Wedding Ad Feedback?

[limr]

Women

Not sure why you're only targeting women?

Because we are the ones who supposedly dream of this for our whole lives, dontcha know?

The whole wedding industry is a racket and I would scroll past any version of this ad.

 

[otherprof]

Hello,

So I'm currently working on a Facebook advertising campaign, and would like some feedback. Here are two different versions I'm currently considering.

View attachment 166425 View attachment 166426

Both are similar, but focus on different aspects of what I'm offering. The first one is appealing moreso to the vein side, I suppose, of potential brides, encouraging them to get amazing photos they can show off to their friends. It's also more focused on the free album I'm offering.

The second one is more focused on me as a photographer, and doesn't really mention the album, except in the text below. It's also more focused on creating a sense of urgency ("book now!"). I also used emoji's in this one, which I've been told is effective. And both of the images are actually videos playing a slide show similar to the one used on the homepage of my website.

I'm open to having a combination of the two, or even something completely different. This is just a starting point. I'm also not dead set on even offering/advertising a free album (does that make me look cheap if I'm giving away albums?). I'm planning to invest a decent amount in these ads as opposed to doing the wedding expo this year, so I want to make it the best I possibly can. Please feel free to share with the bride(s) in your life, who may be able to offer some valuable insight as well.

Thanks so much!

Be careful with spelling. You don't want to appeal to their "vein" side. This wasn't in the ad so it is just general advice. I used to edit a news letter and could never find all my typos. I always had to have someone else do the proofing.

 

[waday]

Women

Not sure why you're only targeting women?

Because we are the ones who supposedly dream of this for our whole lives, dontcha know?

The whole wedding industry is a racket and I would scroll past any version of this ad.

Exactly. And, what about same sex marriages?

To the OP, I'm not trying to knock the ad or the decision to pander to only women; what I'm saying is that there's a whole potential market that you're knowingly and purposefully leaving out.

 

[vintagesnaps]

It could use editing to make the text flow more smoothly when read. The only experience I have with social media ads is getting prompted about our nonprofit promoting posts (which we aren't going to pay to do, we've already picked up more people than I could imagine having interest in it).

Thinking back to your earlier posts I wonder sometimes too if you consider advice you receive here or not. Not that every idea is workable, but there are often good suggestions offered. It seems like you're spending time on social media and ads, etc. but I've seen work of yours that I think could still be brought up to a more competitive level. There's good photography there but it seems inconsistent, with photos that could have benefited from adjustments in vantage point, framing, etc. It seems to take time for photographers to build up their reputations. And for marketing you could get on ASMP or PPA to get resources from pro photographers organizations.

It was a concern to read that you needed to get a part time job to make ends meet. I'm not sure what you majored in or if you're working in that field. It seems like it would be worthwhile to find resources on career planning etc. to figure out how to use your schooling and how to work a photography business into career plans. Photographers I've known have done it as a sideline, and it seems challenging these days to make it into a full time career. I would think a business plan would be something to consider doing if you haven't already.

 

[Vtec44]

Women

Not sure why you're only targeting women?

Because we are the ones who supposedly dream of this for our whole lives, dontcha know?

The whole wedding industry is a racket and I would scroll past any version of this ad.

Exactly. And, what about same sex marriages?

To the OP, I'm not trying to knock the ad or the decision to pander to only women; what I'm saying is that there's a whole potential market that you're knowingly and purposefully leaving out.

Because for the most part, females are generally more involved in planning weddings and making detailed decisions. So if you don't have a huge budget to blow, targeting a particular type of clients will maximize your return of investment.

 

[DGMPhotography]

Women

Not sure why you're only targeting women?

Because we are the ones who supposedly dream of this for our whole lives, dontcha know?

The whole wedding industry is a racket and I would scroll past any version of this ad.

Exactly. And, what about same sex marriages?

To the OP, I'm not trying to knock the ad or the decision to pander to only women; what I'm saying is that there's a whole potential market that you're knowingly and purposefully leaving out.

Because for the most part, females are generally more involved in planning weddings and making detailed decisions. So if you don't have a huge budget to blow, targeting a particular type of clients will maximize your return of investment.

Thank you. Yes, from what I've seen, the bride is usually the decision maker when it comes to hiring vendors, at least in my social circles, so that's what I'm marketing to.

 

[limr]

"Females make decisions..."

Female whats?

"Female" is an adjective. It is used to describe a noun, not as the noun itself. Yes, the same goes for "male."

The more you know about grammar...

 

[waday]

Women

Not sure why you're only targeting women?

Because we are the ones who supposedly dream of this for our whole lives, dontcha know?

The whole wedding industry is a racket and I would scroll past any version of this ad.

Exactly. And, what about same sex marriages?

To the OP, I'm not trying to knock the ad or the decision to pander to only women; what I'm saying is that there's a whole potential market that you're knowingly and purposefully leaving out.

Because for the most part, females are generally more involved in planning weddings and making detailed decisions. So if you don't have a huge budget to blow, targeting a particular type of clients will maximize your return of investment.

I totally defer to you on weddings. I understand what you’re saying, and if you’re only paying for certain keywords, go for it. The wife and I (and most of our friends who are married) weren’t like what you’re describing; the grooms had equal say in decisions.

When looking at venues, we had people that barely looked at me. They didn’t get our business. Likewise, when my wife was looking for a car, the salesman only looked at me.

Stereotypes suck.

 

[Vtec44]

"Females make decisions..."

Female whats?

"Female" is an adjective. It is used to describe a noun, not as the noun itself. Yes, the same goes for "male."

The more you know about grammar...

My apologies, in this context I assume everyone would understand that I'm referring to the bride in a traditional partnership. But if people want to pick on my grammar to make them look far superior, feel free to have at it. I speak 3 languages, none is 100% perfect.

 

[Vtec44]

I totally defer to you on weddings. I understand what you’re saying, and if you’re only paying for certain keywords, go for it. The wife and I (and most of our friends who are married) weren’t like what you’re describing; the grooms had equal say in decisions.

When looking at venues, we had people that barely looked at me. They didn’t get our business. Likewise, when my wife was looking for a car, the salesman only looked at me.

Stereotypes suck.

From my own personal experience , unless you're involved with the wedding industry it is very rare to have a groom who is not part of the industry and also understands the details of a wedding. It's a different mentality. Do you want rustic wooden cross back chairs or shiny Mahogany fold up chairs? Why fresh flowers by the alter and not fake ones? charger plates or no charger plates? As a former groom myself, I can totally relate. As a photographer, I can only do so much to make something look good. If your suit pants are longer than a full break, you're not going to look good in photo. Same with if your suit jacket doesn't fit properly. Being one of the very few male photographers in an industry dominated by female vendors, I know the stereotype well and I totally use it to my advantage. But back to the subject, whenever I receive an email inquiry from a groom I don't treat it any differently. However, I know that I would lose that client based on statistics of my own business. So, talking to someone in person is completely different than online ads. You want the statistics to be in your favor to maximize your investment. I also have a very specific targeted audience that I go after, down to hair length. It's nothing personal. It's business.

 

[limr]

But if people want to pick on my grammar to make them look far superior, feel free to have at it. I speak 3 languages, none is 100% perfect.

Read into it all you want, but you would still be wrong about my motives. I am not "picking on you" to feel superior or for any other reason. I am simply correcting an error that I see many people make. I speak other languages as well and have been teaching language for 20+ years. No one is perfect, but we can all still try to be better.

 

[Vtec44]

But if people want to pick on my grammar to make them look far superior, feel free to have at it. I speak 3 languages, none is 100% perfect.

Read into it all you want, but you would still be wrong about my motives. I am not "picking on you" to feel superior or for any other reason. I am simply correcting an error that I see many people make. I speak other languages as well and have been teaching language for 20+ years. No one is perfect, but we can all still try to be better.

Thanks. If and when I write an important article, I'll make sure to ask for your opinion about it. In the mean time your not going to find me asking for grammar correction in an online forum. Their is a time and place for it.

Their you go! Now... about that Facebook ad...

 

[waday]

I totally defer to you on weddings. I understand what you’re saying, and if you’re only paying for certain keywords, go for it. The wife and I (and most of our friends who are married) weren’t like what you’re describing; the grooms had equal say in decisions.

When looking at venues, we had people that barely looked at me. They didn’t get our business. Likewise, when my wife was looking for a car, the salesman only looked at me.

Stereotypes suck.

From my own personal experience , unless you're involved with the wedding industry it is very rare to have a groom who is not part of the industry and also understands the details of a wedding. It's a different mentality. Do you want rustic wooden cross back chairs or shiny Mahogany fold up chair? Why fresh flowers by the alter and not fake ones? charger plates or no charger plates? As a former groom myself, I can totally relate. As a photographer, I can only do so much to make something look good. If your suit pants are longer than a full break, you're not going to look good in photo. Same with if your suit jacket doesn't fit properly. Being one of the very few male photographers in an industry dominated by female vendors, I know the stereotype well and I totally use it to my advantage. But back to the subject, whenever I receive an email inquiry from a groom I don't treat it any differently. However, I know that I would lose that client based on statistics of my own business. So, talking to someone in person is completely different than online ads. You want the statistics to be in your favor to maximize your investment. I also have a very specific targeted audience that I go after, down to hair length. It's nothing personal. It's business.

Glad you know what works for you in your field. That wouldn’t work in my field, but I’m not writing ads, rather proposals, and I’m not in your field! I cannot stick to only a very specific client, nor would I personally want to; I need to diversify my experience, which I’ve done over the past 10 years. Seems to be working for me.

 

[DGMPhotography]

But if people want to pick on my grammar to make them look far superior, feel free to have at it. I speak 3 languages, none is 100% perfect.

Read into it all you want, but you would still be wrong about my motives. I am not "picking on you" to feel superior or for any other reason. I am simply correcting an error that I see many people make. I speak other languages as well and have been teaching language for 20+ years. No one is perfect, but we can all still try to be better.

Thanks. If and when I write an important article, I'll make sure to ask for your opinion about it. In the mean time your not going to find me asking for grammar correction in an online forum. Their is a time and place for it.

Their you go! Now... about that Facebook ad...

I've learned to ignore the people on here that post comments irrelevant to the original post. Just not worth the effort. To those that have shared their opinions about the ad - thank you. I have made changes based on your feedback.

 

[smoke665]

I also have a very specific targeted audience that I go after, down to hair length. It's nothing personal. It's business.

There's truth in this for all business. Early on as a startup company I thought I needed to be all things to all people, but as revenues climbed into the 7 figures and above it became painfully evident that I had to target specific customers. Otherwise I wasted valuable resources trying to service an account that produced mediocre profit while neglecting the real money makers. My business was transportation and if the volume wasn't right (to much/to little), or didn't move on certain days in certain directions, at a certain rate, I didn't want it. I was very selective.