As a wedding photographer, do you have a specialty which is recognizable to your ideal clients? Your specialty can range from shooting indoor or outdoor weddings, or specific scenarios you prefer to work in. A bride and groom looking for a wedding photographer most likely have an idea of where they would like their wedding day to take place. If you shoot only locally, your ideal clients will hire you to shoot in your current location. If you prefer to shoot outside of your area, you are a destination wedding photographer who has a wider range of clients to reach out to.
Booking destination weddings gives you the opportunity to travel, meet new people from different parts of the world, and photograph beautiful images of unique locations for your couples. Since the booking process differs slightly based on the fact that you may shoot in a different location for every single wedding, we wanted to share 4 quick tips with you to speed up the process.
1. Target Your Market on Facebook
When a couple searches for a wedding photographer, one of the places they look to find out more about you is social media, specifically Facebook. Since your Facebook page should reflect your brand (who you are as a photographer and business owner), the message you send clients should be one that is trustworthy. After all, couples looking for a destination wedding photographer may not be anywhere near you to meet you in person. Your Facebook page should send clients a message which assists them in trusting you for their big day.
Related: How can creating a strong and recognizable brand skyrocket your bookings?
Using the advanced features of Facebook to target your market, boost posts which are specifically catered to them. When you upload a photo from a past wedding and then create a boost targeted at the specific demographic and location to see it, you can increase your exposure in the places you want to shoot.
2. Update Your Website Regularly
Since your website is important to attract your ideal clients, and provide them with a look at your work, updating the content regularly assists you in reaching larger audiences. Although receiving referrals is helpful, there may not be a connection between all of your past and current clients (since they may live all over the world, depending on where you shoot). For you to find more ideal clients, using keywords is crucial to helping you rank on search engines, such as Google.
When you post new content to your website (or blog), Google crawls through the new pages, looking for searchable keywords your ideal clients are using to find a photographer. After you receive your images back from a photo editing company, updating them on your website with relevant keywords and posting new content to your blog increases the chances your site will appear on Google. The keywords you use should be specific to the locations you shoot the most, such as Palm Beach, Aruba Wedding Photographer or Destination Wedding Photographer. Also, adding new photos to your website from past weddings gives ideal clients an idea of all of the different locations that you have shot at in the past and where you have traveled.
Related: Does your Facebook cover image design match your overall brand?
3. Create Simple Pricing Packages
When you set out to book destination weddings for your business, think about the process as if you were the bride and groom. Making the decision to have the wedding day in a different location than where they live can be a stressful process. From deciding who to invite, how many plane tickets to purchase, prices of the hotel wedding packages, and booking a photographer, there are many overwhelming choices on their plate. As you begin to create packages for your services, include everything your couple needs to take care of (and make it easier for them!).
Related: Don’t miss out on the 4 secrets to building a killer pricing page
Creating simple pricing packages helps your clients easily make decisions on what they want for their wedding day. Although clients know what you are charging for your services, as well as your flight, hotel, and other travel expenses, your pricing page should not be overwhelming for them. Focus on what they will be getting from you when they book you for their destination wedding, rather than how much they are spending and how many decisions they need to make.[ninja-inline id=14322]
4. Master Your Marketing Strategy
As a destination wedding photographer, you likely travel to a variety of places for every wedding you shoot. Because word of mouth cannot always help you reach your ideal clients, your marketing strategy should be very strong so people who are searching for a photographer can find you. Not only should your website and blog be up-to-date, feature keywords, and match your brand image, every part of your marketing strategy should be strategically built to excite ideal clients about what you can offer them.
Related: Reinvent your brand with inspiration from one of photography’s biggest influencers, Joe Buissink!
To assist in your visibility with ideal clients, make it easy for them to share your wedding images with a larger audience. When you encourage social sharing through your website and blog, your clients will be more likely to share with their friends and family. Remind your couples to tag their friends on social media who may also be looking to have a destination wedding in the same area when they share your photos. Anything you can do to master your marketing strategy assists you in standing out against other destination wedding photographers.
Becoming top of mind for clients who desire a destination wedding is key for you to book more of these weddings this year. Use these 4 quick tips to easily book the weddings you want to shoot and couples you want to work with. Discover how you can create a clear and unique brand message with our Guide, 7 Branding Mistakes Wedding Photographers Make (and How to Fix Them)!
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