There’s no doubt that destination weddings have changed our concept of this industry today. There’s so much that customers expect. They now expect quality experience over quantity of guests served. Color combination and themes, event-specific decor, every little detail needs to be perfect And hence, wedding planning business has become such a growing industry today.
The one thing you need to take care of is, every season there are some new trends. They spread like wildfire in one season and vanish in another. So, as a wedding planner, you always need to be updated with new trends. You also need to think about ideas to entice customers. As you know, there are hundreds and thousands of businesses stepping into this sector daily, all hail to the wedding craze.
This article talks about 10 important marketing tips you need for your wedding planning business today.
- Unique Selling Proposition
This is the simplest way of attracting customers. And it applies to every business. After all, everyone is striving to be the winner in an ocean full of competitors.
So, think about providing something unique to your customers. It can be an additional service, payment mode, or others. Whether you’re targeting a niche-specific audience or a general audience, make sure that customers feel like you’re the one they can rely upon. For example, you can host an animated virtual venue rather than a zoom meeting, considering the pandemic situation. For offline wedding ceremonies, you can host the ceremony on the lawn, of course, making it lavish.
The kind of service you provide will separate you from the crowd. See if you can offer free drinks, budget-friendly theme events, or so.
While you offer the USP, it is important to ask customers about their experience. Asking for client testimonials, reviews, photos, videos will do the trick.
- Promote your Business Offline
Offline promotion matters. Since it’s easy to implement, you can print a stack of business cards and share them with the guests before the wedding. You can add a barcode on the business card to direct your customers to your online website or an Instagram account gallery. Customers can view the photos and videos of your previous work. For ongoing events, you can ask them to visit the online space in a week or so. This way, guests can find all the photos, videos, holiday cards, theme venues, etc. Moreover, they’ll have your detailed information, in case their event is approaching.
Just don’t go for that old fashion website link on the cards. People are too lazy to type the URL and visit the gallery. Instagram and many social media platforms provide a barcode scan feature that links to the account. So, use that technology to promote your business.
Rather than sharing business cards, you can add your business QR code on the banners and posters of events/ceremonies. Guests can scan, hit like the Insta page, and move. Next time, they can scan your account and even stay updated with your new work. So, if any event comes up, they will know where to go.
- Blog like a Pro
You can drive potential audiences with an online presence. For that, you will need a strong SEO with relevant long-tail keywords. “Best Wedding Planner in Seattle,” for example. But, ranking on the top of the search list can be crazy. Imagine thousands of wedding planning businesses working to be found with the same keyword.
You must still implement it. But, I would suggest you write quality articles. Give customers the information and ideas they are looking for. Once they read your blog, provide them with insights, advice, including work samples. You can write about “The Candy Floss Lehengas for the Bride,” “Best Bridal Buys of the Month,” “Top 5 Decor Themes to DIY under $100”, or so.
The articles you write depend on your expertise, knowledge, and your services.
Pro tip: Add keywords to your article. Use keyword research tools to know what keywords are trending. It will also give you an impression about the type of content future brides and grooms are looking for.
Add relevant catchy titles, and start monitoring the blog traffic using Google Analytics. Lastly, write clear and concise content. Don’t go lavish with your words. Make it easy to read but full of insights.
Also, tag your vendors and suppliers in the article, wherever possible.
And if possible, go for guest blogging. Trust me; it helps with visibility a lot. Don’t forget; content marketing is the king!
- Collaborate with Other Teams
For most wedding planning businesses, building a strong client base is their priority. They achieve this by networking. Firstly, they connect with their existing customers who know about their services. The customers can then share their business details with others in their community. Secondly, they collaborate with hotels, caterers, decors, photographers, and others they may need in planning the event/wedding.
Just like them, you can avail the benefits of partnerships. Talk to the vendors and suppliers, see what works for you both, and be there for one another. A few simple tricks to network are:
- Write a blogpost and tag the vendors and suppliers. Most would return the favor by sharing your piece in their community or among their customers.
- While organizing an event, suggest customers with your partner’s venue. This way, both can be at a profit, and next time, if they need help with planning, they can reach you.
- Write Google reviews for vendors and venues. Most of them are likely to do the same. It will help your SEO.
- Embrace Social Media
Social media marketing is evergreen. Keep sharing, keep engaging, and you’re sure to get prospective clients.
So, keep posting your work on Instagram and Facebook. Along with images, add videos of an event, behind-the-scenes, the trending reels. Use filters and share funny content. In the wedding planning business, beauty, sophistication, and wow factor are essential, but it’s the fun and craziness that completes it. Therefore, be real on social media. If you just share out-of-the-world themes, they may find it unrealistic and may not take you seriously. t
While talking about social media, the best way to advertise is to engage. Ask people about their dream wedding venue or themes they would like to go for. Run contests, and give out offers, discounts, etc. Also, be active in social media groups and communities. Wedding planners and others from all over the world share their ideas, inspiration, trends, questions, and tips. If you’re not into it, you’re missing out on a HUGE opportunity to learn and grow.
Along with planners, there can be photographers, caterers, and others too. You can collaborate and work with them. Apart from this, keep tweeting the latest trends. You don’t know where you may find your next customer.
- Create Vlogs
Vlogging is the trend now. There are a lot of influencers and bloggers out there. Freelance wedding planners use it to their advantage. They create a vlog of the event or wedding they planned and share it on YouTube. And therein their viewers, they find their next customers.
If you want to increase your customer base, vlogging is best. Create videos of the events and share them on YouTube, your website, and other social media platforms. Don’t just brag about your work. Share DIY videos, informative, or something that addresses your viewers’ issue. When you create helpful videos, your clients will be attracted to your business and are likely to jump on your website.
Youtube is the 2nd largest search engine. Being present there and providing relevant information can yield you profits that you can’t even imagine.
- Go Online
By now, you might have understood one thing – an online presence is a must.
I am not saying that a local business won’t yield you profits. But, if you want to expand your business and be visible, take your wedding planning business online.
A basic website with blogs, galleries, contact us, and testimonials that provide detailed information about your business and work is enough. If you’re on a restricted budget, you don’t need to go for some outstanding website. Intuitive and sophisticated front-end with smooth working and relevant information, that’s all you need to attract customers.
For a local business, you can even set up Google My Business. All you need to do is register, add information, ask your clients to add a review, and add testimonials with work samples. With this step, localities can easily find you online if they don’t know about you or your website. You can even link it to your website.
To develop a website, I would strongly recommend hiring an experienced website development company.
- Participate in Events, Shows, and Expos
Online helps you build visibility, but participation at various events and shows help you build credibility. Clients know you are real. You will be engaging with potential clients, handing out your brochures, discussing trends and work samples, etc.
See, exhibitions can be costly and time-consuming, but these platforms can help you find your potential clients. Here are some tips to go for it:
- Bring well-designed collaterals to share. It will include business cards, brochures, pamphlets, work samples, and video aids. Get it printed with your logo.
- Giveaway free merchandise. Promote your business with your brand’s caps, t-shirts, etc.
- Get contact details of leads. Many shows will provide you with attendees’ information. However, it would be effective if you could collect it from your potential clients directly.
- Go for Email Marketing
If you’re not comfortable with audio and videos, don’t worry. Go for email marketing. It never goes out of trend.
Focus on your email subscribers. Check the subscriber list. See the frequency of your emails. How many customers can be turned to potential leads? Analyze all this and plan your email campaigns.
If you don’t have a newsletter, start with one today. Because a lead magnet helps attract potential leads through the newsletter. The easiest way to make customers subscribe is to ask them to register or subscribe to learn about new blogs and trends.
Adding a wedding trends guide with “subscribe to download pdf” CTA is a cool way to get subscribers. The guide is the lead magnet that’s sure to make customers share their emails.
Once customers have subscribed, make sure the emails are conscient. In the beginning, send emails every 5-6 days. In those emails, add insights, tips, and tricks. Once you’ve nourished them with information, start pitching with one-time-offer, early-bird deals, etc.
I know that this may sound challenging and too much work. Well, it would be all in the start. Once you’ve set up the process, it will be easy. But still, if you don’t want to put in too much effort, you can go for advertising, as explained below.
- Free & Paid Advertising
There are many ways of advertising your business. If you have a huge budget, you can advertise your wedding planning business directly on the TV. If no, you can still get on TV. There are local show producers who are looking for a unique story.
You can pitch your story to local producers. It can be about the latest wedding trends amidst COVID-19 or so.
Other methods include print advertising. You can go for a free advertisement on Yellow Pages or a paid one in local and regional newspapers. An ad in the magazine can also be a great tool to attract customers.
Apart from this, you can go for online paid advertising. You can create paid campaigns on social media, GoogleAds, etc. However, it totally depends on your budget. Don’t invest in it without planning. You may end up wasting your money. Thus, hire an expert. Take their advice and invest accordingly.
Wrapping Up
Starting a wedding planning business is not difficult. You only need some ways and ideas to entice customers. I hope these 10 marketing tips will inspire you to try new things and gain profits just like you hope for.
So, keep exploring and experimenting!
Let us now about your experience, inspiration, and the results.
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Summary / Meta description:
This article covers some amazing marketing ideas to entice customers to your wedding planning business. Keep reading to learn more.
Author Bio:
Maulik Shah
Maulik Shah is the CEO of Biztech, wedding planner app development from India. Maulik likes to explore beyond his comfort zone. When it comes to writing for the blog, his contribution is priceless. No one else on the team can bring the deep industry knowledge to articles that he has. However, his door is always open and he is generous with sharing that knowledge.
