Wedding Facebook Strategies That Work

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Wedding Professionals:

Many wedding professionals use Facebook as just another channel to push out press releases and product promotions.  Brides don't care about that stuff.   Instead, you need to understand brides’ social behaviors and then define a few big ideas that will attract their attention.  I was inspired to write this blog post after reading Jeff Ernst’s article:  Your Social Marketing Needs Some Big Ideas.  I wholeheartedly agree with Ernst's advice and have applied it to our wedding industry...

The biggest factors that motivate brides to participate on social networks are 1) to find/share wedding ideas and 2) to get answers to their wedding planning questions.  By consistently delivering this type of information on social networks, you'll attract brides.  And better yet - you'll build a trusted relationship with them.

Providing ‘wedding ideas’ and ‘wedding planning solutions’ leads to more wedding sales.  Why?  Because brides on social networks are more likely to buy into your perspective before they buy into your product or service.  So, to engage brides in a conversation, you need to share big ideas and opinions on the issues that brides care about.  “Big ideas spread like wildfire through social channels when they are provocative, forward-looking, unique, inspiring and game-changing,” says Ernst.

Having said that, here are the necessary steps that you will need to take in order to transform your Facebook marketing into more wedding sales:

1. Create an attractive Facebook business page.  Your page needs to give people a reason to become a fan, showcase your work and link to your website.  Another great idea is to add functionality to your page that captures email addresses.  This is a great way to build your bride lead list.  If you read this blog next week, I'll recommend a few easy options to create this type of Facebook page.  Be sure to add your email address to my mailing list by joining BridalTweet - this will ensure that you'll get this free wedding marketing advice delivered to your inbox each week. 

2. Build your Facebook fan base.   To do this, add a Facebook icon to all of your marketing materials.  This should include all of your website pages and your email signature.  The icon should link directly to your Facebook business page.  And why not send an email to your friends and family inviting them to 'Like' your Facebook business page.

3. Select a few big ideas for your content.  Consistently post about one specific theme or niche. Having a theme will create a perception that you are an expert on that particular subject. More importantly, it will signal to fans as to what they can expect from your Facebook page. If it is a theme that they are interested in, then they will likely respond to your page often. To choose a theme, think about what you are passionate about and what you are good at. For example, wedding photographers can publish a 'wedding photo of the day'.  Wedding planners can publish a wedding planning tip of the day.  Or consider posting about celebrity weddings - brides love that stuff.  Whatever your big ideas are, they will help distinguish you and your business.  And they will attract attention.

4.  Get into a routine and frequently publish those big ideas on your Facebook page.  If you've become a regular reader of this free wedding marketing blog, then you've heard me say that once a day, you should try to post engaging questions or content on your Facebook business page in order to get free exposure for your business. I consider content to be engaging if it delivers valuable/helpful information to your fans and if it encourages your fans to Like or Comment on the content. Once your fans Like or Comment on your posts, then their friends will also see your business in their News Feed. Better yet - Facebook recently launched a new feature where you can sort your News Feed by ‘Top News’ or most Liked posts. Posting valuable information will increase your chances of rising to the top of thousands of brides' (and their friends') News Feeds. Again, this results in free exposure for your wedding business. 

5.  Save time!  Spend only 10 minutes a day on social media by automating your Facebook posts.  I use Socialoomph to schedule almost all of my Facebook and Twitter posts ahead of time.  This service is invaluable to me because it frees up my time during the day and helps me to focus on what's most important - my customers.  Socialoomph's free service lets you schedule tweets on Twitter.  You should upgrade to their Professional service because that will let you schedule Facebook posts.  Yes, their Professional service is $29 per month BUT it is totally worth it.  In my honest opinion - this service is amazing and my business couldn't run without it.  

What are the big ideas behind your Facebook marketing strategy?

Enjoy!

About This Blog: Christine Dyer is the Creator and Founder of BridalTweet. Christine has an MBA in marketing and shares over ten years of marketing expertise with the wedding community. In this weekly blog, you'll find advice on an array of wedding business topics such as how to market to brides, social networking, wedding PR, wedding sales, vendor networking, branding, pricing and much more. Please pass this news along to your own professional wedding network. To receive this advice in your email inbox each week, Sign Up for a Free BridalTweet Membership.