I know what you’re thinking: I don’t care about the latest millennial spending habits. But, in all seriousness, if anyone is doing themselves a disservice by not paying attention to these trends, they will regret it later on. Get this – Millennials make up 25% of today’s population and are the driving force of today’s economy, and Gen Z isn’t far behind. So it makes sense for businesses everywhere – including wedding venues – to pay close attention when trying to attract their business or reach out with offers. Here we outline six specific strategies for your wedding venue website to drive conversions.
Don’t sound desperate or salesy; be upfront and in charge of your presence online.
In short, millennials live in a digital age. They don’t like cold calls and won’t just show up to get information about your venue – they research it beforehand and do their due diligence on all fronts. Millennials are the generation of personal investigators; they know how to stalk your venue and can find anything and everything about you that exists on the internet. The more info you give them, the less time you’ll spend over the phone and email, and the more likely they are to contact you with positive anticipation.
Position yourself as an invaluable resource through writing content on your wedding venue website.
Have a styled shoot at your wedding venue.
The venue search is a vital part of the entire wedding planning process. And when it comes to what your website should have, photography is an essential component. So you need high-quality and authentic photos -and they can’t be stock images either; Millennials and Gen Z pick up on that quickly and find it tacky! You’ll probably already know from previous weddings at your property which vendors are preferred photographers for taking these shots. So now, all you’ve got left to do is reach out to photographers for their photos and get these fantastic images up onto your website straight away. Another thing to consider is having a styled shoot at your venue. Without the stress of a wedding day, a styled shoot focuses solely on photography.
Showcase the unique experience your venue offers.
Millennials like to spend their money on experiences over material goods. Don’t believe us? Watch the TV show “Marriage or Mortgage” on Netflix so we can say, “I told you so!” But that doesn’t mean you can only market your wedding venue through imagery- it also means translating the idea of weddings as once-in-a-lifetime events into your website copy and testimonials! You want people who will be blown away by what they see before booking with you, right? That’s why personal stories from previous clients are essential so that your prospective couples know how fantastic their day will be when choosing your venue.
Be 100% upfront about your pricing and inclusions.
Let’s be 100% real here; no one wants to fill out your short form for “pricing info.” It sounds fishy. For the millennial generation to choose where they will have their big day, there is one thing that’s necessary: transparency. Millennials like nothing more than being able to research and decide without feeling pressured or tricked into a decision. Millennials do their due diligence in researching the best possible place for them to book an event by gathering as much information about you from reviews on Google or Yelp to what’s offered through your website—to make sure it meets all expectations! We recommend including this info upfront so that customers save time and sales reps who have direct contact with these potential clients.
Other helpful tidbits for your website to keep you hip ?
Keep your copy short and concise: If there’s too much information on a page, people get frustrated, not just millennials but for everyone. If your wedding venue’s website copy is too lengthy, they might get anxious or annoyed and abandon your website.
Be inclusive: That’s right, the future is now, and love has no bounds! To make sure your clients are as inclusive and happy as can be, avoid using dated terms like “bride AND groom” or “husband AND wife.” Rather than that boring old language, you should use phrases such as “Bride OR Groom,” couples,” “partners,” or newlyweds.”
Have a clear call to action, but don’t look desperate: The first and foremost reason for even having a wedding venue website is to start conversations between you and your potential couples. People are accessing other pages before finding your homepage sometimes, so be sure your “Contact Us” call-to-action lives on every page. We suggest it should go in the top navigation where it’s consistently positioned. We don’t recommend adding more than 1-2 calls to action per page – this looks tacky and desperate.
Make your contact form short and easy to fill out: Millennials are so in tune with technology, they could probably teach you a thing or two about it. They’ve grown up on the internet, and their attention span is shorter than most generations before them – that’s why your contact form needs to be quick enough for them! And Millennials like choices: give people four options (email/phone/text) and let them choose whichever way they want to connect best with you.
Get honest reviews (from couples, NOT vendors): Nowadays, couples do a ton of research before they even step foot in the venue. And reviews make a significant impact on that decision! Encourage your past couples to write an honest review – authenticity is key here, and you want them to be as unbiased as possible when writing their experience. Reviews for sites like The Knot, Wedding Wire, or Google will show up prominently if someone searches those things online, so steer people towards these platforms to get the most bang for your buck. Don’t ask your vendors to spam your reviews either; wedding couples are skeptical of overly positive or b2b reviews.
