Book Out Your Calendar In 2022 with These Four Wedding Marketing Tips For Instagram

Wedding Marketing Tips for Instagram

Hey wedding pro, we have some exciting news for you! 

A recent statistic from the Wedding Report said “There will be more weddings in 2022 than there has been in the last almost 40 years”. 

Which means your couples need you more now than ever before.

If your wedding business is not booked out right now for 2022, or if you’re still struggling to get more leads coming in, we’ve got your back! 

“We can no longer rely on word of mouth, recommendations, and reviews from couples attending bridal shows. Instead, these weird past couple of years has meant wedding pros have to build new opportunities to be seen by their ideal couples.”

Here are four simple but powerful marketing tips you can implement today to help you quickly become visible to your local market on Instagram. It’s time to let your couples know that you are here, that you are ready to serve them and that you are going to be the right wedding pro for them. 

1. Audit Your Instagram Bio:

By reading your Instagram Bio, you want your potential couples to know:

1. What you do
2. What kind of a wedding pro you are
3. What kind of couples you serve

If not, it is time for an update. Your Instagram bio should clearly communicate the type of work you do, the couples you serve, and the types of emotional needs you help them fulfill. If you want to learn more about understanding your couple’s emotional needs, read this article (insert: https://www.bookmorebrides.com/how-to-stand-out-from-your-wedding-business-competitors/)

2. Instagram Name

Your Instagram name is different than your username (@yourhandle). While both your IG name and Instagram handle are searchable, it is easier to include keywords in your Instagram name. You will show up in more searches

if you include information such as the type of wedding pro you are and the location you are based in. For example, if you’re a wedding photographer based in Charlotte, consider Charlotte Wedding Photographer as your name on Instagram.

This will allow you to be found more easily on Instagram. 

If you can also fit your name into your Instagram name, great! For example, Kim | Charlotte Wedding Photographer. But if you can’t fit your name in, make sure you put it in your bio. This adds a personable and professional touch to your instagram account and ensures your potential couples already know who they are addressing when they start to direct message you. 

3. Instagram Hashtags

When posting on your Instagram feed, use hashtags that your local couples are searching for, such as #Charlotteweddingphotographer or #weddingphotos. You can check which hashtags are popular, and which ones aren’t worth using, by typing your potential hashtag into the search bar and seeing how many search results come up next to that hashtag. 

Avoid using hashtags with 1 million or higher search results because it will be very difficult for your perfect couple to find you. It’s like trying to land on page one of Google as a wedding photographer in the United States. So instead, use hashtags that land between 20,000 and 500,000, but we wouldn’t recommend going any higher than that. 

It can help to create a list of hashtags to pull from when you are posting – but make sure you aren’t copying and pasting the same exact list over and over. Instagram may flag that as spammy behavior. Instead, focus on only using the hashtags that make sense for each post.

Tag Your Location

You also want to make sure you are including localized hashtags, such as your local city or your state, and adding a location to your posts. If you run your wedding business from a physical location, such as a studio, bakery, or venue, make sure you tag your specific location in every post. If you don’t have a physical location because you run your business from home, then make sure that you’re tagging a localized landmark that relates to your post. For example, if you are posting a picture of your couples that you photographed at a specific location, tag that particular location in your post. When you do this, Instagram will make sure your post is seen by people in that area, making it easier for you to get in front of those local couples.

4. Instagram Engagement 

Don’t just post and ghost! Make sure to respond and engage with each comment that comes your way. Two examples of how you can engage with your Instagram audience are:

1. Liking every comment and responding with gratitude: “Thank you so much, that means a lot!” 

2. Ending your captions with a question that prompts a response from your followers. Such as

“Here is a recent photograph I took of a gorgeous couple on their wedding day. What do you think about this location?”

Ask questions that will make people want to reply with more than just a yes or no response. The more people like, comment, save, or even share your posts, the more Instagram puts you in front of the right people and furthers your reach. 

Bonus Tip: Build Your Email List 

Even though Instagram is an excellent tool for marketing your wedding business and reaching your ideal couples, you never want to reply solely on any one social media presence. You can’t control how and when the algorithm will put you in front of your perfect couples. (Not to mention the horror stories of accounts being hacked or randomly deleted, leaving business owners no way to communicate with their audience)

This is why it’s important to bring your ideal couples onto a medium you can control, and the best way to do that is through email. One of the best ways to get your perfect couples onto your email list is by offering them a high-value download piece. This needs to be something irresistible to your perfect couples, which will provide so much value that they can’t resist downloading it. 

Here are a couple of examples:

• Five questions you must ask your wedding venue for 2022
• A guide to popular wedding styles in 2021

Offering a high-value download piece will allow you to bring your potential couples into your email list so you can continue to follow up with them. By using the Give Give Ask method, you can continue to provide helpful information, build yourself up as an authority, and allow your couples to build trust with you because of the value you are adding without wanting anything in return. It also allows you to offer your couples the opportunity to schedule a consultation, fill out the questionnaire, or schedule a tour so that you can make their wedding day better and make sure that they have all of the top vendors for their 2022 wedding. 

Want to create a high-value email download your ideal couples can’t resist, but not sure how?

For irresistible and engaging content ideas or help setting up your email download, contact the marketing experts at Hello@bookmorebrides.com. 

For one-on-one coaching with a Book More Brides marketing expert click here for more information.

Wedding Marketing Tips for Instagram

Wedding Marketing Tips for Instagram