6 Mistakes Wedding Pros Make On Instagram
Instagram is a fave of the wedding industry for obvious reasons. Plenty of eye-candy at our fingertips. It’s loved by brides and couples as well.
You might be surprised to receive the occasional inquiry from someone who found you on Instagram, or even a direct message or comment right on your Insta account from a potential bride. It’s going to become even more common, especially when you’re doing it right.
Social media is truly here to stay and Instagram is a big player.
While the algorithm has thrown us all for a loop, it’s important that you’re curating your feed regularly and editing with a keen eye.
Nowadays, a potential wedding client who is interested in you and your services will scroll through your feed and gobble up as much digital content as you provide. While a pretty website will draw her in, a poorly maintained Instagram account is your foot in the door. If your Instagram marketing strategy isn’t up to snuff, you’ll be sending those potential clients packing.
Start with the basics
Make sure that your account is properly branded with a professional photo of yourself or your clear and correctly cropped logo for your profile photo. Pair that with a short and sweet description that is optimized for SEO, and an account name that’s consistent with the rest of your online accounts.
It’s important to note, that SEO is going to start playing a big roll on social media platforms, including Instagram and Pinterest. It’s not just for websites anymore.
Here are six common mistakes I see wedding and event pros making regularly on Instagram:
1 - SHARING “INSPIRATION” PHOTOS
If you’re new to the wedding industry, or maybe you’ve experienced a slow year, you’re probably lacking portfolio photos or original content of your own. I strongly urge you not to fall into the bad habit of sharing and re-gramming “inspiration” photos.
Kick that habit fast!
Beyond the obvious issue that it’s misleading, at a glance brides assume it’s your work, no matter how clearly you might try to explain or credit otherwise. When they visit your website and the images don’t match your beautifully curated Instagram feed, they bounce.
You’ve lost the sale.
You might also be sharing beautiful work that’s unattainable for those who are willing to work with you. A client who’s a perfect fit for your rates, and level of experience, may be intimidated by a picture perfect feed full of over-the-top six-figure weddings.
2 - KEEPING YOUR ACCOUNT PRIVATE
Your business account should be public.
I repeat: Your business account should be public.
Requiring potential clients and colleagues to request permission to follow you is an immediate turn-off and doesn’t allow them to enjoy the anonymity of browsing as they fall down a rabbit hole of tagged photos, suggested accounts, and so on.
You might be repelling some of your Ideal Clients. Why risk it
3 - NOT SHARING ENOUGH OF YOURSELF
While your followers love to see gorgeous real life event pics, they’re also interested in getting to know the person behind the pretty portfolio – YOU. You’re the one they’re going to invest their hard earned money in. I understand that we’re not always feeling camera ready, but taking the time to snap a picture when you’re feeling and looking your best or even investing in (or trading for) some new head shots to share occasionally will make a difference.
People absolutely want to know and see the face behind the business.
Not every photo that isn’t directly wedding related needs to be of you, but consider how you might share pics from your work day or even what you’re up to on your day off. You might be surprised to find that your personal photos get more likes than a simple bouquet shot.
Plain and simple, sharing more photos of yourself will grow your following and increase engagements. Which is going to help you with the algorithm. Isn’t that what we all want?
4 - SHARING TOO MUCH OF YOURSELF
On the flip side, there can absolutely be too much of you and your personal life on your feed.
If you’re a selfie-addict or single and mingling, save the duck face and hot tub shots for your personal account. This may be hard to hear, but your ideal clients don’t care about your child’s dance recital —certainly not 6 photos of it in a row— blurry photos of your new pet cat, or your third $8 green smoothie this week.
Are you a rolling stone, constantly travelling? Can people tell at a glance of your feed what your product or service is, or is it more clearly showcasing your latest purse purchase/trip to Costa Rica/kiddo’s trip to the dentist?
Clients with mid-level and higher budgets want and expect professional posts.
Truthfully, it was a picture of my canned Alphagetti lunch that prompted me to get a private personal account fast.
This might not be the most popular school of thought, but stick to the carefully edited and selective highlight reel for your business account. You can always get more personal in captions and your Instagram stories.
5 - NOT SPREADING OUT YOUR CONTENT
If you have some new photos that you’re really proud of, rather than firing them off in back to back posts only minutes apart, exercise some self-restraint. Spread out your content over a few days or weeks instead for a much better impact.
Stick to quality over quantity.
You can absolutely post less, just post better.
I use Later to plan out and schedule my Instagram content and it’s made my life so much easier.
I love that I can preview my squares, to see how images coordinate. Plus their hashtag suggestions are so helpful for growing my account. By scheduling my feed in advance, I can make sure I’m posting on consistent basis, which is helpful for the algorithm, and make sure my whole feed or last 9 squares are going to grab someone’s attention.
Don’t be afraid to scroll through and edit your feed occasionally. It takes concentrated effort in the beginning to curate your Instagram feed, and remember to take your time and compose, focus and brighten or edit photos, to make for a more pleasing feed. The effort pays off and soon becomes a habit. Check in on how your feed looks as a whole occasionally and be conscious of how the photos are spread out as well. As you step up your game, you’re sure to see an increase in followers and interaction.
6 - MAKE YOUR LOCATION UNCLEAR
Straight from brides, they want clear and obvious indicators of where you’re wedding business is based. This was the feedback I received directly when I asked on my Instagram what kept brides and pros from considering a wedding business or giving a referral.
Unless you have tens of thousands of followers and couples have the budget to cover your travel and location isn’t an obstacle, you might be doing yourself a disservice by not indicating your location. And I checked, some of the most talented photographers I know, who are known for destination weddings, do include their location in their bio.
If you honestly can’t fit your region in your Instagram bio —it’s hard to edit down to 150 characters, I know— then make sure you’re using a location tag on most of your Instagram posts. This is a good marketing strategy, both for potential wedding clients to see where you’re based, but also for couples who are creeping different venues and location tags. Killing two birds with one stone.
When it comes to marketing strategy for your wedding business, it’s important to remember that Instagram is not the only game in town.
Make sure you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket.
Is it an important platform worth your time? Absolutely. Put your best foot forward.
But, I strongly encourage you check on your stats and analytics regularly. When I looked in to it, even after a ton of effort to improve my Instagram, Pinterest is still outperforming Facebook and Instagram when it comes to driving traffic to my website. Are those all qualified buyers and Ideal Clients? No. But the traffic is important.
If you’re looking for help and real tried and true strategy to build your wedding business, I’d love to help.
Get all the details about my business coaching for wedding pros offerings right here.
Originally featured as a guest post on Planner's Lounge.
