Hear me out, because this is based on years of experience and weddings. In all the years I have shot weddings, I have never had one come to me through Facebook or Instagram. Nada. None. Zilch. Zippo.
In fourteen years and 400 plus weddings, I have had maybe six people inquire with me through messages through Facebook, and none through Instagram. Those few who did contact me; the conversation never lasted past me answering the question asked in their very first message, which was about my price.
Don’t get me wrong. You can’t ignore Facebook or Instagram.
You have to have a presence there. But they are branding tools, not marketing tools. Couples are not initially looking to find their wedding photographer on either platform.
It didn’t use to be the case, but it has changed over the years with Meta’s business model to drive up their ad revenues to please investors. Case in point: It’s a stated goal of Instagram to have at least fifty percent of what you scroll through on your feed be paid advertisements.
If you don’t believe me, check your feed to find out. If you are like me you will see ad after ad of other wedding photographers, from all across the continent. Maybe even the globe. One, how are you going to stand out in this noise, two, is a couple in New Jersey going to be interested in a California wedding photographer, and three, even if they do find you there they are going to go to your web site for a deeper dive anyway.
So, it bears repeating: social media platforms are branding tools, not marketing tools. It might not be the case for other professions, but it is for ours.
That said, you’re probably asking just where do you market to sell your services. Well, based on my experience and tracked numbers, here is where I sell practically all of my weddings, ranked from best to last:
- Wedding shows
- Wedding venue referrals and open houses
- Website inquiries
- Prior client referrals
- People I meet at weddings
Face to face is key, and that is why weddings shows have always been my best resource for meeting and speaking with couples looking for a wedding photographer. A face-to-face meeting should be your first goal in marketing; a couple who meets with you is probably 95 percent of the way toward booking you. Otherwise, they likely wouldn’t invest the time and effort to meet.
In our business we are not just selling our craft; we are also selling ourselves. Couples want a photographer who is talented, trustworthy, and professional, but also personable and maybe fun to have at their wedding. You can only sell that in person.
Do I still run ads on Meta platforms. Yes, I do. They’re cheap compared to other means of advertising and I keep my expectations low. I use them for two things:
- Drive people to my website.
- Reinforce my brand with current, upcoming, and past clients
- Added familiarity at strategic times
Expect anything more and you will be severely disappointed. Couples are just not that flippant or casual about hiring and trusting someone from what little they may see of them on Instagram for their wedding.
And how do you best work and use those wedding shows to book more weddings? Well, that’s a deep dive topic I have in one of the modules of the Lemonade Weddings course.
Before you go…
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✅ How to navigate the booking-to-delivery workflow.
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