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An Easy Guide to Marketing Your Wedding Venue
Marketing your wedding venue can be tough. It’s a fiercely competitive market with a lot of pressure on couples to attain the ‘perfect day’. Which means a lot of pressure on you to make sure your venue stands out from the crowd. Enjoy our guide on how to market your wedding venue, and feel free to get in touch if you have any questions!
Showcase Your Assets
A key takeaway is to showcase what you have; the venue, grounds, the décor. If you can, take seasonal photos to illustrate how beautiful your wedding venue looks all year round. Ensure you have the right assets to market your venue. This can include leaflets, a glossy brochure, and a well-designed website.
It’s also important to do things face to face – an open day event is the perfect way to showcase your venue in all its glory. Dress the tables and room. Invite your vendor friends to join you on the day. Offer drinks and canapes, and a variety of the options available to your potential happy couples. Ancillary events, such as a catwalk show or makeup demonstration, can be another great way to highlight the full package.
Make Connections
A key part of marketing your wedding venue is making #connections. Click To TweetA key part of marketing your wedding venue is making connections. You need to develop vendor partnerships – have a roster of people you can recommend. For example, the perfect photographer. Get testimonials from happy customers and the vendors you have worked with. These word of mouth recommendations will go further than any artfully styled centrepiece. Finally, make sure to interact in the ‘wedding industry’; make time to go to real life shows and exhibitions. If you’re on a budget, look for local networking groups to get started.
Be Inclusive
It can be a fantastic selling point to make it clear you welcome #LGBT couples at your #wedding venue. Click To TweetAccording to the ONS’ latest stats on marriages, 7,019 marriages in 2016 were same sex, and 55% of those were between women. Yet as recently as 2015, a gay couple were turned away from a venue in the UK due to their sexuality. It can be a fantastic selling point to make it clear you welcome all couples at your wedding venue. Consider special offers, or an inclusive photo shoot to show that you are LGBT friendly.
Melissa Bach, a senior director of public relations for the Knot Worldwide, which also includes the WeddingWire, said the company recently made some updates to its website, app, social media and emails. This included, she said, changing the phrase “bridal party” to “wedding party” and showcasing photos of same-sex couples. Last year, the Knot also changed the name of its proposal site from “How He Asked” to “How They Asked.”
“I think it’s really important for wedding vendors to not assume anything,” – Melissa Bach
Use Social Media
Social Media Examiner found that the risen costs of #weddings directly parallel the rise in social media. Click To TweetRecently, Social Media Examiner found that the risen costs of weddings directly parallel the rise in social media – and the link isn’t coincidental.
In 2019, people were estimated to be spending 153 minutes – or 2 hrs 33 minutes – a day on social media. This makes an omnichannel approach, including social media, even more important in 2020. Apart from anything else, according to Cooper of The Knot, 89% of couples now use smartphones to plan their weddings, meaning social media is competing with wedding planners.
Pinterest is the most common platform for brides, with Instagram coming a close second. Pinterest in particular is known for providing an excellent platform for evergreen content. With the right interests, your venue could top someone’s feed tomorrow, next week and six months from now. It’s not temporary in the same way as Twitter or Facebook, where feeds move fast.
Your Website
80-95% of your #wedding venue leads are going to contact you via email or the form on your website. Click To TweetBook More Brides surveys reveal that for most wedding businesses, anywhere from 80-95% of your leads are going to contact you via email or the form on your website. 50% of couples rated a speedy email reply as “very important,” and 40% said “it matters, but not a priority.” (Think Splendid Insights Global Marketing Report). Nowadays, most users use their mobile for research and planning, then book via desktop. Couples can do all their research online – some even book venues on the basis of virtual tours. This makes mobile site speed extremely important – your site ideally needs to load within three seconds.
Increasingly, people want to feel special – they want personalised experiences, and a wedding with authenticity. As such, emphasise the personal touch. Introduce your wedding planner on your website. Produce sneak peeks and behind the scenes shots, so people feel included and welcomed. Add an FAQ section, answering their most asked questions, and highlight the reviews and testimonials we mentioned earlier.
And if it’s all too much? Get in touch with BFI, and we can offer a helping hand with your branding or social media advertising.
