Time to change our marketing tactics??

[Chris Harding]

Hi Guys

At the end of November I dumped my 4 year relationship with our national wedding directory Easy Weddings .. I simply wasn't getting a decent return on my investment any more! The last booking I got from them was back in July so my payment of $110.00 a month seemed to be a lost cause. It certainly seems that brides are moving away from wedding directories and rather using social media for almost everything! Let's face it it's getting hard to even spot a young lady in the street any more that doesn't have an iPhone in her hand so I figured it would make sense to target my services rather thru social media than the old method. I must admit I do like the idea that you can customise a Facebook ad to it only reaches a specific gender, region and age group plus you can specify target words too like "wedding video" or "engagement"

Results are pretty good so far I must admit! In the first day (Thursday) I had an ad reach of close to 1400 targeted women and 8 came thru to my website and one booking already. That's in one working day! Cost per week for a campaign is $39.00 ATM but you can set it wherever you wish .. With the wedding directory when times were good I would have been lucky to get 1 bride go to my website a day and typical was around 15 -20 a MONTH

What are you guys using to get weddings

[Noa Put]

What are you guys using to get weddings

Nothing...:)

Eventough I now plan to just do a handful of weddings anymore every year all my bookings the past years came from photographers, weddingplanners and venues who recommended me, those where my main source of referrals, then came clients who's wedding I shot who have friends that get married afterwards so they usual end up with me as well and then people who find me through a google search or have seen my trailers that are shared by my clients on their own facebook.

I have not spend a cent on advertsing, I don't do wedding fares and I don't have a facebook account yet the past 3 years I could easily have send out a second videographer to cover the bookings I cannot accept.

[Robert Benda]

I'm with you, Chris. Yesterday I started my first Facebook ad. I'm targeting women 22-34. I'm using my NYE wedding highlight that seems to be getting a good response.

The photographers swear by Facebook. Another group also work Instagram for a following.

I also want to improve my SEO. My old website that uses my name has been nothing but a redirect page for 3+ years and STILL does better in searches because it got linked to by 2 different online wedding magazines.

I also am working on my networking. Along with becoming more active in our local Shoot & Share group (lots of good photographers there), I'm deciding on a less wedding centered group to join. Maybe the Optimist Club, which does a lot of good charity work, so its a worthy cause.

I do use an online registry (WeddingWire), but I am in a unique spot. The price here isn't too bad ($650 for the year) and I get 2 listings (DJ and video) and use their contract services. So all I need is 2+ bookings from it and I"m happy.

[Noa Put]

Don't underestimate the power of a trailer, it's a paid option in my case and the client advertises for you afterwards for free, according to my vimeo stats in average a trailer that gets shared on facebook gets viewed between 200 to 1000 times within the first 3 days and those are unique views from different locations.
Ofcourse not all these viewers are going to get married but even if it's a very small percentage it can end up in a booking. It's the best free form of advertising where all the work is done by the client.

[Don Bloom]

Obviously you want to take what I say with a grain of salt since I haven't done a wedding or any other work for 2 years but I still know a few guys in the business and they've all gotten away from the big wedding sites and gone to FB and Instagram for the vast majority of their advertising. Not only is it cheaper but they say they get more and better saturation and more leads.
What do I know though they could be telling big lies. I think I'll go back to my TV and Bon-Bons 😀

[Kyle Root]

I've spent hundreds (close to $1,000) on FB ads over the past couple years and haven't booked anything. Of course, I was doing it wrong initially by sending them to my FB Fan page instead of my website...

But still what I've found is, when I get good referrals from vendors, I booked about 95% of those gigs.

I am not paying for anything in 2016 and will see how it goes. So far, I'm getting a steady stream of leads from various places, mostly google searches right now at the first of the year.

Wedj.com has surprisingly been very good about sending me leads (free).

I'm on WW and TK too but not paying for it.

I did sign up for Yelp last week all to help with SEO.

[David Barnett]

I finally signed up for WW last year & had modest results. I renewed for another year so I'll see how it goes. I need the marketing to grow but also I feel I'm ok on equipment upgrades for the year, so I don't see any big expenses there.

I too just joined FB ads. I had alot of views & clicks, and FB informs me I'm doing well (less than 90% of similar ad sets, who knows tho). I have a 2 week campaign at $5 a day. So it's a nominal investment to test it out, I have gotten 4 likes out of it, sadly my first 4 because I don't spam friends to like it nor have I asked brides to.

Overall I use a mix of WW, FB, CL Services offered, and General google search. I rank really well with desktop views (considering I'm in a large market), however my website isn't mobile friendly so it's low on mobile searches. That said I'm afraid to change it up because I still do good on desktop ranking so I don't wanna mess that up. I'll give it another year.

FB is new to me, but I've gotten a few inquiries recently, but 1 admitted seeing it on WW & 1 on CL. Overall I'd guesstimate my leads come from:

WeddingWire - 50%
Facebook - 25%
Craigslist - 15%
Rando/SEO - 10%

I wanted to pay heavy for one final year this year to see where I can take this. Then maybe next year ease off the reigns if I need to/want to/ or if it just isn't paying off.

[Robert Benda]

David, Friendly FYI: not having a mobile ready site will now hurt you with Google SEO.

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by Robert Benda

David, Friendly FYI: not having a mobile ready site will now hurt you with Google SEO.

Technically, I think it's only on searches on a mobile. I still rank on page 1-2 on a desktop/laptop, which is a hard thing to risk giving up. Admittedly the millenials mostly use their cell phones, however I'm holding out hope for something important like a wedding vendor, they're sitting down searching somewhere (especially while at office/work).

[Noa Put]

I read an article recently that google would give websites a lower ranking if their website was not mobile friendly.

[David Barnett]

A thought just occured to me, does anyone ever market to venues? Maybe send a followup letter w/business cards after shooting there thanking them & inserting cards (hoping to get into some sort of preferred list)?

A bit time consuming, but if you drew up a sample draft letter it should be easy, and cheap. Not sure how effective it would be though.

[Robert Benda]

I do an annual Xmas basket for one venue that sends a TON of business my way (and the manager has been there forever).

Other venues would get an email with a thank you and 'hey, your place is beautiful in this footage' here you go, feel free to use it to promote your facility if I had any that were remotely attractive to work in.

[Noa Put]

I have one higher end venue that uses 2 of my trailers on their website (of weddings I shot at their location) to promote their wedding services, I gave it to them for free and that has lead to several bookings over the past years. They don't charge me any money for this either.

[Clive McLaughlin]

Search Engine Optimisation!

By far the best place to invest your money in terms of getting bookings.

Well... I mean as long as your website and online content is good looking too!

How many pages do you think a bride will click through on their search results?

I spent a LOT of time researching and improving my site to gain favor with Google. Not everyone would have the knowledge to do the stuff yourself, but it could well be worth your while paying for it.

My interest (at a guess) is about 40% Google, 30% Facebook, 20% Referrals.

But... like I say - being seen is only part of the process. Impressing is just as important.

I pay probably a couple of £100 a year on facebook ads and boosts too, but no other money gets spent to bring in my clients. No wedding shows, no magazine ads, no (paid) web directories.

[Robert Benda]

Social Media can be part of your SEO. Active posts, like a Facebook post that gets shares, likes, and, best of all, people clicking through to your website, all can help your Google value. It tells Google your website is worth while. Twitter shares can do the same thing (something like at least 10 clicks?)

Similarly, I'm ecstatic when a photog I worked with gets placed on an online bridal magazine that links to my site as a vendor. This helps because its an authority site (good reputation, about a relevant topic to your site, and thought you were worth while).

Today, as part of my SEO campaign, I posted a video on Facebook from last night's wedding. The best man's toast ... well, he rapped. I knew this would get likes and shares, so, I made the effort this morning, and had it posted before they even had their gift opening/brunch.

The Best Man's toast on Vimeo