You know the old adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words"? Well, the folks at Pinterest, the word wide web's most recent social addiction, have hit pay dirt with those seven short words. In case you are unfamiliar, Pinterest is best described as an online pinboard-style social sharing photo site where you share the things you love, whatever they are. As a wedding planner, highlight your expertise by creating boards like, Destination Weddings, Simple Invitation Designs, Buffet or Sit-Down That's the Question, and so on... Keep your titles short but use snappy language to pique curiosity... Then again, My Wedding Stuff might work just as well... simple is nice too.
Once you've developed your boards, with every pin you create and share with your followers; the fun begins. In addition to pinning photos, you can pin video, coupons and more. But you're not just sharing photos; you're creating visual content that will help you connect with your customers. Each element you pin is coupled with an area for a description, comment area and an area for a URL link. These areas help you to engage your followers and send traffic back to your website or blog.
So, how is it possible to cultivate wedding planner careers using Pinterest? Well, because it's a no muss, no fuss platform, Pinterest can help you develop relationships and generate buzz about your ability. And, in addition to your website or blog, showcase your portfolio with one fell swoop and every wonderful pin you pin. Here are a few simple ways to make Pinterest work for you:
No More Wedding Binders or Inspiration Boards - Pin It!
Pinterest makes it easy for wedding planners to collect ideas for their bride's big day. From invitations, save-the-date card and bridal party fashion to venue ideas and reception decorations, you can develop your client's overall theme so that they can see how each element works to create the overall look for their event. This strategy allows for real-time input from both you as the planner and your client, the bride.
Remember the Breck Shampoo Commercial?
Yes, that old thing that went something like, "I used Breck and I told two people and they told two people, and they told two people, and so on and so on and so on." Unlike traditional word-of- mouth marketing, Pinterest is a great way to reach and cultivate potential clients by gaining followers, sharing your pins, sharing your follower's pins and your followers sharing your pins - all in one easy-to-use forum. Comment on and "Like" other pins to let users know you think their content is great.
Quick Fact: In the last quarter of 2011 alone Pinterest referred more traffic (to personal and business websites or blogs) than Reddit, YouTube, Google+ and Linked-In combined... And 90% of Pinterest's users are - you guessed it - female and your potential clients!
Now that You're Up and Running - Pay Attention to which of your pins gets re-pinned
Something in that board is worth paying attention to and could signal a budding trend with potential clients. Those serious about using social media as a way to cultivate wedding planner careers will jump on the opportunity to get a pulse on the market in their area.
More Ways to Use Pinterest to Build your Client Base
In addition to creating a simple online portfolio, you can use Pinterest to create wedding planning offers exclusive to your business. Publishing often will help in retaining followers and referring new followers and potential brides.
Use Pinterest to promote bridal events. For example, add a save the date board for the next bridal fair you take part in. Be sure to add a crafty description like "Just engaged? Visit Mari's Weddings at the ABC Wedding Fair this Saturday." Combine this with a special offer that brides can receive at your booth.
Use QR codes and coupons to build awareness of your business. Create a board and pin them to drive potential brides to your website blog where more information is available.
Often, wedding planners are a one-stop-shop. Cross-promoting vendors you regularly work with such as travel agents, florists, wedding photographers and caterers gives brides-to-be one concise area to explore the many facets of planning a wedding.
Much the same way wedding photographers share still photos on their websites with bridal couples and their guests, work with your videographer vendor to create branding videos of your work and post them for your potential clients to view. Feature a new wedding monthly and mention the bride and groom so that they can share with friends on Pinterest - easy potential referrals for you and your vendor!
Pinterest-Effective, Beautiful and Addictive
And... A great way to cultivate wedding planner careers. Of course, a good wedding planner school will have taught you traditional marketing strategies. However, as you begin to build your business contacts and client base, consider including Pinterest as a tool in your traditional and social media content marketing plan. Ready, set, Pin it!
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