10 Marketing Best Practices for 2017

The following post was written by WeddingWire Education Expert Andy Ebon. Andy is the Founder of Wedding University and The Wedding Marketing Blog, and is an International Public Speaker, Writer and Consultant based in Las Vegas. Andy travels across North America and beyond, presenting to Associations, Wedding Industry Conferences, Regional Gatherings, and Local Meetings.

As the year comes to a close and busy fall wedding season winds down, now is a good time to review your marketing strategy for the upcoming year. Review these ten marketing tips to help keep your business on track and set-up for success in 2017!

• Keep your brand fresh. It’s easy to fall into the trap of simply renewing your online listings and not making changes to the content or reviewing the design to make sure it’s modern and on brand. Take a look at your marketing materials and your advertising platforms, and consider making some small updates to refresh your branding for 2017 like adding new imagery, refreshing your logo or highlighting your social media accounts.

• Leverage your in-person exposure. If you participate in wedding shows or local events, don’t let the competition pass you by! Make sure your booth, marketing materials and promotions are up-to-date and make a great first impression to your potential clients. Remember your presentation is not just for wedding couples, but also makes an impact on your fellow professionals who can become referrals in your network.

• Make website updates. Websites can be like closets… businesses tend to add content, but rarely remove anything old! Set aside time to do a full vetting of your website, including all pages. Consider updating copy, adding/removing staff member information, reviewing pricing, contact forms and images of your work. A modern site will catch the eye of your prospects, and dated material will be a red flag.

• Highlight your inquiry form: It is critical to have an inquiry page within your site so couples can easily get in touch to learn more about your services. This may be the point important element to drive your leads and sales! She this page as a prominent link and add a link or small contact form to every page within your site for added exposure. To help track your marketing success consider asking your prospects: “How did you find our site?”

• Add testimonials to your site: Let your past clients do the selling for you! Collect and add testimonials and reviews from happy past clients, and add sound bites to all your marketing materials. Customer praise should be featured throughout your site, and make sure you add your WeddingWire Reviews widget to show off recent reviews, along with any accolades for reviews like WeddingWire Rated or Couples Choice Awards.

• Is your site responsive? Close to 75% of wedding prospects use smart phones when search for services. When reviewing your website, first, do it on a smart phone. Make certain the website is simplified and easy to navigate from a mobile device. It is essential to make your site responsive so couples won’t bounce when reviewing your site while on-the-go.

• Update your Storefront. It’s important to keep all your online profiles and advertisements fresh, and the start of a new year is a great time to give yours an annual update. Preview your Storefront and note a few areas you can edit or add new content to impress couples. Consider adding new photos, editing your About Us, adding more FAQs or pricing info and more.

• Give social media a focus. How many platforms are you using? If you are feeling overwhelmed, a good number to focus on is 3-5 sites. Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest are often popular sites for engaged couples, so may be where to start. If you have 7-10 social media platforms, but are not using all of them, consider removing a couple and really zero in on which ones matter most and optimizing your content on those sites to boost your engagement and following.

• Encourage customer reviews. Be certain to ask for feedback and reviews through the year, and work to make requesting reviews a clear part of your customer experience. This requires work, but it is important. Add requesting reviews to your standard procedure for client follow up and get the client feedback you deserve. The Review Collector within your WeddingWire account makes sending an email to ask for a review post-event, and even pre-scheduling a reminder super easy.

• Build your blog. Whether you have an existing blog or are just starting one, posting at least twice a week will have an impact on your search engine ranking. Ideally, you should post new content to your blog, and then expand the content’s reach by spreading the word through social media. This will help set your business apart from the competition and showcase your expertise.

Marketing is a critical part of your business success! These 10 tips will help get your 2017 off to a strong start, but also consider additional methods to improve your business reach throughout the year.

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