Do This Before You Start Wedding PR & Marketing Activities

Is the wedding product or service you offer is extremely niche? If not, you’re likely always thinking of ways to differentiate yourself. That goes for seasoned wedding professionals and those more new to the game. When wedding vendors turn to Something New for I Do for wedding PR, getting published is always top of mind. Having your work featured in styled shoots and on popular wedding blogs will help get you noticed. But, if your website and social media presence doesn’t reflect that same level of creativity and professionalism, wedding PR activities won’t produce direct sales.

What’s the first step in wedding PR and marketing? Branding. 

Branding Tips for Wedding Industry Veterans

We’ve all visited a website for the first time and exited in a matter of seconds because it either wasn’t what we were expecting it to be, or worse, the credibility wasn’t there. It will take your brides only 15 seconds to get a first impression of your brand. And first impressions matter when there are endless resources to help them find your competitors.

If it’s been more than three years since you’ve updated your marketing materials, it’s time to evaluate where you stand. Determine what needs to be done to refresh your brand. It may be a quick fix, like swapping out dated photos with images of more recent weddings. Or, you may be due for a brand overhaul.

I know the sentimental feelings toward your brand are starting to set in as you read this. “But I’ve had this logo since I started out. And my website I slaved over… I would hate to see it go.” These are real statements our wedding PR and marketing team has heard time and time again. As harsh as it sounds, in reality, our brides are always the same age. It’s our businesses and our brand identity that are aging. This means maintaining a fresh brand identity and keeping up with the current styles and trends of our brides is crucial. And please opt for a responsive website if you don’t have one already!

If you want to put this theory to the test, install Google Analytics on your website and track your bounce rate. This is the percentage of visits in which a potential client left your site without interacting with it. You can also get a feel for your current success by your average session duration. This means the average amount of time potential clients are spending on your website. Those numbers will speak for themselves.

Branding Tips for Wedding Industry Newbies

When designing your logo, choose a design that has a timeless feel or is easy to update. It will be easier and less expensive to simply swap out the colors, pattern or background than it will be to get a new logo every few years based on what is trendy. The same is true for your website. Wedding industry leaders like WeddingWire will tell you that today’s bride is more attracted to websites with clean and simple designs. Go for easy to read fonts and content, light or white backgrounds, colors that are brand-consistent, and captivating and purposeful photos. Less is more in both the beginning when designing a site, and when it comes time to update. You’ll just have to swap out some pictures and revise your wording. Easy enough!

Another trick of the trade is to create separate social media accounts for business and pleasure. Overlap does have a place. For example, sharing what you’re doing professionally with your friends in hopes of peaking their interest in your business. Or, tying in your personality on your business accounts so your clients can get a feel for the type of person they will be working with. But, posting Instagram pictures of you and your friends at bars every weekend or endless pictures of your cat… how is that helping you secure clients? Be intentional in all you do.

So, first reflect on your existing or new brand. Then, initiate wedding PR activities. So then when you do get that media attention, you have a nice website and social media presence. And ultimately, a brand that will close the sale.