Getting Facebook Marketing To Actually Work In Attracting Brides

A wedding business getting tired of attempting Facebook marketing isn’t new. In fact local wedding businesses struggle a lot to make Facebook marketing work. That doesn’t mean that you should give up, or that it won’t work. It just means you have to know what to do to see results.

Stephanie Padovani’s guest blog on Mobile Beat does a great job in summing up what you need to do to succeed. It isn’t enough to be on Facebook, you’ve got to be in the right places, and you’ve got to build relationships. Relationship building for the sake of marketing isn’t a new idea, but it is one that many businesses struggle in applying online. The reality is that marketing on a social platform like Facebook is the same as marketing anywhere else in person. Build a relationship. Provide valuable information, and turn your marketing efforts around so that they actually work. What do you think? 

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How To Capture A Brides Interest On Facebook

 

If you already use Facebook for keeping up with friends you probably have a bit of an idea of what is involved in writing a good Facebook post. However business pages are constantly working on getting better returns for their time, which means finding better ways to build interest in their brand.

Lawrence has some brilliant pointers on his blog tofurious. He points out something that is a very typical issue with wedding businesses on Facebook. When you post you get a lot more interest and interaction when you use a picture. Not that you always have to use a picture with your posts, but when you do it is the thing that makes your post stand out in a brides news feed. Facebook users are used to taking more time looking at pictures than reading updates. Don’t just use any picture though. Use one that illustrates the point, and is good quality. The quality of the pictures that you use is a direct reflection of the quality of your business, at least in a brides mind. What do you think? Have you used pictures with your posts, and if so have you seen an increase in interest? 

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Getting Found Online: The Secret Behind It

 

 

GirlfriendsI could tell you a lot about SEO, the basics, the in-depth information. The truth about getting found online however isn’t summed up by SEO. You have to know the thought behind it to really get that great online boost that gets your business found by brides. So what is the secret? It’s a mindset. Instead of marketing your wedding business for the sake of marketing and sales you need to make sure that everything you do is going through the filter of asking yourself “What can I do to help brides?” This perspective changes your marketing from being about you, to being about the bride. It helps you get inside her head and give her what she really needs.

This plays into getting found online by your posting information that helps a bride whether or not it is actual marketing for your business. Think about it. Some of the best wedding businesses will do articles about working with other businesses, articles which answer bride’s questions. They will do articles on other wedding websites, have conversations by commenting on related articles, and most importantly, they are honest. All these things play into the way that Google has set up their SEO and will help focus your marketing towards the right things that actually get you found online. For more information on building an online reputation that gets you found online make sure to check out Jen Williams great article. What do you think?

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26 Things to Include On Your Wedding Vendor Website

 

DeskWant to know if your website makes the grade? Here are the essential elements you should include on your wedding business website.

1. Professional website design. If your site looks amateur, so do you.

2. Your location, including a mailing address with town and zip code. This is the only way Google knows where you are so that they can deliver your website to local searchers. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on powerful local traffic.

3. Reviews and testimonials including photos and video when possible. And make sure they’re recent! Only having reviews from 5+ years ago makes you look outdated, so be sure to update them or eliminate dates altogether.

4. Links to online reviews on other websites. These reviews are even more credible. Some reviews sites allow you to embed a reviews widget right on your website.

5. A phone number prominently on every page. Make it super easy for brides and grooms to contact you.

6. A prominent call to action on every page. “Call or email now…” Tell visitors exactly the action you want them to take. This will increase the chance that they will actually do it by 10x.

7. Driving directions and map if you have a shop or office. Again, make it easy for them to find you.

8. A good FAQ page. Put together the questions you get asked most frequently, and answer them. Make sure you include some details of what you include, price and what to expect at a meeting.

9. Ability to increase font size to make reading of site easier. This one can mean the difference between losing a visitor and keeping one.

10. Engaging, professionally written text without spelling errors. Don’t skimp on this one! A single typo or misspelling creates a bad first impression that lasts.

11. Photos of you and your staff. Put a face on your business; people want to deal with real people, not corporations, so let them get to know you.

12. Background information on your staff. This goes along with #11. Friendly, personable bios make you a real person who brides and grooms will want to know.

13. Listing of professional associations or logos. This adds credibility and builds trust.

14. Photos of happy couples from previous weddings. This makes your reviews even more powerful and gets the couple imagining themselves working with you.

15. Links to news and blurbs about you in the press. This gives you authority and demonstrates your expert status, communicating your value on a subtle and powerful level.

16. An About page. Visitors expect an About page they can easily click to learn more about you. Give it to them. And they’re not the only ones; Google wants to see About pages on the sites of legitimate businesses.

17. Links to social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube) on every page. Today’s brides and grooms spend one out of every eight minutes on Facebook. Make it easy for them to connect with you there.

18. Email lead capture form and a free “Bride Bribe” giveaway. Capture those website visitors and turn them into real leads you can follow up with, or you’re losing money.

19. New content added at least once per week. Content includes articles, photos and video. The easiest way to accomplish this is with a blog. (See below.)

20. A blog on your own domain with recent blog posts. This helps you get more website visitors, proves your expertise and communicates your value.

21. A range of prices or realistic starting price. Whether you like it or not, brides and grooms want to see a PRICE before they contact you. Give it to them or you run the risk that they will move on to a competitor who will.

22. An emotional, professional video. Most people prefer to watch video. You’ll increase the power of your message and the response you get from website visitors by having one on your site.

23. A client area. Couples enjoy the exclusivity of a client area where they can update and make changes to information for their wedding without having to send emails or deal with paperwork. This can make the difference between getting hired or not.

24. Free information, tips and resources for brides and grooms. Make your website a real resource for couples in your area and you will naturally get more visitors and turn them into clients.

25. Local keywords sprinkled naturally throughout the text. This is essential if you have a local wedding business because you want to attract brides and grooms from your local area. It’s also much easier to compete and get ranked on Page 1 than the more general wedding keywords, so it’s a good strategy even if your business is national.

26. Internal links for keywords you’d like to rank for. This means if you want to be on page 1 of Google for the phrase, “Orange County wedding photographer,” include a link on your own website to another page on your site. This helps the search engines know what you’re about and gives you more authority for that phrase.

Did I leave anything out? Leave a comment to let me know!

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How To Get Your Wedding Business To Show Up In Local Google Searches

 

Bride_ShoppingOne of the ways the people find businesses now is to look them up online. If your wedding business isn’t listed on Google Places brides who are trying to find local wedding businesses online aren’t going to be able to find you.

According to Brian Farrell in his article there are a few more things you can do to get found by local brides online. The top one that many businesses miss is to make sure that every listing for your wedding business is identical, the exact same address, name, phone number, everything. This includes listings in your phone book, website, Google Places, everywhere. If there are differences Google won’t be able to figure out that it is the same business and will rank you lower. Have you had any success in brides finding you online?

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What The Changes In Marketing Mean To You

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Marketing has changed. Not just in some fields, but across the board. Think about it. If you’ve done any shopping online you’ve probably noticed that you base some if not all of your purchase choices on reviews. So how does that work with marketing as a whole?

Well, it means that doing a huge ad campaign isn’t going to bring great returns. First of all, most of us ignore the ad and don’t even look at it in the first place according to the awesome article by Eric Markowitz. And second of all there is no interaction with the ad. Personal interaction is what is driving the market right now. People want to know the people behind the business, and want to know what other people think about the products and services.

This has created a huge marketing benefit for any business that is online and on social media. Online shopping caters to the new market, and wedding businesses that plunge into the new marketing now are going to find themselves ahead of many of the top wedding businesses nationwide because of how many businesses are still fighting the change in marketing. What do you think?

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Why You Should Market To Brides Where They Are

Woman_On_LaptopFinding out where your audience spends it’s time online is one of the first steps to setting up an effective marketing plan. If you go where they are already it will be easier to capture their interest. The good news is that there is one place where the majority of internet users hang out, and that place according to Frank Reed’s article is: Facebook.

The first thing you need to realize before you start marketing to brides on Facebook is that they are there to socialize. This means that you need to set up your Facebook page to be user friendly and use your status updates to not only market but to also ask questions and give out important and helpful information. Think about it. The bride socializes with you while chatting with friends and gets helpful tips for planning her wedding. That combination in a safe environment is going to build trust, which in turn can turn into solid sales, and great reviews. What do you think? Is your Facebook marketing working for you?

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Wedding Industry Internet Marketing On A Small Budget

moneyThere are a million ways to market your wedding business, but if you have a small business it is important that you invest in marketing that will actually work for you. The best way to do this is to prioritize your marketing strategies. 

The very first thing you need to do is get your website up and fully functional, ensuring that it is Search Engine Optimized, as well as keyword optimized. Without that foundation the rest of internet marketing will be a hard road to climb according to Small Business Mavericks article. Once you get that part finished you can turn to social media marketing which will boost your exposure on a level untouchable by any other method of marketing.

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How to Grow Your Wedding Business Online

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Wedding business marketing can often seem like an impregnable part of building your business. However all you need to be successful is a basic business marketing blueprint to help you chart your way through each step.

It doesn’t matter if your business is just getting started with online marketing or you have already mastered many of the basics, it is extremely helpful to have something to walk you step-by-step through setting up an effective online marketing plan for your wedding business.

We recently found the “2011 Online Marketing Blueprint: A Multimedia Guide to Growing Your Business Online” e-book and thought that it covers well the information on how to establish a keyword strategy, search engine optimization (SEO) basics, and tips for converting website visitors into leads, as well as many more of the basics of marketing.

Check out these tips on Hubspot for free!

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