Marketing your wedding photography business is crucial, and while recommendations is a fantastic way to grow your business, you still want to be found through other channels covered and have an aligned marketing strategy.
It is also important that your website and contact points are thought through and reflect you and your brand. With that in mind here are some ways to grow your wedding photography business and be found.
Advertising Methods for Wedding Photographers that Work!
Advertising and marketing your photography business does not need to require lots of expense, but it does take time and planning, so think about what you currently do, don’t do, and could improve.
1. Review your website
The first point is your website, this is your shop front, it is where couples go when they find you from Google, social media, a referral or word of mouth. Is your website modern and up to date? Does it reflect you and your style? Is it easy to navigate? Is it easy to use on your phone?
With all the best marketing in the world, if your website isn’t easy to use, look good or have the right information, couples will not get in touch.
Things to think about:
- Does it look great on desktop and mobiles – Is it easy to use?
- Is your blog and recent work updated or is it a year old?
- Are there clear and obvious calls to action to get in touch?
- Do you display important information? (Travel, pricing, your style and work)
- Do you have a personable ‘about’ page?
Review your website each year and make sure it is up to date. This is your shop front and a crucial part of your marketing.
Looking for website inspiration? Check out these beautiful wedding photographer website designs.
2. SEO – Being Found on Google
Of course SEO has to be mentioned and something that your hear and read so much about. If you are a Birmingham based wedding photographer then you want to be found when searching for a wedding photographer near Birmingham.
You want your website to be found by couples and so it is important your site is set up to match these keywords. Location searches are a great win and easy to focus on. Ensure you are set up as a Google My Business, this helps you rank for local searches.
Think about what you would search in Google if you wanted to find you as a wedding photographer; ‘fine art wedding photographer Birmingham’, ‘relaxed wedding photography style’, ‘editorial wedding photographer near me’, ‘black and white wedding photography Birmingham’. Make sure any of the keywords and phrases you’d like to rank for are on your site. Typically each page should try to rank for 1 key phrase. Trying to rank 1 page ranking for multiple key phrases can dilute the message and make it harder to rank for any of those phrases.
Another key part of SEO is the user experience of the site, so while you want it to look nice and reflect your brand, you also want to ensure it is easy to use. You want couples to be able to easily find information, view your work, recent weddings, social media pages, and of course to be able to easily get in touch. Making sure it loads quickly is important.
Give couples options to contact you and make it easy for them. Include phone, Instagram DM, contact form and just a simple email address.
Things to look at:
- Think about your keywords and what your couples would be searching
- Review your website speed
- Build links within your site to relevant pages
- Avoid duplicate content
3. Content and Blogging
Your website is the place to share your knowledge, your work and advice. This could be useful articles on hiring a wedding photographer or sharing recent weddings you have captured or venues you have shot at.
Adding articles is great for SEO and a great way to show your expertise to your couples. Having a blog section and recent weddings is great, but it can also have a negative effect if this is not maintained or updated, a recent wedding dated 2019 does not give a great impression, and it can leave you asking what have you been doing for the last 2 years and are you still in business?
Read our article on blog and content ideas for your website here.
4. Social Media
Instagram, Pinterest, Blogs and even Facebook are great ways to be found. Instagram is the primary channel for a lot of photographers because it allows you to showcase your work.
Couples might like your photo on Pinterest, then navigate to your blog to see the full wedding and then get in touch. Social media does not need to be paid for to be a great marketing tool, you just need to be active and consistent.
Things to do
- Post consistently
- Be active, engage with others and comments left
- Tag suppliers and your clients
- Post behind the scenes shots and stories
Posting can take time, there are plenty of scheduling tools that allow you to set up posts ready to go and will share automatically for you, this is a great time saving method, however make sure you are still active and engage via these platforms too.
5. Social Ads
Adverts on any social media platform can work well as you can be very targeted – for example you can target people who are recently engaged, within 20 miles of Birmingham.
Getting the advert right requires lots of testing. Try different images and text to find which works best. This can be an expensive process but when you find the right formula for you it can be cost effective.
6. Directories
There are lots of wedding related directories and platforms you can join, Bridebook and Hitched are the biggest. Costs can vary and so can the return on investment, so it is important to consider this when looking at which to join. Some can have millions of of views but the number of bookings can be difficult to track. Wedissimo doesn’t have a joining fee so you only pay for bookings. To apply to our community join the wait list.
7. Getting featured
There are lots of wedding blogs that you can submit photographs to. Choose blogs that match your style and suit your target couples. A funky wedding blog probably won’t be the best match for a fine art wedding photo style wedding.
Being featured on blogs can help with your SEO and put your work in front of engaged couples.
8. Brochures
A brochure is part of the marketing journey and a great way to build trust and show your professionalism to couples. Brochures don’t have to be printed. An online brochure or a PDF you can send to couples allows you to show pricing and package information in way that matches your style and brand.
There are lots of free brochure templates where you can just add your images and text and you are good to go. Alternatively, you can hire a graphic designer for a bespoke brochure from somewhere like upwork.
9. It’s not all Online!
While printed media and adverts in magazines are not so common, business cards still have a place. It’s great to have something you can hand out at wedding fairs and a business card has more impact than just adding a number into a phone. You can also include your business card in any albums you send to couples so they can pass it on to their friends if asked for a referral.
10. Network
At weddings you meet lots of other suppliers. Share your business cards and recommend these suppliers to others and they will also recommend you. Try to build relationships with the venue in particular so that you can be added to their preferred supplier list.
Network with other photographers, if you are asked to for a date when you’re not available, try to recommend another photographer (and let then know you’ve done it). Hopefully they will recommend you if they cannot do a date as well.
This is great for not only networking and creating new business, but also creates a network of photographers you can use as a back up if there is an emergency.
11. Take care of your clients
Word of mouth and recommendations are the best forms of marketing, so take care of your clients. From the first contact and enquiry, right through to their wedding day, sharing their photos and creation of albums.
While the photos are the product, it is the experience and the journey they remember. You want it to be memorable, personable and enjoyable. This isn’t just a business transaction.
While your photos need to wow, you also want to be remembered for you great service – ‘Chris, our photographer, was amazing’. The combination of amazing photos and great service means you are far more likely to get referrals from your couples.
Going forward
Marketing takes time. There is no quick fix and it is about ensuring all parts are working inline, you want a great website that links to your social media that is updated with recent work and posts. Be hot on your replies to couples that enquire, and don’t forget to check your DM’s!
Marketing is a funnel so ensure your website is in check and all steps and points of contact are up to date.