You might think that this is not the right time to market yourself with everything being uncertain, but if we want to sustain during these unprecedented times, we need to start thinking ahead. We need to start living with this new normal. We have to consider promotion. People will get married, couples are getting engaged during quarantine, so we have to cater to these people’s requirements. When it comes to marketing strategy, what worked a year before, might not work now. The advertising strategy, the PR procedures, the core, and the mission has to change according to the current times.
Meghan Ely, the founder of OFD Consulting, USA joined us on the 3rd episode of our DWP Biz Edge Series and shared a few interesting ways to promote your business during the time of COVID-19.
From this data, it is apparent that the couples are relying on the internet search and social media a lot right now. If anything this pandemic has done certainly, is to shift the businesses online. With people quarantined at home, an offline search is not an option anymore. With the increasingly wide popularity of Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok, it won’t be wrong to say that if you don’t up your social media game, you are out of business.
6 Tips To Promote Your Wedding Business Effectively In The Current Time
* Focus On Your Owned Channel– Focus on your social media – your website, email marketing, blog, social media. Be the website that people want to refer to. Even though we have not been through a pandemic before, but if you have some expertise to offer, do that. Create a content plan for your website. It’s not necessarily about selling, it’s about serving. We need to sell through serving. You want people to come to your website. Be the person who people want to rely on. Clients are looking at your personality and your portfolio. By owning your channel, you are not only establishing trust but you are creating means for more social visibility. For example, if you google ‘Planning a wedding through COVID,’ you will find Megan Gillikin’s website – A Southern Soiree, on the first page of search results. Why? Because she tapped right into what’s trending and linked it with what the couples and planners are looking for right now. You need to do the same. This is how people are going to find you.
* Introduce Yourself To The Media – If you feel your part of the industry is underrepresented, it’s time to reintroduce yourself. Find media outlets in your areas, check if they are offering any expertise in your sector, or find someone who can help you with it. Email them. Take a moment to rethink your advertising plan. If you have not experimented with SEO before, now is the perfect time to do that. Check this Media Pitch templates for COVID-19.
* Install a Facebook Pixel On Your Website –If you are going to spend time for people to come to your website, you need to be smart enough to track your audience. Facebook Pixel will help your advertising plan by creating a relevant audience database by tracking the users who come to your website. The information about the type of people who visit your website, the demographical stats, and the details, can help you to a great extent in devising your marketing strategy.
Meghan created a special coloring book based on good and bad wedding trends from the last 17 years. She didn’t put it on a jot form link, but she did it on her website so that people go to the website. Now, with the help of Facebook Pixel, she has an idea of the type of audiences that visit her website, and it makes her advertising job a lot easier.
Picture Courtesy: @ofdconsulting
* Submit Your Events – Wheather it is weddings, events, or corporates, submit your events. Some websites are hungry for content right now. Take your best work and submit for publication. Ideally in the last 6-9 months. Make sure it is shot beautifully. Look in the myriad of wedding blogs, for example, Two Bright Lights and Matchology who publish content for free or for a very low cost. When they go live, you get more content for your social media. It’s essential. Couples go on search engines all the time for some wedding planning ideas.
* Embrace Industry Podcasts –Podcasts are emerging rapidly and are an amazing way to connect with industry peers and couples. This is a great place to talk about things that matter. Think about what topics do you know which you can contribute to? If you are new with podcasts, Bridechilla is an amazing site to start with. It covers everything from planning timelines to mental health, family dynamics to body image. ‘This Week In Weddings’ is another great example. It is geared towards the industry and is more B2B. Check out some more useful podcasts here.
* Prep For Industry Awards – Let’s start thinking ahead. Prepare yourself for the industry awards. People tend to be very last minute about it. Couples will want to know why you are the best, and awards are a great way to answer this question. The economy is going to take a hit and because there is a low barrier to enter the market, brand-new event professionals will make their way into the industry. Think about which award do you want to submit to next year, what are the deadlines. Research and start thinking about who you want to associate with. Now is the time to take yourself one step ahead and work on the industry awards.
Be positive and have hope, we will get through the other side soon!
Feature Image Credit: @shutterstock
