A successful strategic, marketing love story always begins with a targeted audience and the bridal sector is no exception. A fairytale business strategy never happens by chance, but should be created in line with your brides’ needs, offering unlimited and unrivalled opportunities to expand within a sector that is fulfilling and lucrative in equal measure.
For this perfect partnership to flourish, it’s about understanding your customers, whilst building and maintaining your relationships with them. At thebridalhairartists.com, our over-arching aim is always to offer brides a bespoke approach to their wedding hair needs.
While the words you use to promote your services are an essential ingredient, I’ve found that the recipe for styling success lies in creating bridal imagery that’s a true representation of your brand and offering. It relies on a thorough understanding of your bridal aesthetic and the type of clients you’re looking to attract. Once you know this, you can look at creating stunning photographic imagery to entice bridal hair clients your way.
SHOOT TO SCORE
We undertook our most recent bridal hair photographic shoot – Adore – last year with a view to showcasing it at our exhibition stand at The National Wedding Show in London, where we headed up and styled the hair for the two-day runway shows.
Alongside this, we used it on marketing material and offers for the60,000 visitors over the weekend, across our social media channels to work in synchronicity with the show, on bridal blogs, for advertisements in both local and national wedding press, as well as in editorial for both consumer and business-to-business publications. The return on investment was huge and made the process worth its weight in wedding gold.
Here’s what to consider if you’re looking to do the same:
LOOK OF LOVE
Before you begin, you need to find a photographer, clothes stylist and make-up artist you can trust. It’s essential to work with a team that understands your vision, how you work, and is well-placed to get the most out of an often hugely pressurised day.
PIN IT TO WIN IT
Creating a mood board of looks on Pinterest means your team will be ‘on brand’. There’s no room for error, so ensure you communicate your vision before your shoot so everyone knows what’s expected on the day.
INSTA ATTRACTION
Brides are digitally obsessed, so shouting about your offering via your website and social media channels will pay. Instagram is the perfect partnership for this, offering the opportunity to connect with brides looking for that special stylist for their ‘big day’.
UNDER THE COVERS
Collaborating with the right local press means your work can gain additional coverage with clients who might not already know about you. Think of an angle that editors will fall in love with and pitch your ideas for blogs or online features that can set you apart from your competitors.
MARKET TRADERS
If you’ve already invested in a photographic shoot, ensure you have a yearly marketing strategy that incorporates luxury bridal advertising (if budgets allow), annual wedding fairs, bespoke branding and marketing, as wellas window displays for your salon (if applicable). Yearly plans keep you on track, with progress charted weekly and monthly as you go.
TOGETHER FOREVER
Creating imagery for a bridal shoot can also help build your business portfolio alongside your client one. It can position you as credible and trend-led, specifically with vendors and local businesses who are looking to collaborate with style-focused, like-minded brands such as yours. While your bridal clients will be transient due to the nature of the business, referrals will ensure you go from strength to strength. Collaboration makes for perfect partnerships and can result in the fairytale ending your business deserves
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