, and the decades of knowledge behind every recommendation. The goal was to make that legacy feel just as valuable online as it does inside the greenhouse.

  • We wanted Canoyer to feel like your friendly neighbor who also happens to be the smartest plant person you know. Warm, welcoming storytelling paired with vibrant visuals brought the greenhouse experience to life online. From planting and growing to full retail spaces, we made the entire Canoyer experience something you could see yourself in.

  • We built content that gave people a reason to keep coming back, whether they needed an answer, wanted to see what was new, or simply wanted to be part of the community. Education became a major part of the conversation, alongside product discovery, availability, and unexpected moments like monthly giveaways. Over time, following Canoyer became part of the gardening routine.

  • Canoyer's content needed to be as relevant as the season outside the greenhouse. We followed Iowa's gardening calendar from houseplants and early planting through spring color, summer growing, fall mums, holiday poinsettias, and everything in between. The result was content that met customers where they were and gave them a reason to keep looking ahead.

  • We wanted Canoyer's audience to do more than scroll past a post. They needed to see something worth sending to a friend. A plant recommendation, a gardening solution, or a photo from their own porch could become part of the conversation. The goal was to build a community that shared what they were learning, growing, and loving.

  • The strategy gave us a foundation, but the data told us where to go next. We constantly compared social performance with what was happening inside the stores, looking beyond views to understand what actually moved people to act. We kept Canoyer's voice at the center while letting the audience show us what deserved more attention.

We weren't chasing trends or posting just to stay active. We built a content strategy designed to grow Canoyer's audience and turn attention into action.

Content that made Canoyer, Canoyer

  • A man wearing a purple shirt tending to a large pink and purple flowering plant in a greenhouse or garden center.

    Don't Toss Your Hanging Basket

    1.4M views | 19.3K likes | 474 comments | 10.8K shares | 16.9K follows

  • A woman working in a greenhouse with hanging flower baskets and potted plants around her. Several people are visible in the background amid rows of plants and flowers.

    A Wonderful Mother's Day Weekend

    718K views | 15.4K likes | 176 comments | 374 shares | 3881 follows

  • A man working with pink, white, and purple petunias in a white pot at a flower nursery or greenhouse.

    We Cut All the Flowers Off (On Purpose)

    869.3K views | 2.1K likes | 135 comments | 1.1K shares | 585 follows

  • An older woman standing inside a greenhouse, holding a large pot of orange and red flowers, with hanging pink, red, and purple flowers above her.

    Cheryl's Mother's Day Lantanas

    121.6K views | 853 likes | 16 comments | 36 shares | 216 follows

  • A man in a purple shirt holding a pot of pink geranium flowers inside a greenhouse filled with pink, red, and white flowers.

    Canoyer's Famous Geraniums

    101.7K views | 1.1K likes | 17 comments | 21 shares | 235 follows

  • A person holding a dark purple succulent plant with thin, spiky leaves in a greenhouse. Several small pots of young plants are visible on a table in the background, with a cloudy sky outside.

    String of Pickles in Bloom

    98.7K views | 350 likes | 20 comments | 17 shares | 189 follows

  • A man standing in a greenhouse filled with hanging and potted flowers, holding a large hanging pot of purple flowers.

    Signature Purple Hanging Baskets

    109.7K views | 570 likes | 6 comments | 15 shares | 180 follows

  • A woman smiling in a greenhouse, holding a potted plant with pink flowers, surrounded by hanging and arranged flowers in various colors.

    Stacia's Favorite Tropical: Blue Mandevilla

    115.4K views | 871 likes | 14 comments | 18 shares | 219 follows

  • Colorful hanging flower baskets in a greenhouse filled with various blooming flowers.

    May's Moss Basket Giveaway

    208.9K views | 1.2K likes | 2.3K comments | 3 shares | 353 follows

We built up the business, not just the following

More reach is great. More engagement is better. But none of it matters if it doesn't translate into people walking through the door.

3,300+ new customers through the greenhouse doors
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22,000+ total customers shopped the garden center
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Business revenue increased by 18%
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The social numbers told us people were paying attention. The business numbers told us why that attention mattered.

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Six months was just the beginning.

A foundation for long-term growth

The first six months proved what was possible. But the real value of this work isn't limited to what happened during that first season.

  • Those 3,300+ new customers didn't disappear when the first six months ended. They're now part of Canoyer's audience. People who know the brand, recognize the greenhouse, and have a reason to come back. And as that audience grows, so does the opportunity to turn new followers into first-time customers.

  • Every new customer is more than a single transaction. They're someone who now knows the brand, has experienced it firsthand, and can recommend it to a friend, family member, neighbor, or coworker. Over time, those relationships compound and the audience we built becomes a growing network of people who know and trust Canoyer.

  • Events, promotions, new arrivals, seasonal launches, workshops, giveaways. Every announcement starts with a community that's already paying attention. The more established the social presence becomes, the more powerful those moments become.

  • We spent six months establishing the voice, personality, and point of view behind the brand. But that's not something you finish in six months. The longer we tell that story, the more recognizable Canoyer becomes and the more there is to tell.

People shopping in a large greenhouse filled with hanging and potted flowers and plants.

We didn't just grow Canoyer's social media. We used social media to grow Canoyer.

Your business has a story worth telling, too

Canoyer had its own story, its own challenges, and its own opportunities. We found what made them special and built a social presence that turned that into real business growth. Your business has a story. We'd love to find it.

Grow your business with us