In your photography business, how can you expand your reach to a larger audience of ideal clients? When you reach new audiences, you increase the number of clients who see your work and the number of weddings you book. When you book more clients, you can easily make more money to continue to grow your business to the next level. How can you achieve this for your business?
Bridal shows are a great way for you to showcase your work to couples who are looking for vendors for their wedding day. Since bridal shows may be hectic, and do not always allow you to sit down and get to know your clients on that day, how can you impact your bookings for the year? So you can focus on what is most important, we have 4 ways to reach ideal clients at bridal shows.
1. Create a Stand Out Booth
One of the most important parts of attracting ideal clients is establishing a brand message for your business. At a bridal show, your brand needs to stand out and be recognized by ideal clients. Your booth should represent your brand colors and overall theme of your business.
Also, after your images are color corrected by a post wedding photography company, and they are placed on your gallery, have large prints made to display on your booth’s walls. This presents your work for ideal clients to look at and to picture for their own wedding day. In addition to your personality, your photos help sell you as a photographer. Showcase them on your booth’s walls to stand out during the bridal show.
Related: Are you shooting $10k weddings? Scott Robert Lim how to elevate your brand here!
2. Offer a Show Special
Much of the reason a bride and groom attend a bridal show is to get ideas for their day and meet potential vendors they want to hire. When they book vendors for a wedding day, it can become an expensive endeavor, which can be stressful for the couple. Offer a show special at your booth for clients who book you at the show. This may encourage them to take a look at you and decide whether you are the photographer for them.
Although it is important to avoid a decrease in your prices, create a plan for the clients you book at the bridal show. Your plan can include how you intend to make up for the money you discounted, and would likely be placed in the price of the additional products and services for the clients who booked you at the bridal show.
Tip: As well as a show special, hand out business cards or small giveaways to visitors at your booth. Anything you give away should have your contact information and logo on it. This helps you because even if clients do not book you right then, they will still have a reminder of you for when they are ready to book a photographer.
3. Network with Other Vendors
A majority of your time at a bridal show will be spent on the connections (and bookings) you make with ideal clients. Depending on the size, there are various other vendors who are at the bridal show. Some of the vendors may be ones you have already worked with, or may be ones you have never heard of before. Either way, make sure to strategically network with other vendors during this time.
Although you should stay at your booth at all times, especially if you are the only photographer in your business, make time to spend with other vendors. Even if you quickly exchange contact info with another photographer or vendor, you still made a connection with them. If you stay longer than the time of the bridal show, make plans to catch up with your current vendors over coffee to contribute to that relationship.
Related: Is your image-sharing process with vendors simple? Take a look at these 4 tips
4. Hold a Contest
A positive way for you to attract ideal clients to your booth is to hold a contest. You can give away something that does not necessarily need to cost you much, or spend too much of your time. Perhaps you give away a free engagement session or extra pages in an album. Not only can a contest bring couples to your booth, it may entice them to stay and learn more about you.
So you can receive more entries, make the contest available for everyone at the bridal show. This encourages couples to enter because they do not have to commit to something at that moment. The best part of the contest is you will retrieve phone numbers and email addresses from couples who enter, which gives you the opportunity to reach back out to them.
Tip: Remember to reach out to the couples you gained information from as soon as you can. This improves their experience with you, and shows that you care. They may be more likely to book you.
When you use various platforms to reach ideal clients, you expand your exposure for a larger audience. Your brand message is key to your success when you desire to book more clients who are perfect for you. Discover how to maintain a strong brand free from errors with our Guide, 7 Branding Mistakes Wedding Photographers Make (and How to Fix Them)!
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