Not long ago, brides and grooms flipped through pages of bridal magazines to find inspiration for their upcoming nuptials. They’d tear out and tag pages to share with wedding planners to help illustrate their ideas and dreams for their big days.
Today, social media is a leading source for inspiration, one in which wedding planners can be easily involved — and they should. According to Rivalmind, an Illinois-based digital marketing agency, nearly 90% of brides turn to Instagram for wedding inspiration and to find local vendors to make all of their wedding day dreams come true.
With all the different social media platforms and ways to share content to audiences, managing content can be a bit daunting. But it doesn’t have to be.
For tips and tricks on how wedding planners can make the most of their social media presence, we checked in with Allix Cott, property success manager with ROH.co, of which Carats & Cake is a subsidiary, to share her insights, focusing primarily on Instagram and TikTok.
Tips to Grow Engagement
Don’t focus on an aesthetic. Cott says that a lot of wedding planners curate their Instagram posts to fit an aesthetic (e.g. same color palette, style of photos, etc.), and advises to instead focus on each individual post to grow engagement.
“If you’re posting something on your profile, it’s going to align with your style because it’s your style, so don’t get caught up in what the grid looks like,” she says.
Embrace your highlights. Instagram’s highlights and pin can be gold when it comes to attracting an engaging with your audience. It’s also a way to curate your favorite photos and reels in one place, either in a highlight or pinning it to the top of your grid.
“A lot of times planners will tell me, ‘ I had my best wedding last year and I posted it once and now I can't post it again,’” says Cott. “I tell them to make sure they are putting all of their best content up front. Embrace your highlights, embrace your pins.”
Don’t be bashful. “Think of it like a job interview,” advises Cott. “When a couple is going to your profile, they want to know all your best attributes and your best weddings right up front. You can't be too boastful; they want to see what you can do.” To that end, she says that creating highlights and pinning the best of your best shows couples what you’re prioritizing and directing them to go there first.
Go behind the scenes. Cott says that a lot wedding planners she talks to say that they’re waiting for edited photos and videos from photographers and videographers before posting to their social media platforms. While there is space on social media for those refined posts, she says it can be the behind-the-scenes moments that resonate most.
“It’s awesome to see a full, fully-edited curated professional video, but there's also lots of space and engagement with raw and real footage,” Cott says, adding that she encourages planners to always have their phones out. “Even when you don't think it will be super impactful, you may be surprised what resonates with your audience."
“Anything you know that's going to happen, like the first look…,” she continues. “If you know it's going to be very emotional, just get an iPhone clip that you can post on TikTok or Instagram and create a quick reel. Really focus on shareable, savable content — that's what really drives the algorithm.”
#Weddings
Put a #hashtag on it. The wedding industry is an important and supportive community. Cott says the more you can tag the other vendors involved with your weddings in your social media posts, the better. “Then, they can tag you and you can share content from that shared event. It’s really impactful” she explains. “A lot of times, if someone's following a [wedding] photographer, they want to see who else was involved in the day. So, the more that you can pay attention to tags and take that next step into tagging the entire team, the more visibility and reach to a wider audience.”
She also suggests finding what hashtags are trending to tie in your content. One idea is celebrity weddings, like Jennifer Lopez’ outdoor wedding.
“To tie into those hashtags and make it authentic, you could say, ‘Congrats to #JLo and her gorgeous outdoor wedding,’ and post a photo of one of your outdoor weddings,” Cott explains. “You could add, ‘It reminds me of a time when we had this gorgeous wedding in Aspen,’ or something that.
“There are unique ways you can tie into trending hashtags to get eyes on your profile that still feel authentic,” she adds.