Oh, I don’t mean someone who likes to drop the names that suggest how well connected she is into conversation. Although, I’ll admit I’m bemused by that behavior.
Honestly, what’s the point? If you’re cool enough to hang out with the cool kids, isn’t that enough? Do you have to talk about it, too? Nobody is emotionally older than about uh 15, if you ask me. All those angst-filled issues: Am I funny,pretty, good looking? Does anybody notice me, like me, get me? Our bodies get older but for some folks, that’s about it.
Have a Presence
First things first. You must have an online presence for your wedding planning business. (If you’re not a wedding planner but are bride-facing in some way, this post is still relevant for you.) In fact, you need to be present in several places: your own site, as part of directories, social media, as part of related blogs.
Internet is king for marketing, just in case you’ve been indisposed for the last few years. If your business doesn’t have an online presence- meaning a website, blog, google group, Facebook fan page, something- you are missing out. No web presence is like asking a bride traveling on a superhighway to stop and look for you on the side of the road in a haystack. Ain’t gonna happen. Brides won’t stop.
You heard the old expression- fish where the fish are at- right? Good advice. Eighty-one percent, that’s a whopping 81%, of brides start their wedding planning online. You MUST be there! It’s not a nice-to-have or something you’ll get-to-someday. A well conceived, well written, SEO optimized, social media ready web presence is the essential starter for marketing to brides today.
Stop Name Dropping
So, no, I’m not talking about the ‘famous by association’ kind of name dropper. My kind is equally annoying but in a totally different way. I’m talking about the wedding website that hides the identity of the owner on the site. No name anywhere. Not on the homepage. Not on the contacts page. Not even on the About page, which is really crazy when you think about it. Have you seen any of these sites? Or worse, is your site like that?
As I’m producing GlamaShoot! ( more details soon!) I’m searching wedding sites for partners. Just the other day I met someone who I wanted to invite to participate- let’s call her Bettina. Great person with great energy. I got her card and was looking forward to touring her site.
What a disappointment. I wasn’t even sure I’d landed on the right site. It was outdated, which is bad, but fixable. But what floored me was that I couldn’t find this person’s name anywhere. Not on the home page or About. Luckily I was able to find a first name on the contact page. So, I knew I hadn’t landed on the wrong site, but all my enthusiasm for working with this person was gone.
What’s a Bride to Think?
Think about that. There was no one, no person to relate to. Just lovely pictures. I had experienced Bettina’s site as a bride would. The site, and consequently, Bettina seemed less trustworthy because I had to hunt to find the human being behind it. How could I, as a bride, trust this person with thousands of dollars when she didn’t think to include her entire name or address on the site??
Bettina was a name dropper. She didn’t proudly own her site and her work by putting her name prominently on the site. Are you?
I Know What You’re Thinking
Oh, I get the rationale behind being a name dropper. As I speak to wedding networking groups across the country, one of the first social media questions is: how can I protect my privacy.
While I won’t go into my whole privacy rant here, if you’re online anywhere in your personal or professional life, you’re privacy is already compromised. Don’t mean to scare you. It’s just a fact. So, not putting your address or name on your site isn’t going to make you safer, just harder to do business with.
Brides, just like you and I, are inundated with marketing messages and excess information. Her brain does its best to exclude extraneous information and to find an efficient way to sort data. A site that makes it difficult in any way for the bride to get what she needs quickly and easily is doomed,excluded by her ‘one-less-vendor-to-think-about filter.
Say it Loud: I’m Me and I’m Proud!
So, have a look at your site. Evaluate it to see if it’s as trust-building as you think. And, remember some people build trust through relationships, others through facts. You have to satisfy both types on your website and in my marketing materials. Consider this:
- Do I have a picture of me on my site, or just my work?
- Is my personality or values evident in the copy and site design?
- What have I said about me and why I’m passionate about my wedding business that brides can relate to?
- Would my dearest friend read my site and say, ‘that’s so you?’
Hey, you got thoughts about this. I want to hear them. Leave a comment, will ya?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh my gosh, it drives me CRAZY when I go to a wedding vendor’s site and there is NO information on the person behind the biz! Seriously, a big pet peeve, thanks for addressing this!
.-= Charlene @ Sweetchic´s last blog ..Battle of the Wedding Designers - =-.
I completely agree it is frustrating when you can’t find anything about the person. I find that in any type of business. If I am looking for something online the first thing I automatically do is look at the About section. If there is nothing about the main person I leave the site. I won’t buy or use anyone that won’t tell me a little about themselves first.
oh my gosh, I just ran over and updated the home page of my website. Although my name is in the tiny copyright blurb at the bottom, I totally agree that being less cold is so important. I don’t want my site to look like “just the facts, ma’am”. I also have an About Me page, which hopefully gives my customers a more personal insight into who I am. I’m going to take another look at that page to see if I can make some improvements there, too.
Thanks for passing this along, very helpful!
You, go, Marty! I wouldn’t say leaving it out is cold, more like an inadvertent slip. It’s clear you have a personality, so definitely let that shine through. Keep me posted. And, thanks so much for commenting-makes me feel good!
I agree whoeheartedly. Wedding planning, and choosing the right wedding planner for you is a very personal process, and I do not understand how that relationship and trust can be built if you are dealing with a company and not a person. I also don’t like e-mail addresses to info or admin or enquiries, or having no option but to only complete a contact form. It is perhaps a misconception but I want to know that my details and question are going to a person who is going to be able to understand and not into a black hole somewhere.
Excellent advice, but I have to confess that I am a name dropper (other well-known people’s names) as it is essential in my line, and especially in the City of London, England. However, I do have my own name and photograph on the first page and on other pages of my web-site, which is also essential and I give my whole background history in my blog.
I am my business and my business is me.
Paul, so glad you liked it, and that you’re already ahead of the game. Hope you’ll drop around often. And, by the way, your business is your vehicle, not you! It’s the way you get to want you desire, if you’re willing to drive!