Urgent Pinterest Update for Wedding Pros

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Just last week Pinterest introduced a new feature you need to know about: Pinterest business accounts.

While there really aren’t any benefits to having a “business” account versus a “personal” one right now, if you’re already using your Pinterest account for your business, you need to convert it to a business account as soon as possible.

Here’s why:

Pinterest updated their terms of service to now require that any account being used for commercial purposes must be a business account.

That means, just like with Facebook, that if you’re using your personal account for business purposes, they can shut you down. It’s not likely they’re going to do that any time soon…it wouldn’t be very fair since they just made the announcement…but if you value your Pinterest account, I’d say it’s better safe than sorry.

How to Convert to a Pinterest Business Account

  1. Go to this link and login to your Pinterest account.
  2. Follow the instructions to fill in your company name and type of business.
  3. Hit “save” and you’re all set!

Keep your eyes on Pinterest for what comes next. The stats report (depending on the source) that 80-97% of Pinterest users are women, and wedding planning is one of the top uses for Pinterest.

The brides are there, and with the new addition of Pinterest business accounts, it’s likely that you’ll be able to purchase advertising or perhaps even “sponsored pins” in the future to promote your wedding business even more effectively.

I’m dying to know… Are you using Pinterest for your wedding business? What do you think about it?

If you'd like to get more free information and strategies like this, join our Wedding Business Tips email list here.

Filed Under: Advertising, Bridal Marketing, Home Page, Leads & Traffic, Mobile Marketing, Pinterest, Social Media Tips, Wedding Websites Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Is the Digital Era Killing the Photography Business?

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Photographers are faced with this challenge: in a world where you can get an 8×10 print at Walmart and couples are more interested in sharing digital photos on Facebook than they are in purchasing an album, how can you give clients what they want and still make money?

I recently stumbled across an interview with Nate Grahek of Sticky Albums  about a product that answers these frustrations and actually lets you leverage digital media to your advantage. I immediately emailed him because I just knew we had to get him for Book More Brides!

The result was a 40 minute interview that knocked my socks off. Not only is Sticky Albums revolutionizing the ways photographers promote their businesses (and it’s soon to revolutionize the way ALL wedding vendors promote, if I have anything to do with it!) it’s perfect for the kind of powerful, free giveaway marketing, viral promotion and partnership networking we LOVE.

What is a Sticky Album?

A “sticky album” is a custom web app that allows you to create a digital photo album that your clients can download onto a mobile device. The images are bundled together so that your brand and contact information is embedded.

This makes it super easy for brides to share their wedding photos with anyone and everyone they meet…promoting your business in the process. And it’s shared with a link.

Picture this:

A recent brides bumps into one of her college friends at Starbucks. When her friend asks how the wedding was, she pulls out her iPhone and scrolls through her very favorite pictures, gushing over what an amazing job you did at her wedding. Her friend is suitably impressed with the photos, and with your business name, website and phone number that are front and center.

Double Your Word of Mouth Referrals

Everyone knows that word of mouth referrals are the best you can get because your happy clients make the best sales people. Give your clients a tool that makes sharing easy and your word of mouth referrals will absolutely explode.

Your work speaks for itself. When you create a custom app using Sticky Albums, brides will be able to show off your photos to everyone they meet. Each person who views those photos also sees your business name and brand.

As we talked with Nate, I started thinking of more and more applications for Sticky Albums, not just for photographers, but for any wedding vendor.

4 Cool Ways to Turbo Charge Referrals with Sticky Albums

1. Give a Sticky Album as a bonus gift to the couple after the wedding. Announce, “I’ve created this special mobile app just for you,” and watch as they promote your business every time they flash those photos.

2. Include coupon images inside your sticky album. Now your couples have an extra reason to share the goodies.

3. Partner with other wedding vendors to create a coupon book for couples planning a wedding. A custom app containing $500 worth of savings will spread like wildfire, and you’ll have other vendors promoting you, too.

4. Use it to become the #1 recommendation of wedding venues. Create a custom app containing images of a high end venue…embedded with your business and contact info, of course…and let them share it with the couples. Let the flood of referrals begin!

The Drawbacks

As excited as I was to learn about Sticky Albums, there a couple features that are lacking. First, the current app requires that you know how to use Photoshop.

For photographers, that’s no problem. But for someone like me…well, I just have to get my photographer friends to hook me up. If you’re not a photographer, right now partnering with a photographer is a must.

The other missing feature is tracking. It’s essential that you know how people find you so that you know if your marketing is working. Right now, you can only track your Sticky Album referrals based on what your clients tell you or coupon codes they use.

The good news: these features will be added to Sticky Albums with the next version that’s due over the next couple weeks. I am psyched!

The easiest way to explain what sticky albums are is for you to see them yourself. Once you have it in your hand, you’ll understand the potential this has for your business.

Watch this video to see the app on my clunky Android:

What To Do Next

1. Go to Sticky Albums and enter your email to get a free sample you can download to your mobile phone.

2. Make sure you enter the contest to win a FREE iPad Mini and a whole year of Sticky Albums!

3. Listen to our interview with Nate Grahek to learn even MORE ways to promote your wedding business. It’s perfect for photographers, but there are strategies for other wedding vendors, too!

Play the entire interview here:

 

Check out this new product and leave a comment to let me know what you think. Do you love it? Hate it? How are YOU dealing with the challenges of the Digital Age?

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If you'd like to get more free information and strategies like this, join our Wedding Business Tips email list here.

Filed Under: Bridal Marketing, Competition, Home Page, Mobile Marketing, Personal Development, Social Media Tips, Wedding Business, Wedding Business Income, Wedding Business Technology, Wedding Industry Trends Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Facebook Privacy: The Good And The Bad For Business Owners

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No matter how much we love Facebook for wedding business marketing the truth is that privacy issues and questions regarding possible privacy issues have been a problem from the beginning. While that doesn’t stop most people using Facebook it does create frustration. The one good side of things is that there is almost always a way to block information from being shared that you don’t want the world to know about (and yes, some of it just requires using common sense).

Facebook believes in the importance of constantly evolving with the demands of their audience. This has led to a new way of collecting data on people both online and offline for the sake of their advertisers. Obviously this is raising red flags for many people, but thankfully, there is a work around. Make sure to check out Thorin Klosowski’s article to learn more.

The good side of Facebook’s constant research on tracking data is the fact that they are able to help their advertisers target the right people better than almost anyone else. This means that your advertisements go out to the group of people that might actually be interested in your business, and no one else. What do you think though? Do the benefits for targeted advertising outweigh the privacy risks?

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Filed Under: Advertising, Attracting Ideal Clients, Leads & Traffic, Mobile Marketing, Social Media Tips Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Why Your Wedding Business Needs To Get Listed On Google+ Local

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Getting found on Google is about more than just getting found in their main search results. You also want to be found on local map searches for wedding businesses. Why? Because even if you don’t have a storefront location where brides can come you hopefully do have an office where you can meet with them. Getting found on Google maps is as important if not more as getting listed in yellow pages.

One new perk that Google has added for businesses is their Google+ Local page which connects to Google Maps. This allows you to include in-depth information, reviews of your business, images, address, phone number, website, a map of where you are and more. Essentially it validates your wedding business in the mind of the bride while at the same time giving her contact information and helping your Google search rankings for your website. For more information on Google+ Local pages and what you can do with them make sure to check out the informative article by Doug Antkowiak. Have you listed yourself on Google Maps and Google+ Local yet?

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Filed Under: Attracting Ideal Clients, Bridal Marketing, Free Wedding Business Tools, Mobile Marketing, Website, Website Tools & Tips, Wedding Business, Wedding Websites Tagged With: , , , ,

Why You Must Use Good Marketing Strategy In Social Media

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We’ve spent the last year encouraging wedding businesses to get on the band wagon of social media. If you have done so you are probably in the same boat as many businesses today. The difference between businesses that make social media work for them, and those that give it a try and give up, comes down to strategy and hard work, or the lack there of.

Scott Bishop points out that using social media for marketing is at a point where you either use it the way it was designed to be used, or it becomes a waste of time and effort. In other words if you really want social media marketing to work for you, you need to find out how social media marketing works, what options are out there, and then create a marketing plan, and execute it on a daily or at least weekly basis.

Social media should not be the only place you are marketing, it is simply the newest, simplest and often least expensive and most effective (if done correctly) marketing option out there that helps you reach brides, connect with them on a more personal level, and ease them into your sales funnel. To learn more about the direction that social media marketing is going make sure to read Scotts great article.

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Filed Under: Bridal Marketing, Leads & Traffic, Mobile Marketing, Social Media Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mobile Marketing for Your Wedding Business: Time to get moving!

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smart phone for mobile marketing

Don’t you hate the feeling of being too late to take advantage of a great opportunity?

We get a great tip or a bit of advice and know we should take action…then we forget about it or worse…we procrastinate.

Then we see someone else set sail on that Opportunity Ship without us.  Not fun.

Here’s an example of what happened to me…

Back in 1991 a successful financial planner approached me with an offer to partner in his company.  His business was already bringing in money and all the numbers pointed to massive growth.  It was a killer opportunity for sure.

I procrastinated about getting back to him and thought I had all the time in the world.  Meanwhile, this financial planner went on…without me…to create a Million Dollar business.

Well, here comes one of those Moments of Opportunity.  Lucky for you, I’ve got your back on this one.

Of course, if you don’t take any action…Well, my conscience is clear.

What is this moment of opportunity? It’s Mobile Marketing and it is on the cusp of blowing up. All signs point to “get in now!”

Wouldn’t you like to be ahead of the curve for a change?  

So what is Mobile Marketing? In a nutshell, it is your business having a conversation with consumers on their mobile phones and smart phones.

It gives you the ability to provide relevant, valuable information directly to people who are interested in your products and services.  This is done with their permission, of course–nobody likes a spammer.

By the end of 2010, there will be approximately 5 billion cell phone subscriptions. This is a staggering number when you consider that there are 7 billion people on the planet.

Right now, there are only about 2 billion internet users.  Are you starting to see the weight of this?

World wide email use is around 1.3 billion. Right now, text messaging is around 3 billion.

Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc)  has really jumped on the mobile bandwagon.  Facebook has reported that about a quarter of their users (around 100 million) access their site via mobile devices…and this number is rapidly rising.

Google has publicly stated that from here forward everything they do will be based on mobile-ready platforms FIRST!

The big guys all already on board.  It’s time for you to get with the program, too.

You are actually already involved with mobile marketing if you have a website or a social media page. A potential customer using their iPhone finds you on Facebook and then clicks through to your webpage. If your site is not mobile optimized they get a useless result at best.

Can you say, “NO SALE?”

Here is a helpful page that will show you how your site looks on a mobile device.  Go here and input your website now.

http://www.opera.com/mobile/demo

I know.  Painful!

Don’t despair. We can fix this. You are not going to miss this boat, not on my watch.

Make sure you tune in next week and we’ll start getting you up to date so you can rock the mobile market and keep your wedding business ahead of the competition.

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Filed Under: Home Page, Mobile Marketing, Wedding Business Technology Tagged With: , , , ,