How a regional nursery turned social media into a quiet but powerful sales engine

Park Lane Nursery has always been one of those businesses locals genuinely love. It’s not just somewhere you grab a plant, it’s where you go for advice, reassurance, and a second opinion when your garden isn’t behaving. As well as offering a strong in-store experience, Park Lane is also a social enterprise within the local community, offering those with disabilities jobs in their nursery, production and commercial gardening departments.

They were doing so many things right - the opportunity was making sure their digital presence did the same heavy lifting.

When we first teamed up with Park Lane in June 2024, the brief wasn’t “do more marketing”. It was “help this make sense”. Like many regional retailers, they had good foundations, a capable internal team, and a lot going on operationally, but no clear, connected system pulling everything together.

We started where it mattered most. In October 2024, we launched Park Lane’s new website, giving customers a clearer picture of who they are, how they operate, and what to expect before they even arrive at the nursery. No fluff, just clarity and confidence.

From there, the relationship grew. By July 2025, Park Lane stepped into a full-service retainer, allowing us to properly connect the dots across organic social, paid advertising, website messaging, and offline activity.

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The Challenge

Running a nursery isn’t predictable, and marketing needs to respect that. Stock arrives when it arrives. Weather plays its part. Some weeks are flat-out, others are quieter than planned.

On top of that, Park Lane was operating without:

- an online store
- a connected POS system
- clear end-to-end sales tracking

Their internal team was doing a solid job, but like most small teams, there were only so many hours in the day. Reactive boosted posts had become the default, and longer-term planning was hard to maintain.

What they needed wasn’t louder marketing. It was calmer, more intentional marketing that worked with the business, not against it.

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Our Approach

We didn’t come in with a one-size-fits-all playbook. We built a system that matched how Park Lane actually runs.

Organic social as the foundation

We treated organic social as the long game. The goal wasn’t constant promotion, it was familiarity and trust.

Content focused on real nursery life. Staff knowledge, seasonal advice, supplier relationships, and honest updates all played a role. Educational posts helped customers understand timing, availability, and care, which meant fewer surprises and smoother conversations in store.

Over time, social media stopped feeling like “another thing to keep up with” and started quietly supporting the sales floor. Customers arrived better informed, more confident, and ready to buy.

Paid ads that supported real retail moments

Once that trust was established, we layered in paid advertising, but always with intention.

Instead of reactive boosts, we planned campaigns around key retail periods like Spring, Autumn, and Christmas, supported by always-on local awareness. The role of ads wasn’t to hard sell, it was to remind people that Park Lane was there, stocked, and ready when they needed them.

Showing up beyond the scroll

To really lock in familiarity, key campaigns extended beyond digital. We rolled creative into print placements and out-of-home advertising, including the APCO Go Board.

That meant customers were seeing the same messages on their phones, in the car, and around town. By the time they arrived at the nursery, the brand already felt familiar.

Education before promotion

Education was the thread that tied everything together. Across organic posts, ads, and supporting materials, customers were guided on what was coming, when to expect it, and how to get the best results. Promotions landed better because people understood the context behind them.

The Results

With no online store and limited tracking, we focused on the indicators that matter for bricks-and-mortar retail, and the results spoke for themselves:

- Facebook reach increased by 292%
- New Facebook followers up 205%, with engagement rates rising by 114%
- Instagram reach up 356%, with followers doubling year on year
- 1,773 Meta ad link clicks (+459%), signalling strong visit intent
- Improved ad efficiency, with cost per click reducing to $1.41
- Gift voucher sales grew from $3,000 to $13,000 year on year
- Noticeable lift in foot traffic during Spring and Christmas
- Better sell-through of seasonal stock
- Stronger supplier recognition and industry credibility

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Why This Worked

This wasn’t about chasing trends or forcing digital to do something it wasn’t designed for.

It worked because:

- marketing was built around how the business actually operates
- organic, paid, print, and out-of-home worked together, not in silos
- education built trust before promotion
- visibility smoothed the natural ups and downs of seasonal retail
- the strategy respected the reality of limited systems and time

The Propel Difference

At Propel Digital, we don’t expect regional businesses to have perfect systems before they can grow.

We meet you where you’re at, build what’s missing, and make sure your marketing actually supports the people on the ground. Our long-term partnership with Park Lane Nursery is a great example of what happens when strategy, creativity, and real-world practicality come together.

What’s Next

With strong foundations in place and digital now actively supporting in-store sales, the next phase of Park Lane’s journey is about unlocking a new frontier of revenue: online sales, without losing what makes the nursery special.

We’re working alongside the Park Lane team to support a POS transition that integrates seamlessly with Shopify, allowing their product range to be brought to life through a connected online catalogue. This isn’t about replacing the in-store experience. It’s about extending it.

That online catalogue becomes the bridge between browsing and buying, education and action, inspiration and loyalty.

At the same time, we’re aligning this digital infrastructure with the launch of Park Lane’s membership and gardening club. This creates a powerful ecosystem where customers can engage with Park Lane in multiple ways: learning online, shopping in store, accessing member-only benefits, and staying connected to seasonal arrivals and advice all year round.

The real opportunity sits in how offline and online begin to work together. In-store visits feed online engagement. Online education supports in-store confidence. Membership deepens loyalty. Data creates clarity. Marketing becomes less reactive and more intentional.

This next chapter isn’t just about adding eCommerce. It’s about transforming how customers experience Park Lane across every touchpoint, turning a trusted local nursery into a truly connected retail brand, ready for the future while staying grounded in what has always made it special.