/ Weddings

10 Ways to Say ‘I Do’ to Social Advertising This Wedding Season

The arrival of warmer air ushered in a new season–no, not summer, but wedding season. There are over 2 million weddings a year in the US, and nuptials spike beginning in June–the most popular month to get married–and holding steady until October.

Weddings constitute a $60B industry in the US, with the average wedding costing over $31,000! Brides and grooms aren’t the only ones splurging on the festivities, however; guests also shell out big bucks for gifts, transportation, and clothing. People spend $106 on average for gifts alone.

As of today, there are 1.1MM+ #weddingseason tags on Instagram. And with over 36 million wedding boards and 3.3 billion wedding Pins on Pinterest, the big day is definitely on consumers’ minds and they will be looking for inspiration from brands that will make them say ‘I do.’

Want to drive engagement around wedding season? Check out these 10 strategy tips to tie the knot with a social advertising campaign:

  1. Work with third-party data providers like Datalogix to carve out relevant audience segments on Facebook and Twitter, like users who are more likely to get engaged, users who like reading bridal magazines, and users who are interested in wedding vendors and brands.
  2. Reach consumers planning for weddings on Pinterest using Pinterest’s unique targeting set of interests and keywords. Women who recently got engaged are 41% more likely to be on Pinterest, and engaged Pinners are more likely to Pin categories including centerpieces, flowers, bridesmaids, and color. Create helpful and informative Promoted Pins to drive engagement and traffic to site.
  3. Test many different creative images and copy across platforms. Weddings are very visual, which then makes the planning process a highly visual and inspirational user experience. Experimenting offers great learning opportunities.
  4. Make sure to create targeting buckets based on the creative available. For example, if there is a wedding dress with lace detailing, include “lace wedding dresses” for keywords for more accurate and relevant targeting.
  5. Be mindful of the Pinterest planning and purchase cycle. Consumers often pin things for the future, which means they purchase at a later date. The attribution model should mirror the natural behavior of the Pinterest user. Look at 30-day click, 30-day engagement, and 30-day view data for a true picture of performance.
  6. The Carousel ad format on Facebook and Instagram is a great way to showcase multiple products, especially visually appealing products related to weddings. It is also a great way to retarget people who have visited product pages or dropped off during the purchase journey.
  7. Retarget people who have visited your website: leverage the enhancements to Website Custom Audience offerings on Facebook and Instagram by targeting those who have spent a certain amount of time on your site or how often they have visited to focus on those who have more intent to purchase and are lower down the funnel.
  8. Engagement rings, bands, and other wedding jewelry comes in all shapes and sizes, and everybody likes and wants something different. Because of this, consider leveraging creative with educational messaging like different setting options, stone types, and band color etc. Pair this type of creative with upper-level tactics to maximize brand awareness.
  9. Along the same lines, brands can use Carousel ads or stacked imagery to showcase multiple products in one ad unit. It helps brands showcase their product diversity and assortment.
  10. Test product-only ads and lifestyle ads against one another. Do flat pieces of jewelry with a closer look at the product perform well, or does a young woman wearing an engagement ring with her fiancé resonate more?