Marketing that works for wedding venues
Hotel rooms and swimming pools remain deserted while the lockdown continues with no end in sight any time soon. However, we are seeing our wedding venue clients continue to get enquiries and bookings for 2021.
2021 could be a bumper year for venues. With many 2021 dates already booked, those seeking to move their 2020 date will have to compromise, expect more mid-week bookings.
87% of couples will not cancel weddings planned for April-July but are going to re-schedule, according to a recent survey by Hitched.
It's important to connect with couples who have booked - this blog gives ideas to share with your couples: How to celebrate what would have been your wedding day.
Do the things you are in control of
We’ve been giving our hospitality clients advice and creative ideas through the lockdown period but wanted to bring together a collection for wedding venues.
Now is not a time to dial down your marketing. We are finding that as people have much more time online at home, they are engaging with great content.
Top tips for great content:
1). Long blog content
2). Virtual video tours
3). Social engagement
These topics make great email content. Email always plays a strong part in the mix but especially at this time.
Emails that work
We’ve seen open rates for our hospitality clients increase from an average of 25% up to an average of 54%. Click through rates, typically around 2%-5% have also risen to between 10%-15%.
This is great compared to industry averages. Campaign Monitor found that average open rates in the travel sector are 17% with a clickthru of 0.7%.
Remember, people have more time on their hands so while in normal circumstances, short and snappy is better, at the time being there’s no harm in going for a longer form email template (so long as you’re filling it with inspiring imagery and helpful tips - blocks of wordy content will always be a turn off when it comes to email).
Your guests will value the time you have taken to stay connected. These communications will strengthen your brand, and when things go back to normal, you will be first and foremost in their mind.
Long blog content
You don’t need to write loads of new blogs, if you already have some from the last 12 months, re-use them. If you do need more content, here is some blog inspiration:
Unlock the power of 360 video and VR
You may have seen in our Creative Ideas selection a number of venues that can host weddings have launched virtual tours. Whether you have wedding capabilities or are just interested in exploring video more to show off your best features, we have a fantastic guest blog this week from 360 video expert, Gareth Allen of SoundView Media. Gareth has kindly supplied a number of key tips when filming video and in particular 360 video and Virtual Reality (VR). Check it out here: Unlocking the power of 360 & Virtual Reality video for weddings.
Great video examples
Virtual wedding tour from the Horn of Plenty
Video show round from Southdowns Manor
Social engagement - getting User Generated Content
There have been lots of ideas from venues on social media, getting previous couples to share their wedding day memories.
Here’s a great example from Lusty Glaze getting lots of engagement.
Take control of your marketing
If you would like to talk about your marketing, we're available to chat.