Are you using social media to promote your wedding business?
2020 is hardly the standard to measure any year by, however that’s not to say it isn’t the year that you can’t capitalise on fewer wedding bookings by focusing on capturing future ones. Have you laid down the groundwork for better customer acquisition?
There are so many wedding businesses and suppliers in the UK that do a huge range of different things and each offer something unique. Whether your business specialises in catering, transport, dresses and suits, venue management, photography, stationery, cake making, entertainment, videography, floristry, planning, jewellery, hotels, furniture hire, honeymoon services…..the list goes on…. you could be using social media to reach more potential customers.
As a business involved in this intricate and precise team it’s essential that the bride and groom to be can find you. These days having a website isn’t enough to keep up with the competition; your competition is likely to be out there on social media too, landing under the noses of the Mr and Mrs to be as they scroll through their favourite social media network looking for wedding inspiration.
A mistake many businesses make on social media, is treating it as a selling platform. Social media is a networking tool and people use it to be helped or to be entertained. If you can provide something that is of value to brides and grooms, then you will go further than if you just keep whacking up pictures of your pretty cakes (though those help too!).
Social media has evolved over the years to a level where it is now an expectation that any business should have a presence, and that presence should be about showing who you are and what your values are as well as what you can provide. Couples will check out your social media accounts to see if you are a reputable firm and what your customer service looks like. A wedding is the single biggest expense a young couple will make outside of buying a home, and they are savvier than ever before when it comes to researching the reputation of their suppliers.
Over the quieter months where fewer couples are having their nuptials why not consider reviewing your social media platforms and learning how to make them work for you?
When it comes to which platform is best for your specific business, there’s never an easy answer. Depending on the business you have your potential audience could be scrolling Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or You Tube, or even LinkedIn. Time however is not infinite, so, it doesn’t make sense to waste it on ones where you are not going to get a decent ROI. Do some research around your product or service and see where your audience is when they are online, use this to inform your choice of which platforms to choose. You could always ask your current and past customers which is their favourite network and which one they found you on.
As a starting point, if you expect most of your customer base to come from females under 30 then you need to look seriously at a network like Instagram, even if you are personally more comfortable with Facebook. If you have a website with lots of helpful content and some solid images, then Pinterest is popular with brides especially in planning weddings. Try to think about where your customers hang out online, not where you hang out as you may be a totally different demographic to your customer base.
People interact with and will purchase from brands they can see are trustworthy and genuine. Make sure anything you put into the world of social is a true reflection of what you have done and can deliver.
Ask previous customers for recommendations that you can use on your channels. Potential customers will value a testimonial that assures them you can deliver on the day. The wedding industry is blessed with the most amazing photographs that capture your product or service perfectly, capitalise on this by asking if you can reshare or use images that display what you do. If you have good photos of your work, then show them! Customers need to know that you can reliably provide what they are looking for to make their special day perfect.
Connect, connect, connect! Once you have your Twitter or Instagram set up, find the network of suppliers you often work with. Follow them on Twitter and Instagram and when they follow you back make sure you interact with them. Having thousands of followers means nothing if you don’t engage with them on some level. If you like something they post on their channel, say so, if you liked working with them last Saturday at an incredible venue, say so. If couples can see how genuinely you love the wedding world you work in their trust in you will grow. Social media is a fantastic way of growing and reinforcing a professional network.
Take part in Twitter hours that will help you to reach out to new people. #WeddingHour is a good thing to be involved with, as is your local town’s Twitter Hour. Check out our list of Twitter hours in the UK >> Twitter hours for business in the UK
Do some research into good hashtags to use on Instagram. Check out this post with some excellent suggestions of ones you could use >> https://theweddingplaybook.com/business/instagram-hashtags/ and if you’re interested in growing on Instagram specifically then engagement is hugely important. Take a look at Gary V’s $1.80 method. While we don’t agree with everything that Gary V says, this one works.
Take this time to review your graphics such as your logo and your cover images, and to review any assets you have floating about that might be out of date. Have a look at your bio – could it be better?
You should always stay professional. Have a strategy in place for when complaints come in, or when feedback isn’t as you would hope. How you handle these situations will speak volumes to potential brides and grooms who need to know you will do all it takes to help their dreams come true. Maintain the professionalism at all times and remember these platforms aren’t your personal accounts where you can post your personal opinion on political subjects without perhaps letting your potential customer seeing a side they don’t agree with. Also not the right place to upload a selfie after bubbly in the hot tub, unless your venues has hot tubs that is!
There are so many ways you can spend these quieter months building your social platforms to serve you and your business more effectively at the start of the busier side of next season. Use wedding events to connect. Include your social media handles on all your stationery. Check out how those in your network are doing it. Build now, reap the rewards later.
Every customer is different and has different needs and aims, we can offer a bespoke package to either, get you set up and started so you can build your social media yourself, or we can get you started then run them for you during wedding season so that the customers of today bring you the customers of tomorrow.
Whilst 2020 has been the harshest of years in so many ways, now is the time to look forward to 2021 and the potential that it could bring for the UK wedding industry.
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This post is part of a series –
How to do Social Media for Business
Written by………Mandy Lewin is an experienced social media manager and events manager. She has overseen a few weddings herself and worked with more than a few wedding suppliers!
