Standing Out from the Wedding Crowd
By Kylie Carlson, The Wedding and Event Institute, Lake Arrowhead, Calif.When you start thinking about launching a business, it is nothing more than a dream. That dream slowly becomes a reality, and before you know it, you’re staring down the barrel of your accounts wondering how on earth you’re going to make this dream of yours pay the bills.In many ways, there are more opportunities today to promote and market a business than ever before, but along with these comes the problem of a saturated marketplace— and if you don’t know how to make your message stand out from the wedding crowd, you will get lost quickly.Success is in the deliveryMost wedding professionals like to believe that what they’re offering is unique and different. They carefully craft their messages to convey this in everything they say and do. If you want to achieve success, know that it is how you deliver this message that makes you stand out in the crowd.Case Study: The Wedding and Event InstituteHere’s an example. The Wedding and Event Institute (WEI) is an online education company offering e-learning certification courses to people in the wedding industry who want to become wedding planners, stylists, and designers. WEI has a fair amount of competition, some better than others, but the point is it isn’t the only company doing it. Yes, it has a wonderful Advisory Board full of amazing wedding professionals, up-to-date course content, and highly skilled, educated, and recognized industry instructors, but none of that matters if our ideal clients aren’t hearing or reading our message.WEI faced a challenge—to come up with a unique way of being seen as the leaders in online certification courses for wedding professionals. How could the institute show its ideal client that they would get an amazing learning experience, have access to quality course materials, and have skilled instructors who really know their stuff?Some would say the WEI staff should write great blog posts. Well, we do but that isn’t really enough because everyone is doing that. Blogging isn’t unique, and it doesn’t make WEI stand apart from the competition. So, the team at WEI started asking questions like:• What would a potential student want from us?• How could we make ourselves more personable and available?And then, the idea struck. Video. We decided that our best bet of attracting attention was to take what we do every day and create short, free-to-air video reports highlighting our expertise as educators in the wedding industry. And so, the Wedding Wednesday Video Report was born. Videos that targeted those in the wedding industry and those looking to get into the industry are released every Wednesday to coincide with the Twitter #WeddingWednesday. The videos have raised WEI’s profile within the industry and attracted those looking to start a new career.The monthly videos discussed topics including pricing, social media, marketing, and running a wedding business—giving just enough information to leave people wanting more. It was genius. None of WEI’s competitors were doing it, and it was a great way to highlight our knowledge and show our ideal clients who we really are.What can you do to differentiate your business?How can you use this experience to help you stand out within the wedding crowd? Remember, you have something that nobody else does—you. More often than not, it is you as a wedding professional that people are buying. How you show your personality to people on social media is a big part of what sets you apart.Consider hosting your own online radio show using iHeartRadio or BlogTalkRadio. These are easy-to-use mediums that give you a voice. An example is Wayne Gurnick’s Wedding Radio Program, “Wedding Words of Wisdom.” Gurnick, a celebrated wedding planner and designer, interviews industry experts to bring his brides up-to-the minute trends, ideas, and advice.If radio is daunting, use Twitter. Create your own hashtag to host your own Twitter Hour. An example? #WeddingHour brings couples together with wedding suppliers for one hour every Wednesday evening to discuss all things wedding.Creating how-to podcasts is another option. These showcase your knowledge, positioning you as the expert. Podcasts can be downloaded from your site and listened to at a time and place that suits the listener. Or, go one step further and use Google’s free platform, Google Hangouts on Air for a video version of the podcast. These are automatically recorded and available for people to watch on your YouTube channel at a time and place that suits them.What’s the point?The point is that these mediums give you the opportunity to deliver your message in a unique and different way. Today, everyone wants to know the person behind the brand. These platforms allow your ideal client to get to know you, your message and services in a more personal way.
