When I asked the wedding professionals on our email list for their biggest questions about using social media for their wedding businesses, the response was overwhelming!  And most of the questions that came in had to do with Facebook.

My Confession

I’m on Facebook.  I use it personally and professionally.  But I have to confess…

I haven’t done everything on Facebook for our wedding business that I know I should be doing.  

So this was a wake up call for me, too.  I may not know everything there is to know about Facebook, but I’m really, really good at figuring stuff out.

Before we can get into exactly what to put on your Page and how to get brides on it, we’ve got to make sure we’re avoiding the most common…and sometimes disastrous…Facebook mistakes.

5 Facebook Business Mistakes

Mistake #1 – Using a Personal Profile For Your Wedding Business.

If you set up a new Facebook profile using your business name, you are in direct violation of Facebook’s terms of service. 

Facebook only allows ONE profile for each individual.  You are not permitted to use it, “for your own commercial gain.”  If you want to promote your business, you need to create a Facebook Page.

If Facebook finds a profile used for a business, that account will be deleted and will lose all its friends and account information.

I know, it sucks.  One of my wedding professional Facebook friends set up a profile using the name of their business and had over 1,500 friends.  When Facebook found out, her account was deleted and she lost all those connections.

Yes, you will find people out there who are violating this rule, but it simply isn’t worth the risk.  Use a Facebook Page for your business and save your profile for the “real” you.

Mistake #2 – Not Using Keywords in the Page Title and Description.

The cool thing about Facebook pages is that they get indexed in the search engines.  If you set it up right, this means that your Facebook page could end up on Page 1 of Google.

However, this will only happen if you set up the page properly.

Use your targeted keywords (“san francisco wedding  planner,” “dallas wedding photographer”) in your Page’s title and description.  This will give you more visibility and get more brides to your Page and your website.

Mistake #3 – Not Including a Link to Your Website.

This seems like a no-brainer, but so many wedding professionals FORGET to put an easy to find link to their website on their business Page.

All your efforts are wasted if you don’t make it easy for brides to contact you and learn more about your business.

Make sure you add a link in the About section under your image as well as on your information tab.  Use the full url…that means http://www.YourWebsite.com.  Then click it to make sure it works when you’re done!

Mistake #4 – Promoting, Promoting and Only Promoting.

If you want brides to “like” your page, pay attention to your status updates, and come back for more, you’ve got to make your updates interesting and valuable to them.

Many wedding vendors promote their own services, products and sales with every update.  It’s like a never-ending sales pitch and it drives brides away!  If all you do is tell them how great you are, they’ll hit that little “ignore” button and you’ll disappear from their Facebook world forever.

Make sure your updates are fun, interesting and helpful for brides.  Then you can sparingly sprinkle in a promotion now and then. 

Mistake #5 – Spamming the Walls of Friends With Ads.

Plastering your advertisement on every one of your friend’s Walls WILL NOT get you business.  It will earn you a reputation as a “spammer,” your friends will un-friend you or make you invisible, and brides will be completely turned off.

People hang out on Facebook to connect with other people.  That doesn’t mean you can’t use it to make money for your business…you sure can!…but you do it by building a relationship first.

If you want to advertise, buy a Facebook ad.  Don’t use your friends’ profiles.

How To Create a Bride Attracting Facebook Page in 5 Minutes

Watch this video below to learn the optimal set up for a new Facebook Page for your wedding business.  There are a few essentials in there that you won’t want to miss.

What do you think?  Did you learn anything?  Leave a comment, question or response to let me know you’re listening!

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