5 Things to Outsource That Will Benefit Your Wedding Business

I hear you! In fact, I hear this A LOT from wedding professionals across the board. With this in mind I hope this feature will help you determine why you should outsource, which aspects of your wedding business you should outsource, and the advantages of doing so.

But before we dive into the five things you might want to consider outsourcing for your business, I should probably introduce myself. Hey! I’m Caitlin. Coco Wedding Venues’ Digital Curator, Emma’s right hand woman and owner / founder of Digital Bloom, where I provide freelance social media marketing and copywriting services to inspired wedding businesses, just like yours!

I’ve been working in this incredible industry for 9 years now (crikey!), where I started out as the manager of a charming wedding venue in rural Shropshire. This might explain how I know so much about the intricacies of actual real weddings; I’ve been there, on the ‘shop floor’, planning alongside couples and liaising with suppliers, whilst running and marketing a successful wedding venue. Even then (when budgets were tight!) I understood and wholeheartedly appreciated the importance of outsourcing to the right people, the people who are experts in their specific field, to perform jobs and work on projects that weren’t within my or my team’s remit.

The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to consider outsourcing elements of your wedding business. Whether that’s through a sexy new brand refresh, or an upgrade of your current website copy, or maybe you’ve truly had enough of social media and are ready to hand it over? Your dream couples are searching for your venue right now, at a time when I assume you are free(ish) to give this topic some headspace and work on your marketing?

So, let’s get stuck in and talk all things outsourcing…

Photography

I cannot stress enough how important professional imagery is to your wedding business. We’re incredibly lucky that we work in a visual-led industry, in fact, most of us can probably reel off a handful of amazing photographers’ names at the drop of a hat, if not more. And still, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen an Instagram feed full of dodgy iPhone shots and a website with grainy, pixelated images front and centre. There’s no excuse folks! Especially when you’re regularly hosting weddings and welcoming professional photographers through the doors every week.

Don’t get me wrong, real wedding images are stunning! There’s nothing I love more than pouring over a gallery for a Coco real wedding blog feature, but your venue and your brand are much more than that. If budgets allow, I’d suggest investing in a professional photographer to capture your accommodation, your team, your catering offering and the gorgeous little details that make your venue unique. A well-rounded snapshot of your venue in all seasons is always going to appeal to discerning, wedding planning couples way more than 100% bridal shots captured in the summer.

Web / Graphic Design

Could you do me a favour? Think of a brand that you admire and that you think is currently smashing it…got it? Ok. Does it have a professional logo? A covetable brand aesthetic? And a beautiful website? Yup, thought so. So why shouldn’t you?

Confession incoming… I have a creative degree and have messed around on Photoshop for YEARS now. Does that make me good at design? Erm, nope! I have pieced together my own website in the past, experimented with free logo templates and endlessly mucked around with colour palettes, and do you know what? Nothing stuck. Until I invested in an expert to do the job for me. A set of outside, objective eyes can help you realise things you had never considered before and think of things you never would have thought of, such as how a font style can shape your brand or how having clear brand guidelines can attract your dream audience! I know hiring a designer can be a big expense but if you choose the right one I can guarantee you’ll make that money back ten-fold when you start attracting even more of your dream couples, clients and customers. So, I’m afraid it’s time to step away from that DIY Canva brochure and let the professionals do what they do best!

If, like me, you often swoon over the Coco Wedding Venues brand and wish your business looked half as gorgeous as Emma and Mark’s, well, I’m sure they won’t mind me telling you that it can! Emma offers a limited design consultancy and project management service, working alongside her own incredible designer. This consultancy service starts from £1,550 (design fees in addition). Get in touch to find out more, or view recent projects for Pynes House and Upton Barn.

“Whilst design breathes life into your brand, it’s the copy that tells the real story…”

Copywriting / Blogging

Ok great, so you have the gorgeous professional images, you’ve enlisted a designer to help elevate your brand to dizzying new heights but what about the words? Whilst design breathes life into your brand, it’s the copy that tells the real story. Copywriting can be incredibly influential, if not more influential than design so it shouldn’t be considered an afterthought when it comes to your online presence and brand awareness.

Whether that’s through your website copy, regular blogging and / or social media captions (more on that shortly), your brand voice is the text equivalent of your logo. It’s the copy that consistently communicates your brand’s unique tone of voice and personality to your dream audience, across all of your marketing channels.

Speaking of blogging, blogs aren’t dead. In fact, far from it folks! Publishing regular blogs ensures fresh, consistent content landing on your website which Google will love you for! Blogs also give you loads to talk about on your socials, whilst educating, entertaining and inspiring your website visitors too. They also give you the opportunity to share your expertise, publish an awesome real wedding or showcase a venue space that you might not have the opportunity to do so otherwise. It’s win-win all round!

Social Media Marketing

If I had a pound for every time a business owner came to me saying that they don’t have the time to dedicate to feeding the insatiable content beast that is Instagram, (or that they straight up hate it!). Or, that they end up procrastinating so much, wasting loads of time and then talking themselves out of posting anything, well, let’s just say I’d be pretty well off! See, you’re not alone. Social media, Instagram in particular, isn’t for everyone. But it is an incredibly powerful (free) marketing tool which you shouldn’t ignore when it comes to your wedding business. Understandably, if you’re running the whole show it’s the marketing that ends up either on the back burner, not getting done at all, or done inconsistently. Am I right? This might the perfect time to look for someone to handle it for you.

Did you know that 43% of Coco Wedding Venues’ couples use Instagram during their wedding planning journey? With the ability to search using keywords and through their post-saving feature ‘collections’, Instagram is striking clear similarities to Pinterest; both super popular wedding planning tools and platforms for searching for the dreamiest wedding suppliers. When asked ‘where did you find us?’ on some of my clients’ website contact forms I can honestly say that 80% state Instagram.

But yes, it’s true, Instagram isn’t what it used to be. But instead of treating it as a platform to find couples, why not treat it as a reinforcement of your website, a beautiful portfolio page and somewhere to share MORE images, information, and inspiration. This is perfect for when couples need that extra layer of reinforcement and social proof, positioning your business heads and shoulders above the rest. Your social media channels should reflect your business and brand, not be its own entity. So if your logo doesn’t match, your website link is out of date and the last post you published was from 18 months ago, it could be time for a refresh?

Business Strategy

I’m going to be bold and hazard a guess that the majority of business owners in the wedding industry probably haven’t got a business degree. Perhaps, like me, and many of the incredible and successful wedding professionals I have the pleasure of working with, you had a sudden rush of inspiration and drive to make the thing work, or you were given a wonderful opportunity, which is amazing, well done you! But there’s no clear manual for running a business, so perhaps after muddling along for a while, wearing ALL the hats and working ALL the hours, it might be time to work on your strategy in order to push your business to the next level?

A business consultant can be worth their weight in gold. They are able to zoom out and look at your business as a whole, providing incredible insights from marketing to logistics, analysis of your pricing and positioning, and provide you with some clear suggestions and direction in diversifying your wedding business (if this is something you’re interested in of course!).

You might be wondering how outsourcing and hiring freelancers can save you money, but it can when compared to hiring a full-time employee or working with an agency, when you consider the salaries, added extras, and fees you may incur. How you outsource is dependent on the task at hand but it’s basically up to you. You can outsource on a monthly rolling retainer if it’s a service that is on-going such as social media management or regular blogging, or it could be on a project-basis, a one-off job which has a start and end date such as a photography shoot or a web design / copywriting project. Most freelancers are flexible and open to talking about upcoming opportunities and ideas so don’t be afraid to simply ask the question.

Regardless of what it is you consider outsourcing, or when you decide it’s the right time for you, one thing is for sure. By doing so you’re investing in the future success of your wedding business and giving yourself back some of your precious time which you can then use to focus on other areas of your business which you might be better suited to. Maybe it’s time to tackle your accounts, or maybe you’re finally ready to launch that extra service / option which could increase your revenue for the year ahead. Whatever it is, having more time to refocus your energy can’t be a bad thing!