The Business of Multicultural Weddings – Niching Yourself
Today’s guest post is written by Preeti Moberg of The Big Fat Indian Wedding. Preeti has some business savvy tips on how to niche your business and to find your market sweet spot.
With a market value over $20 billion dollars, multicultural weddings are the sleeping giants of today’s wedding scene. To successfully appeal to this subset of brides and grooms, however, it’s important to recognize the distinct cultural elements involved in these weddings. We’ve laid out five tips below to help you break into this market and uphold the traditions and customs valued by this emerging client base.
- Add a little color to the white dress regime. While bridal magazines and websites have embraced beautiful ivory-laced gowns for decades, it may be time to diversify the content with some multicultural threads and spreads. A section devoted to multicultural weddings alongside fusion wedding elements throughout a website or e-zine is an excellent means to cater to a broader audience. A banner or sidebar of photos should showcase a wedding with distinct cultural elements, such as a henna-clad bride or a Persian wedding’s Sofreh Aghd (an elaborate spread of food and décor).
- Collaborate with multicultural wedding blogs. There are a number of wedding and beauty blogs that target specific cultural groups, including, GayWeddings.com, The Big Fat Indian Wedding, Munaluchi Bride, and more. It would be beneficial to tap into this subset of blogs with a co-written article, review, or advertisement. These blogs are also a great learning resource for industry professionals to better understand the marital customs and traditions specific to certain cultures or religions.
- A picture is worth a thousand words. Organize a styled shoot to showcase what you have to offer multicultural brides and grooms. Try collaborating with other industry specialists to appeal to a broader audience. A single photograph can convey cultural elements of designer gold jewelry, professional décor, catered food, decadent desserts, and ethnic fashion.
- Attend ethnic events and wedding fairs. To branch into this market, it is important to meet and befriend experts in the industry. Bridal exhibitions are an excellent way to gauge what ethnic minority communities need to plan weddings. By attending and participating in cultural events and wedding fairs, your company can gain both inspiration and contacts!
- Increase your social media presence in cultural spheres. While we’ve discussed the collaborations with other cultural wedding blogs, social media also plays a major role in breaking into this niche. Applying the appropriate hashtags on twitter or instagram that appeal to certain cultural groups, such as #shaadi (Hindi for wedding) or #dulhan (Hindi for bride), can help give your company the edge it needs to succeed. Broaden your cultural vocabulary and use it to your advantage on all social media platforms.
Breaking into the business of multicultural weddings is a transition that is necessary for an ever-diversifying world. There may be challenges, but with these tips in hand, you will be an expert on multicultural weddings in no time.
Preeti Moberg is the founder of The Big Fat Indian Wedding, an online bridal resource that inspires with South Asian Wedding traditions, trends, fashion and real weddings.