Official Social Media Marketing Firm for Wedding MBA

The Bridal Marketing Group, LLC. is now the official social media marketing firm for the Wedding MBA.   Starting Wednesday, July 4, 2012 look on the Wedding MBA blog for weekly posts that include tips on booking more weddings, Facebook and Twitter incentives as well as emails with exclusive bonuses.

To celebrate this partnership, the Bridal Marketing Group, LLC is giving all Wedding MBA Facebook fans a 30% discount on all their wedding marketing packages.

Here’s how to redeem the discount:

1. Like the new Wedding MBA Facebook page
2. Go to the Bridal Marketing Group, LLC website and enter coupon code MBA30 on the online contract.

PLUS…all who become fans by July 29th will be entered to win a FREE wedding marketing overhaul by the Bridal Marketing Group {the official social media marketing firm for the Wedding MBA.}

What is the Wedding MBA?  The Wedding MBA is a three day conference in Las Vegas, Nevada with classes that teach wedding professionals how to book more weddings.  If you’ve never been to the Wedding MBA in Las Vegas then mak this year the one you attend.

Questions?  Call (480) 636-1066 and visit their Facebook page for discounted tickets.

5 tips to help your video go viral

I was reading the Entrepreneur.com blog this morning (like I do every morning) and came across the story of young 9-year-old Caine Monroy, who last summer constructed a makeshift arcade out of cardboard in his father's auto-parts store in Los Angeles, created an 11-minute video that features the young dynamo, which caught flames on the web in the last few days.

According to statistics, that video has been viewed more than 5 million times on Vimeo and more than 2.4 million times on YouTube since it went live last week. And more than 25,000 people recommended it on Facebook.

So why did his video go viral and how can you create videos for your own wedding business so that they go viral as well?

Here are their five best tips:

• Look for inspiration. Before you even pick up a video camera, spend some serious time watching web videos. Look for viral phenoms like Chuck Testa's taxidermy video and the Dollar Shave Club's razor video. "If you're genuinely interested in creating a sensation, you have to look at videos that have already done so," says Wood. And take notes, she adds.

• Create awesome content. Obviously, this is easier said than done. But the kind of video you aim to produce should reflect your target audience.  For instance, if you cater to mature women who live in the Northeast, there's a good chance you won't want to produce a hilarious four-minute segment about deodorant. But you may want to offer educational tips on how to dress at a daughter's wedding for instance. The key is to trigger intense feelings. "Content should be extremely funny or extremely moving or extremely useful or extremely entertaining," says Wood. "Ideally you'll elicit a physical reaction from the viewer. They'll be moved to tears or laughter or feel the hairs stand up on the back of their neck."

• Make it portable. Post your content to platforms like YouTube and Vimeo, and ensure that your settings promote sharing -- that is, allow people to upload at will and leave comments too.

• Choose the right platforms. Choosing which social-media channels to post your videos to will also depend on your target audience. In addition to YouTube or Vimeo, consider which social networks will supply an audience that will be most likely to view your content and share it. LinkedIn for instance is often a safe bet for business-to-business videos. Twitter is good for time-sensitive viewing, while Facebook caters to a more general audience.

• Advertise. Not every video will need to have advertising muscle behind it, but typically before a video can go viral it must first get promoted. Simply posting a video on Facebook and expecting people at large to see it likely won't happen. In fact, your followers may not even see it. For something to show up in Facebook users' feeds it has to be trending.  You can put stuff on YouTube, but only if it's taking off is it going to trend and if it trends it'll reach a wider audience. So unless this happens organically, you may need to pay to pump out your video.

What viral-video making tips would you add to this list? Leave a comment and let us know.

5 ways to use Pinterest to market your wedding business

Your head may be slowing down its spin from all the Facebook hype and how to use it to book more brides.  But there's another social media beast rearing its head...Pinterest. 

Pinterest is now the third most popular social network in the United States and  traffic to the digital pin-board rose 50 percent from January to February of this year.  What does that mean?  It means that Pinterest had over 21 million visits in the last week of January alone. 

Those numbers reinforce the potential for wedding businesses to utilize yet another social channel for brides to engage and share their services. The problem is how?

Below you will find 5 ways to use Pinterest to market your wedding business and book more brides:

1. Create visually compelling pin boards. - When you create your “pin boards” make sure they are filled with color and black and white images, exciting videos, illustrations, etc. Be creative and show your personality!
   
   
2. Follow the popular people around. - Remember in high school when you finally broke into the popular crowd and now everyone wanted to follow YOU around?  The same is true with social media.  To raise awareness for your wedding business you need to get eyeballs on your pin boards. You do that by following the big names. Figure out who's who on Pinterest and follow them.  Once they follow you (and they will if you share great content) then you're golden.
   
   
3. Cross promote on your website. - I hate to see wedding vendors using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and blogging but there's no sign of links to them on their website.  STOP that!!!  If you’re promoting one of your products on Pinterest, make sure you include a link back to your website. Although it’s a “no-follow” link, it still counts as an inbound link. And, if a product gets “re-pinned”, you could get some nice traffic to your site. Also be sure to add the “pin it” button on the products and images on your website. This will help your website visitors share your product or image with their Pinterest followers.
   
   
4. Get out the video camera. - Pinterest isn’t only for pictures, it’s for videos as well and brides loooove watching testimonial videos, product highlights, services in action, etc. Do you have videos of brides using your products at real weddings? Or how about videos of your booth at a wedding show?  If so, Pin them up! Create a visually compelling pin board that tells a story about who you are and why a bride would want you with your videos and pictures together.
   
   
5. Don't keep talking about yourself. - No one likes a self promoter right?  Pinterest users don't either.  Try not to talk about your own wedding services and products too much.  Being a good pinner is about providing value to the rest of the community. Post interesting images of weddings, informational tips, celebrity gossip (did you hear about Brangelina's engagement?) and products from multiple sources as well as your own.

Pinterest's popularity is the only reason why a wedding vendor would want to market there.  It's like I said in bullet #2 - follow the popular people around and you'll get popular.  To catch the attention of brides and book more weddings you have to be seen..and Pinterest has the eyeballs you need.

One thing about Pinterest that's different from Facebook or Twitter is you must be invited by Pinterest to open an account so get started now - and let us know how you do.

5 wedding marketing strategies we learn from Brangelina's engagement

Wedding vendors can learn a lot from celebrities and the PR machines behind them when it comes to marketing their wedding company. As crazy as it might seem, take some time over the next week to listen to celebrity gossip regarding Brangelina's engagement on television and read about it online. Celebrities work hard to keep their names in the spotlight and wedding vendors can learn a lot about wedding marketing from it.

Brangelina finally get engaged | as reported on by ABC News

What can wedding vendors learn about wedding marketing from celebrity branding?
 

1. Word-of-mouth marketing is extremely powerful. You need to create a wedding marketing plan that will keep your brand top of mind among brides and those who will become brides. When the buzz dies out, the brand fades, too.
2. Bad press doesn’t have to destroy your wedding brand. The PR spin machine can wipe up just about any mess. Celebrities like Brangelina do it best.
3. Stay true to your brand message and image...otherwise you’ll confuse customers who may turn their backs on your brand entirely. Take a look at Tom Cruise as an example. Here was a celebrity at the top of his career when suddenly his behavior took an odd turn that ran counter to his brand image. As a result, consumers turned their backs on him, and his box office numbers suffered.
4. Potential customers are always watching. Just like the paparazzi is always following celebrities like Brangelina to feed consumers’ desires for more information about them, brides are always watching your brand, too. Always put your best product out there and make sure your messages support your overall brand promise.
5. Brides are fickle. Your wedding brand might be the most popular one day, but the next, your brand could be at the bottom of the barrel.  (Look at Get Married for example).  A wedding is a once in a lifetime gig (hopefully) and brides will tell their friends of new information that you share with them before AND after their wedding.  Come back careers are not uncommon for celebrities (think of John Travolta), but it’s easier to keep your wedding brand on top with consistent and persistent messaging than to try to climb up again.

Again, I challenge you to take a look at the celebrity PR machine Brangelina for the next week as their engagement news fills the airwaves and internet and see what you can learn from Hollywood that you can apply to your own wedding marketing plan and make the rest of 2012 fab.

Don't have time to build your wedding business brand or just need help doing it?  For a limited time the Bridal Marketing Group is offering $100 off our most popular "social MEdia wedding marketing" package which will soar your wedding brand by up to 400% in less than a month.  Check out the details at www.bridalmarketinggroup.com .

$100 discount to AFWPI members

I wanted to share a special discount for AFWPI members on our "social MEdia marketing" package.  This wedding marketing program is for wedding vendors who don't have time to post to Facebook, Tweet, Blog and email market but understand its importance..

• Monthly e-newsletter design & submission to your bride lead database.
• Weekly Facebook, Twitter & Blog posts.
• Dedicated Accounts Manager
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

You need this package if:

• You understand how important it is for the growth of your wedding business to blog, tweet and post to Facebook but don't have time to do it.
  
  
• You have no idea how to blog, tweet or post to Facebook so that your wedding business grows.
  
  
• You have hundreds of leads from wedding shows but aren't sure what to do with them...or don't have time to do anything with them yourself.
  
  
• You don't have a wedding business blog, Facebook page, Twitter account or email wedding marketing account and need help setting them up.

If you answered yes to at least one of these scenarios then you may want to consider hiring us. How does it work? 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: 

Q: What is the process?
A: Once you sign up you'll be assigned an Accounts Manager who will call you every week to ask if you have anything new to tell or show brides. If you don't, then we'll gather information from your website and create something fabulous that will grab brides attention...and we'll post that to your blog, Facebook page and Twitter account. At the end of the month we'll take that information, create an email newsletter with it and send it to your database of bride leads. 

Q: Is the content you post to my blog and Facebook generic?
A: NO! All of the posts we create are geared towards each individual client. You will NEVER see the same information on someone else's blog or Facebook page. The content is personalized to your company and your client base.

Q: Can I send several things at once for you to use throughout the entire month so that we don't have to talk every week?
A: Absolutely! You're the boss. 

Q: Do I have to fill out a long term contract?
A: NO! It's our job to keep you happy and getting results. Our packages are month to month and you can quit at anytime.

Q: If I quit you after a month what will happen to the content you've posted or the social media pages you've created for me?
A: It belongs to you. We don't do anything with it. 

Q: How many vendors in my city do you work with?
A: No more than 4. We don't want all of your competitors receiving the upper hand that we're giving you. It's about the success of YOUR company and that's what we focus on. Knowing that you can quit us at anytime gives us the motivation to keep your brand awareness growing and gives you peace of mind that we're focused on doing that. 

Q: Are you an employee? Do I have to pay taxes on you?
No. We're a wedding marketing firm that works as an idependent contractor. You don't have to pay any taxes, insurance, benefits, or an hourly wage. All you pay is a small monthly fee for dedicated bloggers, social media marketers and an Account Manager overseeing it all. PLUS, all of our marketers and Account Managers have experience specifically in the wedding marketing industry. 

Q: Do you have references?
ABSOLUTELY! Our monthly client renewal rate is 99.9%. Give us a call for a free consultation and we'll show you first hand what we do. 

SPECIAL DISCOUNT for AFWPI members!

 Watch a video about it here!

use discount code -AFWBLOG-

If you'd like to talk with an Accounts Manager who can explain the program in detail call toll free 1-800-431-4628 ext 1

Special ends 4/30/12

The best way to get brides to engage with your Facebook page timeline

To be a star player on Facebook means understanding how to use your business Facebook page to engage brides so that they buy from you.

Here are some key ways to get brides to engage with your Facebook page timeline:

1. Share updates, questions, photos, links and other content on your Page regularly. 
2. Post at least a few times a week so brides who like you see your stories in their news feeds, and visitors to your Page always see something new. 
3. Make sure brides notice your most important content by pinning posts to the top of your Page or starring them so they're bigger. 
4. When brides engage with you, make sure to respond so they know you're listening. 

If you simply don't have time to engage brides on Facebook but you know it's important then you may want to outsource it.  There are several great companies that "ghost post" with their focus being on the wedding industry specifically.  You know longer have to waste your time engaging brides and can focus on booking the weddings.

I know several wedding companies who utilize these types of marketing services and it's grown their wedding business by more than 400% for some of them.  It may be something worth looking into.

How to use the new Facebook Timeline

Some wedding professionals love the new Facebook timeline while others hate it.  I personally am not a fan! 
If you're not a fan then maybe this information will help you decide what to put on your timeline and as your main photo:

Use a unique image that represents your Page. This might be a photo of a popular menu item, album artwork or a picture of people using your product. Be creative and experiment with images your audience responds well to.

Cover images must be at least 399 pixels wide and may not contain:

• Price or purchase information, such as "40% off" or "Download it at our website"
• Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page's About section
• References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
• Calls to action, such as "Get it now" or "Tell your friends"

To get the best quality image and fastest load times for your Page, upload an sRGB JPG file that's 851 pixels wide, 315 pixels tall and less than 100 kilobytes.

All cover images are public, which means anyone visiting your Page will be able to see the image you choose. Covers must not be false, deceptive or misleading, and must not infringe on third parties' intellectual property.