A member asks

When chatting with celebrants recently I heard again and again that most celebrants aren’t really that interested in following the general Instagram “best practice” advice that you see on social media blogs/podcasts. Most people a) don’t want to invest the time and energy to go down the Pinterest-style heavily-curated aesthetically-pleasing path, and b) think it’s bullshit anyway. They don’t want to follow a posting schedule, they may not even post very regularly. I think most celebrants just want to post photos that they like, when they have them – but want to maximize the appeal/reach of those posts and spend the least amount of time on them. Can you share any practical little hacks to shave a few minutes and a few headaches off your posting/planning time.

There’s a reason Facebook and Instagram have personal and business accounts. There’s a place for you to post what you like, and a place for you to post content that has a positive on your business.

This is part one in a three part series, part one on why, part two on what and part three on when.

What are our social media posts for?

I can’t answer that question for you, but I’ll tell you what my posts are for, and leave you to formulate your own social media plan.

When I post on social media I want to do one or more of the following for couples that are getting married or are married:

  • help them plan a wedding and be married
  • inform and educate them about weddings and being married
  • make them laugh/entertain them
  • introduce them to me and my brand

You might of noticed that I didn’t mention selling, sales, leads, enquiries. Social media isn’t for selling, just like catching up with friends at a cafe is ruined when you mention you’ve got a business opportunity for them and start talking about Amway.

I want my social media posts to brand me to my couples, so when they a) need a celebrant, or b) someone they know needs a celebrant, they think of me.

If you scroll through my feeds you’ll notice I don’t post wedding porn. (Wedding porn is my description of all the Pinterest crap that makes brides and grooms anxious about their wedding not being good enough. It has the same effect normal porn has on relationships, but on weddings instead.)

Instead of finding and regramming and reposting all of the wedding porn that will get you all the likes and followers, post content that will create a tribe of fans that ardently love and refer you.

Create content, just like you do with ceremonies, but do it for social media. In a future post I’ve got a page full of social media content ideas that I hope everyone steals and adapts for their own brand, and in another post I’ve got a social media schedule that I think you should adopt, but before you start posting, you need to get your mental and emotional ducks in a row.

Your business social media isn’t for you, and it’s not for other celebrants. It’s for people to fall in love with you and absolutely need you to be their celebrant.