For our industry, blogging and email marketing are the most effective tools in the social media tool bag. Yes there are  Facebook and Twitter to be included but for most of my clients the first two are the most powerful and easiest to incorporate into the mix; the last 3 take a measure of dedication and devotion that not many of you have. Heck some days even I don’t.

Our most effective tool is email marketing. I’m sure you have put a bulk mail program like A Weber in place but have you customized your template? Is there a lead generator on your website for people to sign up? Do all of your email blasts look alike and friendly? Do they include your branding and pertinent information like phone number and hours of operation? Do they have links to your website? Or are they just plain, boring text messages that lie there like yesterday’s news? This is advertising people!

How often do you send out an email blast? This isn’t like the old days when you had to pay someone like the Knot an arm and a leg to send out a blast. Today’s bulk mailers are dirt cheap and completely DIY for very many of us. You should be sending out a blast to your lead list at least once a month, every other week is even better. Surely you can think of something to say that is short and informative. You are trying to build a relationship with your leads.

When I say leads, I don’t just mean brides. You should have a lead list for other wedding professionals too. It goes back to networking. The other professionals in your area are the true influentials in your market. Keep them informed on what is new and exciting in your field and you will quickly become the go to guy in your market. They will bring the brides. I hope I don’t need to remind you to do the same for them.

The other most effective tool is your blog. I know you have a website but a blog is different. As I have said in the past your blog is where you let your personality come through. It is where you show your excitement. Your excitement get’s others excited. Talk about your events and your products. Use your blog to show case upcoming promotions and highlight your successes. Corporate blogging, unlike blogging for profit, is about showing the human side, the personality if you will of you and your company. Because of that difference, your posts don’t have to be long winded research pieces. They should just be short little bites that illustrate your day.

Blogging platforms today are a breeze to use and when you add all the cool free tools on the internet that you can use to enhance them your blog should be a lively place for prospective clients to visit.  Pop up a slide show of last weeks wedding or one about the backstage setup on your last big catering job. Do a slide show of a recent trunk show to show how much fun the brides were having. Keep it up to date and exciting.

Oh thing you must understand about social media marketing is that rather than broadcasting your message to a massive group and hoping it lands on a few friendly ears you are building relationships with a small group of influentials and encouraging them to spread your message. To that end, one of the things you can do to get your message out to the right people is by reading and posting comments on their blogs. You should be following blogs of like minded individuals in your market and making a connection with them. Let’s say you are a photographer that wants to expand into destination weddings. You should read a list of blogs written by wedding planners that specialize in destination weddings and you should comment frequently and intelligently enough that they begin to recognize you. When you do get to the point of pitching them they will already know you. Hmmmmm, that’s a good thing, no?  Suppose you are a caterer, you should be leaving comment on the blogs connected to venues you like. Again, it is about making connections and building relationships.

Social media marketing only works if you work it. The thing is that it get easier to use every day and the cost is next to nothing.