How to market your wedding business if Facebook and Instagram shut down tomorrow

We recently read a blog from City A.M. stating that Mark Zuckerberg and his team would consider shutting down Facebook and Instagram in Europe if Meta can not process European’s data on US servers. With so many small businesses relying on Facebook and Instagram’s free advertising opportunities, it’s time to think about the other ways you could market your business if Facebook and Instagram shut down tomorrow!

These are the areas to focus on to grow your brand without Facebook or Instagram:

How is your content currently performing? Content encapsulates everything from e-books to Instagram posts and what type of content you create depends on your business.

If Facebook and Instagram disappeared tomorrow, what is your next best performing content? If it’s your website or perhaps your YouTube videos on wedding planning, this is where you need to focus now. Improving this content then moving onto your second-best performing content will set your business up to succeed in a post-Facebook era.

Do you have meaningful branding? By that, we mean that your branding can’t just be a logo you thought looked nice, it needs to consider your brand’s values and what it provides your customers.

If you think your branding looks a bit tired or doesn’t fit in with your target audience, it could be time for a rebrand. Rebranding your business will allow your customer to easily grasp who you are and what you do from the moment your webpage loads. Social media allows customers to find information quickly and customers are still going to want that speed, so even if Facebook and Instagram have gone, your customers will still want to find out information about your business with ease.

I know what you’re thinking, advertising is expensive! Well, not always. Advertising includes online advertising, television, print and radio.

Advertising your business is a sure-fire way to reach more people and build your brand awareness. If you would’ve previously considered advertising with Facebook or Instagram, there are alternative online platforms to advertise on. TikTok is still increasing in popularity and allows creators to advertise, setting how much they’d like to spend. This also goes for Pinterest, a highly visual platform that is perfect for crafters and wedding decor!

One of the most popular places to advertise online for wedding businesses is with online wedding directories like For Better For Worse. Directories help you reach couples from the start of the wedding planning process whether you’re a venue or a supplier. A lot of directories offer free listings but the best way to get noticed is through a paid-for listing as you’ll appear at the top of the search results for your location. Some directories can be quite expensive but others offer some budget-friendly options.

For Better For Worse is one of the most affordable UK wedding directories! Ready to get started? Get in touch.

PR refers to the way your brand communicates with the public in order to create a positive brand image and sometimes to respond to negative publicity.

Managing your brand’s reputation is crucial to its success so whenever you get bad publicity such as a disappointed customer leaving a bad review, you should always respond professionally and constructively. Ignoring bad reviews is immediately bad PR as customers might think you don’t care about them.

Event marketing simply means showcasing your business at events so you’re visible to the public.

Being in the wedding industry, there’s always plenty of wedding fayres happening up and down the country so there are ample opportunities to do some event marketing. Look at upcoming wedding fayres near you and contact the organisers to see if there are any stands still available. Often different stands will be priced according to their location so there should be something everyone can afford!

Ever bought anything just because the company emailed you telling you about a sale or special offer? I imagine the answer is yes, so you can see the value in building yourself a contact list of customer emails.

In the wedding industry, most customers will only use what you provide once as they don’t plan on getting married again! But by building a mailing list you will remain front of mind for when their sister, friend, or daughter gets married. Creating a mailing list can also be beneficial if you don’t just serve weddings, for example, if you’re a hotel wedding venue, you can email offers for overnight stays or afternoon tea!

Is there anything else you think we should’ve mentioned in this blog? If so, head over to the Wedding Hour Twitter and let us know!