The wedding industry very competitive (as we are sure you know), to keep your services/products in the limelight you need to actively promote them. There are a number of different options available to start or bolster your advertising with to increase your leads and secure more bookings.
We’ll have a quick look at what advertising avenues are available to you to help your business reach the right audience and get you the desired results for the budget you have available. From online advertising to more traditional approaches, we’ll have a look at what you need to know about each to make the best choice for your business.
One of the best ways to advertise is getting your business/venue listed on an online wedding directory. Platforms like Happly cater specifically to all things wedding related and will therefore directly connect you with couples who are actively planning their big day.
So, why are online wedding directories effective?
You are being put in front of couples in the decision-making stage of their planning progress.
The audiences are highly target as the people who are coming to use the directories are engaged couples actively looking for venues and vendors that are ready to book services and secure their venues.
Your visibility will be increased intentionally (unlike social media where people are more likely to stumble upon you), as couples will be searching for specific services and venues.
Happly offers our couples a wonderful bouquet of planning tools that allows them to plan their whole wedding online from start to finish as stress-free as possible. If you are on Happly you are not only more likely to be found but in joining as a premium member we can cross-promote (within the limits laid out) with one another making you a more attractive option.
We live in a digital age and social media platforms are so deeply ingrained in people’s day to day life that they are an indispensable marketing tool. Couples turn to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok to get inspiration and recommendations.
Each of these platforms has its particular strengths, so let’s have a look at them:
Facebook is still a brilliant place to be as a wedding business as you can use Facebook Ads to easily target couples based on their demographics, relationship status, location, and interests.
Additionally, Facebook groups are a key place where couples go to ask for recommendations, to get advice and share experiences so having an active presence can boost your visibility. It is important here to make sure your page is taggable so people can easily recommend you.
Instagram is a very visual platform and is perfect for showing off the beauty and uniqueness of your venues, services and/or products. You can think of Instagram like an online portfolio that will attract couples looking for some visually inspiring services; after all who doesn’t what an Insta worthy wedding?
Someone says Pinterest and we can almost guarantee the next thought in your head was board, likely inspiration or recipes. This makes it the go-to platform for couples in the planning stage to find ideas on what they want their day to look like, dress or suit styles, poses they want to try, etc.
How can you leverage this? Make boards using your own work as inspiration. Photographers can give location specific ideas for poses; florists can showcase different floral arrangements for different themes. Even if you are a venue you can showcase layouts and themes done at your venue.
Don’t forget to optimise your pins with keywords as this is ultimately a search engine and that is what is going to bring couples to you. You can even share these with your existing clients to help them in their decision-making and help ease the wedding planning workload.
TikTok is the newest of these platforms but it has grown quite quickly and is very popular, especially amongst younger users. The short, engaging video formats make it an ideal place to showcase the fun and personal side of your business.
Consider some setup videos, or your team in action as engaging and authentic content does well on this platform. Trends and inspiration videos are also very popular and get a lot of attention.
You can still get some benefits from the more traditional physical marketing, especially when you use them to complement your digital presence.
Expos are good networking events to connect you with couples and other suppliers. They are particularly great in promoting physical presence when you have visually appealing materials both at the event and to hand out for couples and business to follow up with afterwards (your brochures, portfolios, and business cards).
While print media is less common today, advertising in a bridal magazine or a local publication of some sort can still be an effective strategy. Some people still prefer to flip through printed items and many bridal magazines do have a loyal readership.
Be sure to keep in mind the location of the audience of the publication – if you want leads locally keep it local.
Partnering with other wedding businesses can help you cross-promote your services and create a space of shared support. On Happly, you can add people as preferred suppliers on your listings for couples to view and consider them.
Other ways one can do this is by leaving cards or brochures at physical locations or asking for people to attach them to emails sent out and the same can be done in return.
Email marketing campaigns that are done correctly are a great way to stay top-of-mind with your clients – both existing and potential. To do this you should send personalised and targeted messages tailored to the needs of your clients (personalised offers, wedding tips, inspiration, etc.) and sent consistently throughout their planning journey.
Segment your mailing list to make sending to different groups easier (new client, old client, newly engaged, almost done planning, etc.). Also always include a call to action in your emails as a strong call to action can increase the engagement and conversion rate of your mailers (book a tour, schedule a consultation, or take advantage of a special offer).
Writing a guest blog post or sponsoring content on wedding planning blogs/platforms can position you as a wedding expert and provide valuable backlinks to your website improving your visibility online.
This will also establish authority and therefore build trust in your potential clients that you are the right business/venue for their big day. Paying for a blog post will lead to increased exposure and traffic to your website and/or social media profiles.
Giveaways and contests are a fantastic way to generate large amounts of hype around your business, attract new followers, and increase engagement – who does love free stuff or saving money?
You can leverage these to improve engagement and increase your leads (collect contact information from clients to enter).
Happly has a Specials Page where you can list your exclusive offers, freebies, and discounts. Get in touch with us to find out more - info@happly.co.za, you can reach more couples actively looking for some dazzling deals.
Advertising is not as simple as it used to be and a multi-channel approach is the key to ensuring your business/venue gets noticed and you ultimately get more and more leads which will turn into more and more bookings.
Now that you know the best places to market your wedding business on, it is time to decide where you would like to focus your budget and efforts.
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