Are you ready to shine online? Today’s episode is the first in a brand new series all about content creation before, during, and after your next wedding. I am breaking down so many ideas to add value, increase visibility, and prove your worth online in order to boost your business and book more dream couples!

On Quianna Marie Weekly, we’re chatting about business growing pains, finding genuine connections, and celebrating wins of all sizes through the lens of a photographer at heart. Sprinkled throughout stories and interviews with past clients, photographers and other business owners this podcast is designed to help you step into your purpose and to truly create a life you’re proud of, a life worth photographing and sharing.

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Today’s episode is brought to you by the FREE Book More Weddings guide. Learn how to easily capture behind the scenes video for organic referrals, local followers, and increased brand awareness. You want to make sure you have this before your next wedding! 

Review the Show Notes: 

The Three Types Of Content (3:47)

The Wedding Experience (6:13)

Share Your Ideal Client (9:32)

Prove Your Worth (13:31)

Your Personality (16:25)

Educational Content (18:12)

Mentioned In This Episode:

The Green House

Episode 038: Storytelling to Amplify Your Weddings with Akua Konadu

Wedding Content Creation

Review the Transcript:

If you were to Google BTS, you would be surprised to find a South Korean boyband. Yes, BTS is not so great for SEO when you are searching for wedding photography, or content creation behind the scenes. But that’s it. BTS is in our wedding world. And it stands for behind the scenes. Today, I’m excited to break down ways to add value, increase visibility, prove your worth, and share your personality. I think it’s really important for us to just pause and honestly and not feel bullied by these algorithms. And instead look within and look into things that we find joy in and what we want to put online, and different ways that we can show up for our dream clients.

Now I am starting this little mini series this will be a little mini shine series for photographers and creatives, mostly wedding photographers, to be honest, as I really dive deep into this mini series, to chat about all the different ways that you can show up online before the wedding during the wedding. And after the wedding. I’m going to be going into much more detail with every episode. And today’s episode is going to be all about different types of content you can create before the wedding.

Stick around for the end of this episode. If you don’t actively have a lineup of dream weddings on the calendar, I’m gonna wrap up this episode with content ideas for anyone even with a tiny portfolio. Aside from trends and keeping up with crazy algorithms these days, I challenge you to break out your notebook or iPhone Notes app and keep a running list of content ideas.

These can be fun facts, educational tips, trends, gear, location ideas, vendor introductions, your process, literally anything that pops up. Naturally. I’m an idea generator. So of rattling off ideas of what to create and post doesn’t come easily for you. Let’s break it down. Now if you’re a visual person like me, I’m whipping out my bullet points and lists to help it all make sense. Otherwise, it’ll just be a little scattered. Now before I get started with all my thoughts, I want to share that content comes in many different forms or publications. And I’m going to chat about those three things before we dive into it.

Welcome to Quianna Marie weekly, a podcast for creatives who love to celebrate wins, big or small by dancing in the kitchen photographers who are excited to serve their clients and friends who are ready to chase really, really big dreams. You can find all of the resources mentioned in this episode at Quiannamarie.com/podcast. Join me as I share weekly motivation, chat about growing pains, finding genuine connections and celebrating your wins through the lens of a photographer at heart. Come join me for a dance party. Ready? Let’s go.

Alright, so what is content? And what are the three different types now I don’t have this in my notes to share today. But I thought it was kind of funny. I googled actually what content means. And if you look up content, it actually talks about being as in a state of peace and happiness. And I just laugh because I think that just means content is what the definition really is for. But for content. I don’t think a lot of us find peace, love and happiness in creating content. Right?

Anyway, I want to chat about the three different types that come to mind. And when I say build out content, create content content creation, like what does that even mean? So I’ve broken it down into three types. One is short term content, which for me, and these are just totally my own definitions, our social media, okay, like that’s the Insta Stories, reels, tiktoks. These are things that you build, and you create, and then within 24 to 48 hours, roughly three days, they’re typically unsearchable. They just kind of vanish, right? Then number two is long term. And those could be blog posts, Pinterest pins, podcast, and YouTube videos. And when I say long term, I’m not actually trying to like define how long that video is. Right.

So obviously podcasts are longer than an Instagram reel, right. But what I mean by long term is they actually actively live online longer. They have a really strong SEO, they’re typically searchable. And it just means that they have a like a longer shelf life online. And then the third one that I’ve kind of made up is on your terms. So you have short term, but long term and my favorite is the on your terms. IDEA. And that of course is your website, your client experience.

This is stuff that you’re doing in real life. And yes, I’m listing blogging for this one too because it really is a wonderful tool to create resources, build out your SEO and boost a ton of brand awareness for your business. This isn’t even scratching the surface with real life events, printed materials and speaking engagements. But that’s all for another episode. This is your reminder that we can be peer pressured into showing up on social media creating a ton of content. But never forget the power of making an impression in real life and sharing your experience online.

I hope to make your life easier, build genuine friendships and trust with your dream clients and set your business up so we can fuel your best life. Today’s episode and this next shine series to help you crush your content online before during and after your next wedding is sponsored by the greenhouse, your resource garden popping up with photography, education, inspiration guides, workshops, every season popping up to help your business bloom. Check out QuiannaMarie.com/shop to learn more.

All right back to that list. As promised, what should we be posting before the wedding. You all know I’m a big fan of lists.

So let’s knock it out.

1 – Wedding Experience For Content Creation

Number one, the wedding experience. You know that five or six step process that every photographer has on their website. Number one, let’s grab coffee to select the perfect package three, plan your dreamy engagement shoot for create the perfect timeline five, capture your vows six handpick your images for your heirloom album, you know exactly what I’m talking about. And I’m only laughing and saying this sarcastically because I literally have that on my website too. And I feel like it’s just like a voyage of passage that we all have thought. Right? Like it’s just it’s there. Now, I’m really going to try to spell this out for you. But it really can be this simple. Create content, videos, blogs, and posts that share pieces of this experience.

Next time you pop into a coffee shop, make sure you’re recording it. And if you’re doing a consultation for your couples record, it may just be just a photo of a coffee mug or you cheering your drinks together. You don’t even have to share their faces. And maybe they don’t book you and that’s fine. But the fact that you’re physically there, capture it, building out a timeline. Now sometimes that’s not pretty right. Sometimes it’s our I’m definitely a notebook person.

So when I build up my timelines, and I would have thought I would figure this out by now and type it into into a Google Doc. But I don’t work that way. Like I have to like write things down and scribble and like, have my timeline on the left side of the page and then have silly notes on the right side and just things to remind myself like I’m doodling on it, right? Like I have to physically write things. document that share that. Aon. Maybe you are doing zoom, and you know, like you are contacting your couple online like this is a great way for you to just share a quick little time lapse or a video of you behind the scenes. And then posting it right. Share the booking process.

What does that look like? Do you use HoneyBook?

Dubsado? Do you use 17 hats like what CRM are you using? Send gifts? Send thank you notes like what does that look like? Do you have a client experience magazine? I know a lot of us have the Caitlyn James magazine, right? Like that’s so beautiful. Like, are you sharing that? are you capturing yourself working on wedding day? Or even selecting images for the album?

Okay, like sharing sample albums? Are you walking through the process of what it looks like to actually develop an album and maybe you’re sharing like what images go on the album, which ones typically don’t and why I’m sharing this concept for your marketing strategies first, because it encompasses your entire experience that someone making a relatively large investment is going to want to see right. So I kind of snuck this one in here as like part one of this series to start posting about that. now.

Don’t wait until after your wedding coming up in a couple months to start posting this type of content. Right. Now I’m going to break down a little more of these chunks as we go throughout this series. But like I said, I want you to just get all the information right away. So as you’re actively doing these things, you can easily capture, create and post that content.

2 – Share Your Ideal Client For Content Creation

Number two, share your ideal client. I just learned a tip from a recent creative marketing Summit, which was hosted by Jen Vasquez who is one of our favorites. She’s actually been on the podcast before sharing all about Pinterest strategy and she’s just she’s just incredible. And one of her educators whenever a guest was a talented business coach for creators, her name is Emily Kim. And she mentioned we shouldn’t just develop a fake avatar or for an ideal client, like we, I mean, we we’ve all done this, right? Like we all have like that person we named her we know what kind of car she drives, you know what kind of cereal she eats or what she doesn’t need, right.

But we should dream her up based on a real life person. And this was this was mind blowing to me, like imagine having an entire series as reels, shorts, on YouTube, or even just an easy q&a blog post, asking your dream client or your dream couple about their dream day.

Now before I go back to this, because I’m getting ahead of myself with this concept, but I really do want you to actually pick a real living breathing human that you would consider to be your, your avatar, right, like your dream client like, and it may even be one of your past clients, okay, like that’s a good one to, to consider the different types of people that you have worked with in the past, maybe it was a bride, maybe it was a bridesmaid, something like that, that like is just a reminder that there are real touchable person, it’s not this fake, ideal client that you created. It’s like a real human.

Okay, so now that we have that, like under control, I would love and this is totally a challenge, because I haven’t seen this done yet. And I can’t wait to do this this summer with a lot of my couples, and like all my small business entrepreneurs and stuff, but like, can you imagine interviewing them and asking them, and I’m saying that because it could be one person, it could be a couple.

But I imagine you interviewing them and asking them some really juicy questions about their day, about their wedding day, right? I can already see it. Let’s say you have a couple of friends that are madly in love, and totally have the characteristics of your dream couple, invite them over for charcuterie board or treat them to brunch and ask them questions. Of course, with their permission, I challenge you to ask about what they’re most excited about about their wedding. What are they happy to invest in? Are there trends they are excited about? What traditions are they ditching?

You see how fun this can be? And I say this, like as if this one couple is planning their wedding, but maybe you have a friend that has already planned her wedding. And she has some juicy tips to tell you right? Like she has some things that, oh, maybe you should avoid this or you know, throw this out the window or don’t waste your money on that. Right. And, as always, I’m always always leaving this caveat, like use your judgment, okay, like, we’re not going to be sharing these things that are hurtful or, you know, can bring anybody down. Like maybe she didn’t jive with a vendor.

Like these are things that like, you know, we can keep in our back pocket, but we’re not blasting on the internet as a real or tick tock, right. Let’s be very cautious about that. I don’t want anybody to get in trouble because I told you to do this.

Okay, so please, please, please use your judgment. But I think it’d be really fun. You can literally film them for about 20 minutes, just going back and forth. And when I say film, it doesn’t have to be fancy, it would be so awesome to have a professional videographer.

But you could literally just whip out your phone and maybe one of those cute microphones that we order from Amazon, right? Talking with them for about 20 minutes or so you could think 15 to 20 Super fun and silly like content pieces that so many scrollers would love to hear about. I just think that would be so fun. The moral of the story, thanks to Emily Kim’s reminder to simply ask the real human that fits in the bubble of your ideal client, ask them questions and help build out your services and crush your content based on what they say. And moving on to number three, prove your worth.

3 – Prove Your Worth For Content Creation

I know everyone says you don’t have to prove your worth to anyone charge your worth and add tax. But worth just like art can be so subjective. Okay, so I have this story about my best friend. And I want to be really clear on how I’m expressing this because I don’t want to lose you Right? Like I don’t want I don’t want to lose you. But I want you to imagine that you are like you are hired for this destination wedding.

Okay, and you need to bring a second shooter. And wouldn’t it be so fun to just bring your best friend, right? Like, she knows nothing about photography. She does something online, we don’t really know what she does. She’s like an HR or something. Right? I don’t know. But you know, she like works from home. Okay. And she’s so kind and so friendly. Okay. But like, Would you trust her to be the second lead photographer and a destination wedding in Mexico or wherever we are? I’m just looking to get a spot right? What I’m getting at is, you know, we wouldn’t trust our best friend to work such a high like priority like such a high demanding job that takes education that takes experience. Now they may be a nice person.

They may you know, have your best interest, but they’re not going to get the job done. So my my my point of this story is that That is exactly how people view you, like strangers view you on the internet, they see you, they may think you’re pretty, they may think you’re nice. But why? Why you? You know what I mean? Why are you worthy of this investment? And how can they trust that you are the one that is actually creating these images. And you know, in today’s day and age, like they weren’t just copied off Pinterest, you know, you weren’t just, you know, Jedi Mind tricked into these photos. So that is exactly the type of content that we should be creating.

That proves like, No, we’re not just a bestie. I’m doing air quotes up here. We’re not just a best friend, like, we’re legit, like we are worth all this investment, we are worth your time, we’re worth your energy. And we’re passionate about what we do.

So how can you prove your worth, share your heart, your why the education, you’ve invested in your gear, your photography experiences, literally anything that helps you jump from just a friend with a camera to a full fledged professional, the book, you’re reading the next webinar that you’re catching that replay for the styled shoot that you’re excited about, that your next a headshot swap, or even your local Tuesdays together meet up. It takes time. But you’ll be surprised how many people look up to you or think of you as a pro. Keep sharing.

4 – Your Personality For Content Creation

Number four, your personality, which kind of goes into your worth, which is why it’s kind of like piggybacked on this, but you have to share personality. These days, it feels like everyone with a mirrorless DSLR can take gorgeous photos, which, obviously, you know, my opinion on that, like, I don’t think that’s the case, you may take a beautiful picture.

But you know, there’s so many other things involved. So So why, you know, really, what is it about your voice, your mission, your sense of humor, or even your quirks that’s going to make someone fall for you and beg to work with you.

I know most of us think we’re boring, but we all have stories and depth to share. Recently, my friend Allison have Allison and Devon photography just shared a personal anniversary of surviving a traumatic car accident years ago, her story of surviving and the feeling like having a second chance at life has absolutely nothing to do with weddings.

But it shares a personal perspective about her faith, and how firsthand she knows how precious life can be. It’s stories and content like this, that makes others connect with you, respect you and value you. I challenge you to think of moments of your daily life special memories or tough life lessons that have helped shape who you are.

Remember, only photographers can relate to our unique industry, everyday people and our dream clients can appreciate and ooh and aw over our work, but they truly connect with us when we share stories. If you need help crafting content based on your own stories, or the stories of your couples, check out episode number 38 storytelling with Akula. That episode is literally mind blowing. If you haven’t heard it yet, please add it to your playlist, I think you’re really going to enjoy it and Akua is just incredible. Number five educational content.

5 – Educational Content Creation

This is where you can be creative with trends, traditions and helpful tips. What are some things that keep your couples up at night timeline help cost saving tips, vendor referrals, literally anything that helps your dream clients feel seen and taken care of. This is where your FAQ or frequently asked question list comes into play. If you haven’t grabbed that free download or run over to the shop to grab that, and help spit out a ton of content ideas. That was a lot of information that I’m sure you may be feeling overwhelmed with the possibilities. Or maybe you’re thinking what the heck I want like now I’m even more confused.

Well, I hope it’s not the latter and you’re feeling confident with these ideas to start recording your process and share a ton of behind the scenes. In closing, I love to help any photographers that may be feeling lost simply because they don’t have weddings on the calendar coming up soon and wish they did. Maybe you have a smaller portfolio and you’re just trying to book more weddings. If you’re feeling that way. I’d love to encourage you to keep learning.

Get out there to second shoot, tour venues, pin and share inspirational wedding photography, update and take videos and make time to get out and explore. We may not know someone that’s planning a wedding, but everyone knows someone recently engaged. Show up for them.

Create content with a servant’s heart to help just one person and you’ll be surprised how quickly your inquiries will pick up. Cheers to another week filled with abundance, endless opportunities and fun adventures. I’m looking forward to this mini series to help you feel seen and shine online. I know you’re amazing. We just need more people to find you online.

Can’t wait for next week to dive into content and ideas to capture during your next wedding. Keep on dancing baby. Okay, love you. Bye. That’s a wrap on another episode of Q weekly. Thank you so much for your listenership and support. You can find the resources and show notes for this episode and more at Kiana murray.com/podcast. I’d be honored if you show your support by leaving a review and rating on your favorite podcast app. Until next time, keep on dancing!