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In our monthly Vendor Tips column, we look at expert advice to help wedding businesses succeed. This week we’re delving into social media – the darling of the Internet that is transforming the world of marketing. How can you use social media as a wedding vendor to gain leads and clients?

Social media should factor into every wedding vendor’s marketing plan. Why? Well, first of all, it doesn’t cost anything. For any wedding business starting out, funds are at a minimum, and social media is a great way to get some attention for your business without a huge cash investment.

Second, social media has a positive impact on your website’s search rankings. The more people are talking about you and engaging with your brand on social media, the higher Google ranks you for your search terms.

Third, social media is a great way to network with other wedding businesses – you can join Facebook groups and contribute to group Pinterest boards, pooling resources to bring additional hits and leads to all your businesses. Social media is called “social” for a reason!

So you know that social media is essential for any wedding vendor, but how do you use social media? Here are our top tips:

Choose the Right Platform

There are many different social media platforms, and it can be daunting thinking you need to be on them all. Instead of spreading yourself too thin across twenty different profiles, the best system for social media is to choose your platforms wisely, and concentrate on using 1-2 really well.

Which do we recommend? Well, it differs for every business. But think about who uses each platform, and what they’re used for. Twitter is good for talking to other business owners, but Facebook is great for interacting with your customers and sharing articles and images. Many women use Pinterest for wedding planning, and the Reddit audience want to discuss things in lots of detail. Instagram works well for those with lots of interesting things happening on their premises, and LinkedIn is really for professionals to chat about the industry.

Pick a platform you enjoy and set up a profile. Once you’ve built up a following, you can consider adding another platform to the mix. If a certain site isn’t working for you, then cancel your profile and move on.

Post for Your Fans

Ignore all the “hot tips” and “expert advice” you hear about social media (except this post, of course!) and instead, think about your potential customers and the people following your page. What would they be interested in reading about/looking at? How often would they want to see updates?

Think about what your fans are interested in looking at. As a wedding vendor, it’s pretty obvious that anything wedding-related is going to go down well. Ask your fans about the style of their engagement rings, link them to weddings that match your own aesthetic, and update them about exciting things happening around your office.

One of the things I like to do is to offer useful tips and advice for couples planning their wedding. It can be something as simple as 5 tips (one for every day of the week) for choosing a wedding dress. Just a short sentence that might help out a couple in need!

Mix Things Up

Don’t just post the same type of thing all the time – mix up your mediums and types of posts to create an engaging profile. For example, on my wedding celebrant Facebook page, I like to alternate between linking to articles on my own blog, linking to gorgeous weddings on other blogs, and asking questions / talking about cool things in my celebrant life. This keeps things interesting and means I’m not spamming my fans with constant “look at me!” updates.

Have Fun!

Remember social media is about being social – it’s just as much about building up your profile as a friendly and approachable vendor is it is about generating new leads. A wedding business lives and dies by their reputation, so get off on the right foot with your couples by presenting yourself as friendly, helpful and approachable.

How are you using social media in your wedding business?