Pro Tips to Post on Social Media Without Pictures From Recent Weddings & Events
I’ve invited Aleya Harris to share her expertise on social media today. Aleya Harris, CPCE is an award-winning marketer and former chef and catering company owner. She is the Owner of Flourish Marketing, an agency that provides marketing education, strategy, and tools to help wedding, catering, and event professionals get and keep a consistent stream of clients. Aleya is a StoryBrand Certified Guide. She uses that narrative-based framework to develop clear, engaging, and highly converting marketing assets, like websites and social media solutions, for her clients. Aleya is the current Marketing Committee Chair for NACE and a top speaker at conferences and events like Catersource and The Special Event.
Not having any recent events in 2020 means that your image gallery is most likely getting stale. Plus, your gift of wit seems to be faltering, and you have writer’s block. You couldn’t squeeze out another quippy caption even if you tried. That can all be overwhelming and frustrating, especially as you are trying to make sure you have everything in place for a successful engagement season.
COVID-19 already took most of your events and revenue. It shouldn’t take your social media presence or any more money out of your pocket.
The real issue is that you aren’t thinking of your social media channels as opportunities to tell compelling stories to your ideal customers. You have been relying on your photos to do the heavy lifting, and now you are lost. Social Media is critical to building “know, like, and trust” with your audience. When you use your social media captions to weave stories that help solve your ideal customer’s problems, you will generate trust, which builds relationships, which leads to revenue.
The bottom line is that relationships = sales.
Here are a few pro tips for how to use your words and images to transform your social media feed from a scrapbook of past events to a revenue-promoting marketing tool.
Use the Often Overlooked Detail Shots to Talk About the Finer Parts of Your Craft
When most wedding pros post on their feeds, they go for images of happy, smiling people. That is a great instinct, but when you don’t have fresh faces filling your galleries from new events, you end up posting the same smiles over and over. Instead, dive more deeply into your photo coffers and whip out some of the images that may have been overlooked. That dramatic shot of a single flower in a bouquet or the light glinting off an engagement ring may be just what you need to evoke emotion and make a connection with your dream client.
Add Text or a Different Layout to Previously Used Photos
It can often be challenging to have a cohesive looking feed when you rely on images from weddings and events with different decor aesthetics. On Monday, you post a light, bright, and modern affair, making Tuesday’s moody and whimsical wedding photo feel jarring. Worst of all, the images don’t tie back to your brand. That means your feed ends up looking like it could belong to any wedding or event industry professional.
To stand out from the crowd and curate an eye-catching feed, use Canva or PlaceIt. Canva will allow you to overlay text, create quote blocks, and add movement (everyone loves a good .gif or video). Use Canva to incorporate your brand colors and fonts to make your feed look and feel like you. If you want to take it to the next level, use PlaceIt to create mockups on phone screens, t-shirts, and home items to change the layout and give your photo a new life.
Describe the Problem You Solved for Your Client and How You Solved It
Your Instagram feed is a marketing tool. It is not just a place for you to show off pretty wedding pictures. The job of the photograph is to stop the scroll of your dream client. You are wasting an opportunity to build a relationship if you don’t engage in your caption after you have their attention. Write words under your photos that bring up some of your ideal customer’s problems that you can help solve.
Instead of starting your social media planning by selecting the images, brainstorm a list of problems that your ideal customer experiences at the beginning of their buyer’s journey. Then, create posts around those problems and pair the captions with relevant photos. You will stand out in your client’s mind as a helpful expert who they can rely on to guide them through challenges (and who they can pay to do so).
Use Brand Congruent Stock Images to Stretch Current Content and Add Cohesion to Your Feeds
Using stock images feels taboo to some wedding and event pros. It feels like you are lying or claiming credit for someone else’s work. It only seems like that because you are thinking of your social media feed as your portfolio, not like a storybook.
Your Facebook and Instagram should showcase your work, but their more significant purpose of telling your differentiation story is what matters most. Using stock images will stretch the longevity of your current gallery, provide scroll-stopping photos, and allow you to tell stories that you may not have had the resources to tell before. Remember, your goal is not to just have a beautiful feed. You should be using the images and words you post to convert followers into dollars.
How you show up on the gram is key to how much money shows up in your bank account. Click here to take a quiz to figure out your social media style. After you finish, you’ll get pro tips on working with your style to turn social media relationships into sales.
If you would like a resource for jaw-dropping photos, engaging captions, and expert marketing support, check out The Social Media Pantry Collective. The Social Media Pantry Collective is the wedding industry social media content and community membership that helps you stop feeling disappointed because your efforts on social media aren’t adding to your bottom line and start building relationships, engagement, and sales.
Thanks Aleya!