10 Easy (& Free) Ways to Get 30,000 Wedding Fans

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Dear Wedding Professional:

 

Happy 5th Birthday to BridalTweet!  I launched BridalTweet.com without any fans on April 10, 2009.  (Scroll down to fast forward and read my tips on how to get 30,000 fans on Facebook).  At that time, all I had was a BIG idea - to create a more open wedding community where vendors could have complete editorial freedom to write about their businesses and post photos for free.  That would lead to a place that brides could turn to for free advice, planning ideas, giveaways, local events and more.  I also wanted to offer free marketing tips as well as affordable advertising opportunities for wedding vendors because I knew there was a huge need for that.

 

I had a BIG idea and an overwhelming amount of motivation because I was also ready to leave my ten-year marketing career in the corporate world to live a more flexible lifestyle, start a family, and put my marketing talents to maximum use.  Not to mention - it had been a lifelong dream of mine to start my own business.  

Five years later, BridalTweet is a thriving community with 18,000 members, 47,000 Twitter followers, 30,000 Facebook fans and 4,000 Pinterest followers.  It’s turned into a dream come true.  And I’m truly blown away each day by BridalTweet’s members.  Thank you for all of your inspiring contributions.  You motivate me to continue to keep this community alive and thriving.   And hopefully you've noticed that I've put my heart and soul into this.  It has been a ton of work but well worth it. 

 

Fans and followers are nice but they need to lead to a sustainable business model.  And in my case, they've helped me to attract 400 advertisers who currently participate in BridalTweet’s Preferred Vendor Program.  

 

So, how did I do it?  I attracted the attention of brides and wedding vendors by consistently writing engaging posts on Facebook.  I consider Facebook posts to be engaging ONLY IF they deliver helpful information to your fans and if they encourage your fans to Like or Comment on the content. Posting helpful information will increase your chances of rising to the top of hundreds of newly engaged couples (and their friends’) News Feeds. 

 

Why should you care?  Becoming influential on Facebook is bound to help your business too. It will create more opportunities for you and it will drive referrals for you.  And it’s something that anyone can achieve.

 

But here's the BIG challenge.  You keep hitting the refresh button.  You're certain that your latest Facebook post would inspire fans to Like, respond and share. Yet there’s been little-to-no response. You wonder why no one's listening.

 

So, here are my 10 tips to help you succeed on Facebook!  

  1. Create an attractive Facebook business page.  Your page needs to give people a reason to become a fan, showcase your work and link to your website.  
  2. Build your Facebook fan base.   To do this, add a Facebook icon to all of your marketing materials.  This should include all of your website pages and your email signature.  The icon should link directly to your Facebook business page.  And why not send an email to your friends and family inviting them to 'Like' your Facebook business page.
  3. Act like a magazine.  To understand what I mean, check out BridalTweet's Facebook page.  As you can see, I have gotten into a habit of creating regular posts that include: one inspiring wedding photo, with one compelling headline or question, with one link back to the source of the photo (usually on my website).  This formula works.  It attracts brides and is easily share-able.
  4. Remember that brides don’t read. Ok, yes they do but they also LOVE photos. I recommend that you include at least one wedding photo in each of your blog posts. This will make your blog posts more interesting and attractive to brides. If you are using wedding images or content from a third party, be sure to give credit to those sources.
  5. Consistently post about one specific theme or niche. Having a theme will create a perception that you are an expert on that particular subject. More importantly, it will signal to fans as to what they can expect from your Facebook page. If it is a theme that they are interested in, then they will likely respond to your page often. To choose a theme, think about what you are passionate about and what you are good at. For example, wedding photographers can publish a ‘wedding photo of the day’.  Wedding planners can publish a wedding planning tip of the day. Or consider posting about celebrity weddings - brides love that stuff. Whatever your big ideas are, they will help distinguish you and your business. And they will attract attention.
  6. Keep it short.  Never create a Facebook post that is more than 140 characters.  That is simply too long and it will be ignored.
  7. Ask yourself one really important question.  To determine if this post will be 'good enough' to publish, ask yourself, "Is this something that I would share with my friends?"  If the answer is no, then don't publish it!
  8. Save time!  Spend only 10 minutes a day on Facebook by automating your posts.  I use Facebook’s free scheduling tool.  This service is invaluable to me because it frees up my time during the day and helps me to focus on what's most important - my customers. 
  9. Measure what's working.  Turn to Facebook Insights, the free service that Facebook offers to show you how many people are interacting with each of your posts.  If a certain type of post is doing really well and getting a lot of Likes, Comments or Shares, then try to create more posts like that one!  
  10. Don’t become guilty of these Facebook fauxpas:
    • Don’t focus on selling. While an occasional post about a product is fine, especially if it’s new or was recently featured in the news, don’t use Facebook as an overt sales vehicle. Remember, people go to Facebook to catch up and connect—when they want to buy, they’ll go to your website.
    • Don’t just talk about your business. Fans expect news, tips and photos that go beyond your business. For example, a health club may share recipes and workout tips that show its commitment to helping members stay healthy, so keep the bigger picture in mind when you’re posting.
    • Don’t ignore your audience.  Fans should know their feedback is appreciated, so be sure to respond to their likes, comments and questions. 
    • Don’t give up easily. If you place the same amount of patience and perseverance on engaging your Facebook audience that you applied to building your business, you’ll achieve success in social media. 

 

The great thing about Facebook is that ANYONE can achieve these results.  The other great thing is that Facebook is free.  It offers an effective channel to build your reputation, humanize your brand, network and attract new wedding leads.  So, here are my last words of wisdom:  Your Facebook posts shouldn't be hard sales tools but instead they should be a mix of marketing and education to build your audience's trust.  The whole point here is to build trust and to encourage brides and other wedding professionals to want to work with you.

 

And how can you succeed at BridalTweet? My mission at BridalTweet is to help you grow your wedding business.  I want to personally thank you all for your inspiration, enthusiasm and support over the last five years.  Together, we're taking a REAL leadership role in shaping how the wedding industry can continue to connect and prosper. It is my hope that you have been inspired by the connections that you have made at BridalTweet.  Wondering how to use BridalTweet's free services to grow your wedding business?  JOIN NOW FOR FREE 

 

Thank you again for making this a fun and supportive wedding community,
 


 

 

Christine Dyer, Creator & Founder of BridalTweet

Comment by InviteBeautiful InspiredWeddings on April 8, 2014 at 7:08pm

I'm looking forward to reading this article in-depth; for the moment I skimmed and noticed your motivation is to balance a home life with your own business. How are you handling that journey of maintaining a balance between those two tugs on your heart? It seems to me that's a pretty common issue in the entrepeneur world, and I'm wondering if you have answers to offer there.

Comment by Christine Dyer on April 17, 2014 at 8:25am

In all honesty, 'balance' is something that I'm constantly working on.  Because it is hard to successfully juggle SO much.  Here's an article that I wrote a while ago about maintaining that balance.  Enjoy! http://www.bridaltweet.com/page/4-ways-to-be-happier-while-working-...

Comment by Alan McCabe on August 22, 2014 at 3:34am

Thanks Christine Dyer for providing such great information. You really inspired me.

Comment by Secrets Limousine Service on January 14, 2015 at 2:13pm

Thank you for all of the great information!

Comment by Kaity Woodard on October 12, 2015 at 1:40pm

Thank you for these awesome tips!

Comment by Duewa King on November 2, 2016 at 3:44pm
This information was just what I was looking for! Thank you a thousand times over!!!

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