Latest / Wedding Pros who are ready to grow - with Becca Pountney / How to avoid marketing overwhelm - with the Garter Girl!

Transcript

How to avoid marketing overwhelm - with the Garter Girl! · Wedding Pros who are ready to grow - with Becca Pountney

• 0:00
  Julianne: At the very top, right, if we're just saying, oh, wedding
• 0:03
  in general, or event, or garter.
• 0:05
  I mean, that stuff is so, so competitive, but the more specific you
• 0:09
  get, the less competition there is.
• 0:14
  Becca: I am Becca Pountney, wedding business marketing expert,
• 0:16
  speaker and blogger, and you are listening to The Wedding Pros
• 0:19
  who are Ready to Grow podcast.
• 0:21
  I'm here to share with you actionable tips, strategies, and real life
• 0:25
  examples to help you take your wedding business to the next level.
• 0:28
  If you are an ambitious wedding business owner that wants to take your passion
• 0:32
  and use it to build a profitable, sustainable business doing what you
• 0:35
  love, then you're in the right place.
• 0:37
  Let's get going with today's episode.
• 0:41
  Today I'm chatting with Julianne Smith, founder of the Garter
• 0:44
  Girl based in Washington dc.
• 0:46
  Julia's been creating handmade wedding garters since 2004 and
• 0:50
  has been featured in many of the top wedding magazines and blogs.
• 0:53
  Alongside running her wedding business.
• 0:55
  Julie also helps small business owners with their marketing.
• 0:58
  And today we're gonna be talking all about marketing overwhelm.
• 1:02
  Julie, welcome to the podcast.
• 1:04
  Thanks for having me.
• 1:05
  It's an absolute pleasure.
• 1:07
  Now, before we dive into marketing, which is something that I love, so I'm
• 1:11
  really excited to get into it with you.
• 1:13
  Let's start with your wedding business.
• 1:16
  Garters, how on earth did you end up in the niche of making wedding garters?
• 1:21
  Julianne: It's a little awkward as well.
• 1:23
  I agree.
• 1:24
  So I don't, when you meet me outside of the wedding world, I don't usually
• 1:27
  lead with it cuz it usually sparks more questions than you have time for.
• 1:31
  But no, I somehow stumbled upon the one thing in weddings that really hadn't been,
• 1:37
  or and still isn't really being done.
• 1:39
  I had a friend who was getting married.
• 1:42
  A long time ago and I couldn't, I was in charge of getting her a garter,
• 1:47
  and so I couldn't find one that looked like something she would actually wear.
• 1:51
  So I made it, and that is truly how the business began.
• 1:56
  it wasn't anything that, you know, I was, when I grow up, I'm
• 1:59
  gonna be a wedding garder maker.
• 2:01
  It just, it really just started out and I was like, well, if I was the only one,
• 2:06
  or if I'm not, I can't be the only one.
• 2:08
  So, I mean, the wedding garter's, the oldest wedding tradition, you
• 2:11
  know, it's been something that's been around since the Middle Ages
• 2:14
  and I kind of grew from there.
• 2:16
  Becca: I love it, and I love that you're known as the Garter Girl.
• 2:19
  I think that's just excellent.
• 2:20
  We love a garter in the uk, very traditional.
• 2:23
  I definitely had one on my wedding day.
• 2:25
  So do you ship them worldwide?
• 2:27
  Are you covering North America?
• 2:28
  Like tell me about the garters and how you.
• 2:31
  Julianne: Well, pre pandemic, I was shipping all over the world, but then
• 2:36
  during the pandemic, the shipping customs, it just got so outta control.
• 2:40
  I'm like, I don't think that my wedding garter contains covid, but okay.
• 2:46
  It just became so difficult, so I shut it down.
• 2:49
  The international shipping, I do have a lot of international clients, but they'll.
• 2:54
  You know, let's say it's a destination wedding or something like that, and
• 2:57
  they'll ship it somewhere in, in the us and then, you know, the guest will
• 3:01
  bring it or, or they'll do it that way.
• 3:04
  But I'm not opposed to reopening.
• 3:06
  Do you think I should reopen it?
• 3:08
  Has things, have things calmed down?
• 3:10
  I don't even know.
• 3:11
  Becca: I think things have calmed down.
• 3:12
  So I think the UK market is ready for your garters.
• 3:15
  Again, open it back up.
• 3:16
  Julianne: Okay, let's do it.
• 3:17
  2023 goals.
• 3:19
  Let's go.
• 3:19
  Becca: Love it.
• 3:20
  Love it.
• 3:20
  And it proves what everyone says, which.
• 3:23
  There is money to be found in the different niches.
• 3:26
  You don't have to be targeting everyone.
• 3:28
  You can go as niches just doing wedding garters and it works for a business.
• 3:32
  Julianne: Right, right.
• 3:33
  I mean, I, somebody told me this expression a while ago, the,
• 3:36
  the riches are in the niches.
• 3:38
  Becca: Yeah.
• 3:38
  It, it does not work so well with the UK version.
• 3:41
  Does it, it make works much better with the riches are in the niches.
• 3:45
  ? Julianne: No, it's supposed to be like riches.
• 3:48
  Riches in the niches, I guess.
• 3:50
  No.
• 3:51
  It just, it just works.
• 3:52
  I mean, I couldn't, so I make everything by hand.
• 3:55
  And the majority of what I do have a collection ready to ship that you can
• 3:58
  come and buy pre-designed and, but the majority of what I do is I make
• 4:03
  them from their family's materials.
• 4:05
  So mother's wedding dress, grandmother's veil, things like that.
• 4:09
  And so it becomes this very heirloom experience.
• 4:13
  So it's not necessarily the wedding garter.
• 4:16
  That maybe one has thought of before.
• 4:18
  It's very sort of new spin on the tradition.
• 4:21
  It's very meant to be this like heirloom that you're gonna love in your family.
• 4:26
  And so I couldn't, and I always remind myself, you know, sometimes
• 4:30
  when I get down or, oh, it's not enough, it's not enough.
• 4:33
  I'm like, I couldn't possibly make a wedding garter for
• 4:37
  everybody who wanted one from me.
• 4:38
  I mean, I just couldn't.
• 4:40
  And so that kind of give it, like you said, the riches are in
• 4:44
  the niches, so things are good.
• 4:47
  Becca: Absolutely.
• 4:48
  Now, before we go too far down the route of talking about wedding
• 4:51
  garters, let's go on to marketing.
• 4:53
  I know it's a rabbit hole, . I love it though.
• 4:56
  It's really interesting.
• 4:57
  So I love marketing myself.
• 4:59
  It's one of the things that I talk about.
• 5:01
  But I also really love to hear fresh ideas and fresh perspectives, and I personally
• 5:06
  particularly enjoy speaking with people who are working in the American market
• 5:10
  like yourself because you tend to be a lot further ahead of us here in the UK
• 5:14
  when it comes to your wedding trends and your wedding marketing trends.
• 5:18
  So we often look to America to see where the trends are going next.
• 5:21
  So I would love to start with, for you to just share some of the things that
• 5:25
  you think are working right now in marketing in the wedding industry in
• 5:30
  the US that you could share with us.
• 5:31
  Julianne: Well, I think actually it's an amazing segue because you know, it's
• 5:37
  all about the niches and the niches and I think, you know, drilling down as
• 5:42
  minute as possible as, and as specific as you can get is, is the way to go.
• 5:48
  And I think that is a trend.
• 5:49
  It.
• 5:50
  I was saying, you cannot possibly serve everybody.
• 5:53
  So the trick in this massive, you know, worldwide web is to drill down, if you
• 5:59
  will, as specific as humanly possible.
• 6:03
  Right?
• 6:03
  And it's not just let's, if we're just say talking about wedding, or if we're
• 6:08
  talking about Google or Pinterest or anything like that where people are
• 6:12
  using a search bar, it's not necessarily, I'll just use my business like Garter.
• 6:17
  It's wedding garter, but it's not just wedding garter,
• 6:19
  it's heirloom wedding garter.
• 6:22
  It's, you know, deep plum and, you know, hot pink wedding garter or wedding garter
• 6:28
  made from the mother's wedding dress.
• 6:30
  It's like specific, specific to specific.
• 6:32
  And for me, I'm an e-commerce shop, right?
• 6:35
  So I ship.
• 6:36
  All over.
• 6:37
  Right.
• 6:38
  But for a lot of people that are listening that are more service-based businesses,
• 6:42
  it's that regional focus, right?
• 6:44
  It's, it's, it's adding that geographical location or that
• 6:48
  particular location or venue.
• 6:50
  It, it's really, really getting specific for photographers.
• 6:53
  It's like, Getting very specific in the type of photography that you do, and it's,
• 6:58
  if we think about it as a funnel, right?
• 7:01
  You got the big, wide at the top and it's just going deep, deep,
• 7:04
  deep, deep, deep, because you, you couldn't possibly serve everybody.
• 7:07
  And by the way, at the very top right, if we're just saying, oh, wedding.
• 7:11
  In general, or event, or garter.
• 7:14
  I mean, that stuff is so, so competitive, but the more specific you
• 7:17
  get, the less competition there is.
• 7:20
  Becca: And I think people panic about that because they think if
• 7:22
  I get too niche and too specific, then I'm gonna put people off.
• 7:27
  What do you say to that?
• 7:28
  Julianne: Well, I think so at the top of the funnel, right?
• 7:31
  And there's general terms, those people are, it's like a cold lead, right?
• 7:35
  You have to lead them down, lead them.
• 7:37
  And by the time you get closer down on the funnel, that lead is warm, right?
• 7:42
  So they are a lot closer to making the decision and they are a lot
• 7:47
  closer to hiring you than they are farther up the colder they are, right?
• 7:52
  And so by using your online presence, you're able to get
• 7:56
  people with no more work or.
• 7:59
  To get people a lot farther on in the funnel, right?
• 8:02
  You can move, like people are basically using your online profile,
• 8:05
  whether it's your Instagram, your website, to pre-interview you
• 8:10
  before they even reach out to you.
• 8:12
  They're already like, I don't know, would you say like 90, 95% of the way there.
• 8:17
  It's just making sure that like once and for they've already decided
• 8:21
  whether they like you, whether they like your work, whether they.
• 8:24
  You know where you live.
• 8:25
  Like they, they know they have internet stalked you to the
• 8:29
  tee and they're really close.
• 8:32
  So the more information that you can give them about what it is that you do
• 8:36
  and how you can, you know, solve all their problems, you know, it's like I
• 8:40
  don't just have a wedding garter for you.
• 8:42
  I have the exact one that you're looking for that's gonna make your.
• 8:47
  That much easier and that much better.
• 8:49
  And so I, I think, you know, and I'm sure you've heard it before too, right?
• 8:53
  Like you'd rather have two amazing inquiries as opposed to 2000 ones
• 8:59
  that are never gonna hire you.
• 9:01
  I mean, traffic is just, traffic and inquiries are just inquiries.
• 9:05
  So I think the riches are in the niches.
• 9:07
  We're gonna keep coming back to that one
• 9:10
  . Becca: Absolutely.
• 9:10
  And I, like I said, it sounds so much cooler when you say it,
• 9:14
  rather than us saying the niche, the reaches are in the niches.
• 9:17
  Right.
• 9:17
  It just doesn't really work so well.
• 9:19
  Right.
• 9:20
  . Now when it comes to marketing, I know that some of my suppliers who
• 9:23
  are listening really struggle with choosing where to put their efforts.
• 9:27
  There are so many options when it comes to marketing.
• 9:30
  They could be on Pinterest, they could be on Google, they could be
• 9:32
  on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, like where should they start and how do
• 9:37
  they stop just ending up doing nothing because it all becomes so overwhelming.
• 9:41
  Julianne: It's a lot.
• 9:43
  It's overwhelming, as you said.
• 9:44
  And you know, for me, It, you have to start somewhere, right?
• 9:48
  And, and it kind of just starts out with where you're at.
• 9:52
  You gotta pick one and you start somewhere.
• 9:55
  And how does that, I, I heard somewhere, so I can't take credit for it.
• 9:59
  But if it's like, if you like being on that platform, chances are you're gonna,
• 10:04
  you know, do it better and you're going to be more engaged and more interested.
• 10:09
  So for example, like if you don't like using TikTok, that's not a great place to.
• 10:14
  But if you really like using Pinterest personally, whether you're finding
• 10:18
  recipes or core ideas or inspiration, that's a great place to start.
• 10:22
  And the truth is, and I think there's this big misunderstanding, it's like
• 10:27
  potential clients are everywhere and on everything, you will find your people.
• 10:32
  Yes.
• 10:33
  You know, you can be everywhere and be all the things to all the
• 10:35
  people, but at a certain point there is going to be overlap, right?
• 10:39
  Because.
• 10:41
  Potential clients are on more than one platform, right?
• 10:43
  Like I might go to Pinterest to get this recipe, and I'm standing
• 10:46
  in line at the grocery store, and so I'm gonna hop on TikTok here.
• 10:49
  I mean, they have accounts everywhere, so, It's really about
• 10:53
  you and what, what you find to be the most interesting for yourself.
• 10:58
  Becca: Yeah.
• 10:58
  This is so true, and one of the things that really drives me crazy are when
• 11:02
  people say, my people aren't on Facebook.
• 11:04
  My people aren't on Pinterest.
• 11:06
  My people are all on Instagram.
• 11:07
  I'm like, your people are on Facebook.
• 11:09
  They're just not doing anything on Facebook, but I guarantee you
• 11:12
  they have a Facebook account.
• 11:14
  The people are everywhere.
• 11:15
  So I a hundred percent agree with you.
• 11:17
  So you're saying go to where you.
• 11:19
  , enjoy hanging out yourself as a starting place and go from there.
• 11:23
  Julianne: Yes, I agree.
• 11:24
  I mean, listen, I don't personally like to use Facebook personally for
• 11:29
  myself, so I don't, I don't think I could even say, well, my people aren't
• 11:34
  on Facebook cause that's not true.
• 11:36
  I don't know that what I'm really saying, what those people really are saying is,
• 11:41
  I don't like using Facebook personally, so I'm just not going to even explore it.
• 11:46
  How many billions of people use Facebook?
• 11:48
  You need me to.
• 11:49
  You can't find a client there.
• 11:51
  I mean, that's not true and it's just what you're trying to say is, I
• 11:55
  just don't like the platform, so like I'm just not gonna spend time there.
• 12:00
  Becca: Yeah.
• 12:00
  Very, very true.
• 12:01
  Okay, so we found our platform.
• 12:03
  We've started putting out our content and we're putting stuff out and we're
• 12:07
  just getting tired cuz we feel like we're not getting anything back and
• 12:10
  we're becoming exhausted, overwhelmed.
• 12:12
  And we feel like all we're ever doing is creating content
• 12:16
  and not getting any results.
• 12:18
  How do you help us in that situation?
• 12:22
  , Julianne: shut it all down.
• 12:23
  No, no, no.
• 12:23
  I'm just kidding.
• 12:24
  I think it comes back to, are you going, you know, are you in too many places?
• 12:30
  Is it too much?
• 12:30
  Are you going an inch deep and a mile wide?
• 12:33
  Right?
• 12:33
  If we're going all the cliched expressions today, I think this
• 12:38
  happens a lot in marketing.
• 12:40
  We spread ourselves way too thin.
• 12:43
  Maybe you're creating content, but is that content the best, most
• 12:47
  helpful content for your customer?
• 12:49
  And more importantly than that, is that the right content for the right platform?
• 12:55
  I see this.
• 12:56
  All the time on a multi daily basis.
• 13:00
  So I do a lot of Pinterest work.
• 13:02
  A lot of clients who we manage their Pinterest accounts and they will take
• 13:06
  their Instagram reels, for example, and they dump them over on Pinterest
• 13:10
  and they're like, I'm all the places.
• 13:12
  I'm on Instagram, I'm on Pinterest.
• 13:15
  And but the problem is, is content.
• 13:18
  While you can repeat content, the message has to be slightly different, right?
• 13:23
  You cant just dump your content in all the places and sort of wash your hands of it.
• 13:28
  You have to specifically tailor your content.
• 13:31
  For that particular audience.
• 13:34
  So it kind of gets back to yes, maybe you're, you know, busy and overwhelmed
• 13:39
  and doing all the things, but are you doing like all the right things?
• 13:42
  Becca: Yeah, that's so true.
• 13:43
  So we've got, people are spreading themselves too thin.
• 13:46
  We've got, people are kind of going too generalist.
• 13:49
  They're not going niche enough.
• 13:51
  What other pitfalls do you see wedding pros falling into
• 13:54
  when it comes to their market?
• 13:56
  Julianne: I think it gets back to, well, it's two problems.
• 13:59
  Number one is not taking care of their home in a sense, and that is by home,
• 14:06
  I mean your website not owning your own content, whether that's doing blog posts
• 14:11
  or building at your galleries or whatever.
• 14:14
  Not putting, putting yourself first.
• 14:16
  As an insurance policy, right?
• 14:18
  Like, you know, Instagram's no longer, you can't take those likes with you.
• 14:21
  So, you know, and that, that would include, you know, building your
• 14:24
  email list, things like that.
• 14:26
  And the second one was not understanding the platform.
• 14:31
  And that's what I was getting at, a bit ago, is that they are taking content,
• 14:36
  posting it across multiple platform.
• 14:39
  And it's not landing the same, or it's not doing anything for them.
• 14:43
  And what they do is, oh, well, I'm gonna blame Pinterest,
• 14:47
  or I'm gonna blame TikTok.
• 14:48
  Those platforms stink.
• 14:49
  I don't get my Facebook, I don't get clients from there.
• 14:53
  And it's not Facebook's problem, it's your problem.
• 14:56
  You're and I, I use this example a lot.
• 14:59
  So I have a client, they own a wedding shop, and they make all
• 15:02
  this super fun content for TikTok.
• 15:06
  I mean, really fun, right?
• 15:08
  They're bouncing around in the wedding dresses and they're, you know, doing
• 15:11
  all the voiceovers and it's really fun and entertaining, and they send
• 15:16
  it all to me to, to post on Pinterest.
• 15:19
  And what do I do?
• 15:21
  I strip all the audio.
• 15:23
  And that same content where you're doing a voiceover of some
• 15:27
  celebrity doing something, saying something funny in a wedding dress.
• 15:31
  I stripped the audio we posted on Pinterest, and what is that?
• 15:35
  That is a sparkle, strapless wedding dress, you know, for a beach wedding
• 15:40
  because we have a fundamental understanding of the platform and how it.
• 15:45
  and you know what?
• 15:47
  What the customer is looking for when they're on that platform.
• 15:50
  So it's really important that when you are posting your content, you
• 15:53
  really understand the platform.
• 15:55
  And I think that's a huge mistake that people are making.
• 15:58
  Becca: Yeah, and that goes back to that same thing again, doesn't it?
• 16:01
  About trying to do everything and that people are better to do one thing and
• 16:05
  really get to grips of it and really understand how it works and do it
• 16:08
  well before moving on and trying to.
• 16:12
  Everything and trying to do it not so well.
• 16:15
  Julianne: Right?
• 16:15
  I mean, if you, if you serve every client that would potentially come across your
• 16:20
  stuff on Instagram, that's enough to fill 10 lifetimes worth of business.
• 16:25
  And so I, I think it's more, I had this revelation a couple years ago
• 16:30
  about my website and so I get really, really, traffic from Google, right?
• 16:35
  I really am like the number one for my keyword, right?
• 16:39
  Wedding garters.
• 16:40
  And I just was focusing on more traffic.
• 16:43
  More traffic, bringing in more, bringing in more, bringing in more.
• 16:46
  And it got to the point where I was like, I, like I was saying, I
• 16:48
  couldn't possibly serve all these people that are coming to my website.
• 16:54
  So I kind of flipped the switch and I was like, if I'm bringing all these
• 16:58
  people here, what is my conversion?
• 17:00
  So I really flipped the switch and was trying really hard to
• 17:03
  like convert the people that were coming to my website, right?
• 17:07
  So it's not about being in more places and having more eyeballs on your stuff
• 17:12
  or being on more platforms and more and more and more it's about converting
• 17:17
  and connecting with those that are finding your stuff in the first place.
• 17:22
  Because the way I look at it is, okay, let's say you've come, you've found
• 17:26
  yourself to my website in some way, shape or form, Google, Pinterest.
• 17:30
  you've said yes-ish.
• 17:33
  Right?
• 17:33
  So if I can get that in some way, shape, or form, maybe it's not
• 17:37
  like to the full thing, but you are at least interested, right?
• 17:40
  That's why I call it yes-ish.
• 17:42
  So if I can get you to a little farther down that funnel or just a little
• 17:47
  more warm, I mean, you've already kind of, you're not cold, right?
• 17:51
  It's not like it's like a Facebook ad or an Instagram ad.
• 17:54
  You're standing in the grocery line, you're scrolling through and like this
• 17:57
  ad pops up sort of outta nowhere, right?
• 17:59
  When all you just wanted to do is be like entertained, right?
• 18:02
  They're on my website, they're looking, they have said on some
• 18:06
  level they're kind of interested.
• 18:08
  They're pretty warm.
• 18:09
  So my job is, is, is conversions.
• 18:12
  And I think the same thing can be said for people that are feeling
• 18:15
  themselves spread way too thin.
• 18:17
  Becca: Definitely.
• 18:18
  So we are not paying attention to the vanity statistics, which we
• 18:21
  can get really carried away with.
• 18:23
  Instead, we are looking at what those people are doing
• 18:25
  and how we're converting them.
• 18:26
  Julianne: Oh yeah.
• 18:27
  Hey, I'm guilty.
• 18:29
  I am so guilty.
• 18:30
  I mean, When Instagram, if you didn't have 10,000, you couldn't have swipe up.
• 18:35
  I mean, I was all the worked up about that.
• 18:38
  I mean stressed and it's just, it wasn't true.
• 18:41
  It's not true.
• 18:42
  It's no longer even a thing.
• 18:44
  And.
• 18:45
  Because everyone has the link now.
• 18:46
  I guess I, it just, I figured out kind of, let's say for
• 18:51
  example, on, on Instagram, right?
• 18:53
  Like what my people want and my people want to know, not
• 18:58
  necessarily my follower account.
• 18:59
  They wanna know what are they doing to come there, right?
• 19:02
  And I've really like dug in to find out what they're looking for and the number
• 19:07
  one thing that they're looking for.
• 19:09
  And, and again, this is not true for anybody's business except for my.
• 19:13
  Maybe it's helpful to somebody else, but they wanna know
• 19:15
  that I'm open for business.
• 19:17
  So they want to see that I have hosted in the last, you know, 24 hours.
• 19:23
  They wanna see content.
• 19:25
  Now, if I haven't touched my Instagram account in six months,
• 19:29
  It's that little like question like, Hmm, I wonder what's going on.
• 19:32
  Hmm.
• 19:33
  If I buy from her, is she gonna fulfill this purchase?
• 19:36
  And so that's where you really have to get in and decide what your customer
• 19:41
  is looking for from your account.
• 19:44
  For people, a lot of people that are service-based business, when they
• 19:46
  come to your social media account, they're looking to get to know you.
• 19:49
  They wanna see your behind the scenes.
• 19:50
  They wanna see the nitty gritty.
• 19:51
  They wanna see that you're a real person.
• 19:54
  . I mean, it's up to you.
• 19:55
  My customers, they don't care who I am.
• 19:57
  They want their item and they're out, right?
• 19:59
  They wanna know that they gimme their money.
• 20:01
  I'm gonna fulfill their order.
• 20:02
  And so that's the goal of my Instagram account, which is completely different
• 20:06
  than another, another business.
• 20:08
  Becca: I think that's a really interesting perspective as well, thinking about not.
• 20:12
  Who's coming, but what's driving them to come to you in the first place?
• 20:17
  So you said you dug into that a little bit.
• 20:19
  How did you do that?
• 20:20
  Because that's the elusive question, isn't it?
• 20:22
  That people wanna know like, why are people coming to my account?
• 20:25
  So how did you dive into that?
• 20:26
  How did you discover it?
• 20:27
  Did you survey people or did you have another thing that you did?
• 20:31
  Julianne: No, I just, I really just kind of paid attention.
• 20:33
  And so, and this kind of gets to the original topic that
• 20:36
  we were talking about, is.
• 20:38
  How do you avoid the overwhelm?
• 20:39
  And the overwhelm for me starts even before you get on, or, I mean, it
• 20:45
  can be done anytime, but it's like deciding what's the point, what's the
• 20:49
  goal, what am I trying to do here?
• 20:51
  And for me, for Instagram, I have like four really specific defined goals
• 21:00
  and the, the content that I post hits.
• 21:05
  One or all of those goals every single time.
• 21:08
  And one of them, as I mentioned, is to make it look like I'm open for
• 21:11
  business because I am, you know?
• 21:14
  And another one is like to really show off the custom work that I do.
• 21:21
  People wanna see it.
• 21:22
  And so I post a lot of pictures of the custom work that I do.
• 21:27
  It's like a mini gallery for me.
• 21:29
  The other thing that they wanna see, not so much, but enough, is that they,
• 21:34
  they wanna see that I am a real person.
• 21:37
  You know, I'm a girl behind the garter girl.
• 21:39
  They don't necessarily wanna see photos of my kids.
• 21:41
  You know, they don't wanna see me like going to the grocery store,
• 21:44
  but they wanna see the girl, that there is a girl behind the garter
• 21:49
  girl, and that each item is handmade.
• 21:53
  So what does that look like in terms of my content?
• 21:55
  It looks like me posting my face, me posting pictures of my sewing
• 21:59
  machine, you know, me posting pictures of the products being made.
• 22:04
  And so each one of my posts hits one of those goals.
• 22:08
  And to just really, show people.
• 22:11
  What they're coming for it.
• 22:12
  Paint.
• 22:13
  You were asking how it's like Yes, I do.
• 22:15
  Yeah.
• 22:16
  It's like you just, you kind of have to, you have to pay attention.
• 22:19
  It can't be, this is, this is a big probably shift for people and
• 22:23
  I think people would say they're doing it, but really are they?
• 22:26
  Is like, you have to take your hat off.
• 22:29
  And this is something that my husband says to me all the time
• 22:31
  is like, it's just not about you.
• 22:35
  It's just not about you.
• 22:37
  It's not, and if you want it to be about you get a personal
• 22:40
  Instagram, which I have, right?
• 22:42
  Which is about me and, and it's for my friends, it's for my family.
• 22:46
  But like Garter Girl is about the business.
• 22:49
  It's not about me.
• 22:50
  They don't necessarily wanna know about me.
• 22:52
  They wanna know I'm a real human, but they don't need anything more than that.
• 22:56
  And it's not about you.
• 22:58
  It's about what your customer wants.
• 23:01
  And that is a big shift for a lot.
• 23:04
  Of businesses.
• 23:05
  Becca: Yeah, that absolutely is.
• 23:06
  So do you have different goals for different platforms?
• 23:09
  So when it comes to Pinterest, obviously we've talked about how it's
• 23:11
  a totally different kind of platform.
• 23:13
  So for you, what's your goal when it comes to that platform?
• 23:16
  Julianne: All right, so Pinterest, my goals, let me see if I can remember these.
• 23:20
  So my Pinterest goal is to just completely own the phrase wedding garter, and
• 23:27
  not just wedding garter in general.
• 23:30
  Is those specific things that we were talking about?
• 23:33
  The, the specific like color specific types, you know, specific things.
• 23:37
  I just pump out tons of content because I really, really wanna own that search bar.
• 23:45
  For my business cuz that's what works for my business.
• 23:48
  Also, one of my goals is like Pinterest works really well with Google and so it
• 23:52
  helps my Google rankings to, to be having that traffic coming in from Pinterest.
• 23:57
  So that's one of my goals is to do it consistently.
• 24:00
  Keep doing it, keep doing it.
• 24:02
  I also get a lot of email signups from Pinterest, so that's another goal.
• 24:07
  And we shape the content that's going on Pinterest around.
• 24:11
  Let me tell you what are not my goals when it comes to a lot of these platforms.
• 24:15
  Not my goal followers, not my goal engagement.
• 24:19
  I don't care if you go to my Instagram.
• 24:21
  Some of 'em have one.
• 24:22
  Like I don't care.
• 24:24
  And that was a hard thing to get over.
• 24:26
  And I used to get really worked up about engagement cuz it's,
• 24:30
  everyone tells all that engagement.
• 24:31
  It's all about engagement.
• 24:32
  And then I was like, wait a minute, engagement's not on my goal.
• 24:36
  My goal list is look like I'm open for business.
• 24:39
  Did that post do that done Check success.
• 24:44
  I'm onto the next thing.
• 24:46
  I'm onto the next like millionth thing on my to-do list.
• 24:50
  And when you can just, when you find yourself getting worked up or confused
• 24:55
  or I don't know, is this working?
• 24:57
  You gotta go back to your goals.
• 24:58
  Did this hit my goal?
• 24:59
  Did this hit my goal?
• 25:00
  If it did, Done.
• 25:02
  You're on to the next thing.
• 25:04
  Because if we sit around and we try to, you know, As you call them, chase,
• 25:08
  vanity metrics or chase things that aren't really gonna have an impact.
• 25:11
  That to-do list is never gonna get done.
• 25:14
  Becca: And that is so freeing for so many people to hear you say,
• 25:17
  I don't care if I only get one.
• 25:19
  Like, because so many people panic about that.
• 25:22
  They feel embarrassed, they feel ashamed.
• 25:24
  They feel like they're not doing the right thing.
• 25:25
  They feel like their work's not good enough.
• 25:27
  But I think that's a massive mindset shift and a massive perspective
• 25:31
  change of how you're talking about it.
• 25:33
  To say, actually, if that's not your goal, don't worry.
• 25:36
  Julianne: I mean, I had a coach years ago, or it wasn't even that long ago,
• 25:42
  and she was great, but she was like, you know, you really don't need to post on
• 25:46
  Instagram as much as you're doing there.
• 25:48
  The, you know, best practices are saying it's like, you know, two times a week
• 25:53
  with the carefully curated caption that you know, and really like, it's a quality
• 25:58
  over quantity game and all this kind.
• 26:01
  I thought about it and I was like, Hmm.
• 26:03
  And then I got back and I was like, no, that's totally different.
• 26:06
  That might work for her Business, but my business, one of my goals is
• 26:10
  to look like I'm open for business.
• 26:11
  And if I've only posted once a week, what does that say?
• 26:14
  Right?
• 26:15
  And if I spend, you know, 45 minutes writing the perfect caption,
• 26:20
  That's not hitting my other goals of doing all the other things.
• 26:24
  I don't have that kind of time.
• 26:25
  So it's like, you know, one of my goals for Instagram is to not have a takeover.
• 26:30
  My life truly like, so I'm writing the, the quickest caption that gets
• 26:35
  the job done that makes it look, I'm open for business, done and done.
• 26:39
  And that is also part of the reason why I invest a lot in Pinterest
• 26:44
  is because I have the content.
• 26:46
  A photographer comes to my house once a week and we have the content.
• 26:50
  We blog all the time.
• 26:51
  We have the content, and if it doesn't get out there, what's the point?
• 26:56
  So some of the goals can be really just about, they don't necessarily
• 27:01
  have to be goals within the platform.
• 27:02
  They can be goals within your business, right?
• 27:04
  Like what works for my business?
• 27:06
  What works for my.
• 27:08
  And for a lot of people in the wedding and event business, like
• 27:11
  you have the content, and so it's a matter of using what you have.
• 27:16
  And that is, is an awesome goal, is to use what you have.
• 27:20
  It's a smart goal.
• 27:21
  Becca: Yeah.
• 27:21
  And if you're listening to this, then have a think about those questions for your
• 27:25
  own business, because you absolutely know your business better than anyone else.
• 27:29
  So think about what you are trying to achieve and let go of what.
• 27:33
  All of the noise and everyone else is saying and think, actually,
• 27:35
  what am I trying to get out of being on this platform now?
• 27:38
  I would love you to indulge me for a second, Julie, because I
• 27:41
  know that you love Pinterest.
• 27:43
  You've talked a little bit about it, and I am also a massive advocate
• 27:47
  for Pinterest, and I feel like it doesn't get enough good credit.
• 27:50
  So I would just love to hear from you because I'm always going on
• 27:54
  to everyone about how they should be on Pinterest and how important
• 27:56
  it's in the wedding industry.
• 27:57
  Why do you think that people in the wedding industry should a
• 28:01
  hundred percent be on pinterest.
• 28:03
  Julianne: Listen, I love when people tell me that they, that they don't
• 28:06
  like Pinterest and their clients aren't there and they don't use it.
• 28:09
  Cuz that's more for me and more for my clients.
• 28:11
  Truly.
• 28:12
  I mean, the fact that like little old garter girl can, you know, compete with
• 28:18
  the big blogs and websites out there is beyond me and, you know, millions of
• 28:25
  views and engagements and, and that's, that's like, and I only by the way,
• 28:29
  pin about one thing, wedding garders.
• 28:32
  And so that, that's kind of mind boggling to me.
• 28:35
  And so I don't, I don't always mind , when people don't use it.
• 28:41
  I just think they just, I think the reason why they don't is
• 28:43
  they just don't understand it.
• 28:45
  I think they're overwhelmed and maybe they've tried it, haven't had success, and
• 28:51
  haven't had success for all the reasons we've talked about today, which is they're
• 28:54
  just not posting the right content.
• 28:56
  And are posting the content in the right way, I should say, I think
• 29:01
  before you decide about getting onto Pinterest, even though, and
• 29:05
  I and I know it's hard, right?
• 29:06
  Cuz you hear from peers and friends, you got, I'm crushing
• 29:09
  it, I'm nailing and I'm doing it.
• 29:11
  But it's like, be on Pinterest.
• 29:13
  If you want more inquiries to your business, if you can handle more increase.
• 29:18
  If you can't handle more, if you don't want or need.
• 29:23
  Then don't even go there.
• 29:24
  Right there.
• 29:25
  I, I talk to a lot of event professionals that they just like,
• 29:29
  listen, my referral game is so huge.
• 29:32
  I, you know, invest in this area, that area.
• 29:35
  I go to conferences, I, they, they, they have a totally different
• 29:39
  marketing strategy and they don't need Pinterest, and that's okay.
• 29:44
  And that's where the marketing overwhelm piece comes in.
• 29:47
  It's like understand the platform, understand what's involved, and
• 29:50
  then make the decision for yourself.
• 29:53
  And it's okay if that decision is no, it doesn't have to be no forever.
• 29:57
  I always love saying it's not a no, it's a no for right now, because
• 30:01
  you're the business owner, right?
• 30:02
  You can come back in six months, you can come back in a.
• 30:06
  And part of the reason, I'm not sure you two, one of the reasons
• 30:09
  why I love Pinterest so much is you could start a Pinterest
• 30:12
  account tomorrow and have success.
• 30:14
  I think it's a little tougher on something like Instagram to grow
• 30:18
  and to to feel success, but I think it's a lot easier to grow, to
• 30:22
  grow a Pinterest account right now
• 30:24
  Becca: because of all the people not being on there.
• 30:26
  So maybe we should keep quiet because , we don't wanna give
• 30:28
  away the best kept secret.
• 30:30
  Julianne: Yes, it's Pinterest.
• 30:32
  You can go to www.facebook.com.
• 30:35
  no
• 30:35
  Becca: exactly . Oh, it's been such a pleasure to talk to you, Julie.
• 30:39
  I feel like we've had some really great insights and some real mindset
• 30:42
  shifts for people to learn from today.
• 30:45
  I'd love to know before we finish, what's the one thing you wish you'd
• 30:49
  known sooner in your own business?
• 30:51
  Julianne: I love this question and I think we just, we, we talked
• 30:54
  about, it's like you don't have to be everywhere to be success.
• 30:58
  You don't, and people who tell you that you do, that is their
• 31:03
  own sort of issue coming out.
• 31:06
  And I think another, another one for me, if I could do two is that make sure you
• 31:10
  compare yourself to yourself honestly.
• 31:13
  And you know, and I used to sit around and I would say, again, all
• 31:17
  these people, they got 10,000 million Instagram followers and things like that.
• 31:21
  And I'm like, you know what?
• 31:22
  They're an influencer.
• 31:23
  They need that.
• 31:25
  If they don't have a following, they have nothing.
• 31:26
  You, you make your money elsewhere.
• 31:28
  Stop comparing yourself to influencers who make their money put, like doing that.
• 31:35
  I am not that, like, where, where do you make your money?
• 31:38
  Right?
• 31:38
  And so I just, again, compare yourself to yourself.
• 31:42
  Becca: So, so true.
• 31:44
  Love it.
• 31:45
  Absolutely love it.
• 31:46
  Julie, if people wanna find out more about you and what you offer, where's the best
• 31:50
  place for them to go and find out more?
• 31:53
  Julianne: Well after I, now that I just trashed Instagram
• 31:55
  for the last, 45 minutes?
• 31:57
  No.
• 31:58
  So you can, if you wanna just like find me personally, my Instagram is
• 32:02
  the Julianne Smith, or if you wanna check out what Garter Girl's up
• 32:06
  to, my Instagram is at Garter Girl.
• 32:08
  Or you can come to my website, julianne smith.com.
• 32:11
  Or if you're in the mood for a wedding garter, you can go to garter girl.com.
• 32:15
  Becca: Amazing.
• 32:15
  And especially if you're gonna start shipping back to the UK because
• 32:19
  then people can go and check out.
• 32:21
  Julianne: Yes, I need to do that.
• 32:25
  That's it.
• 32:25
  2023 goals.
• 32:26
  It's happening.
• 32:27
  Absolutely.
• 32:28
  Especially if it could just be like just the uk like so I shipped to Canada cuz
• 32:33
  that one was one of the ones that was not such a big deal with the customs.
• 32:39
  Becca: So well, maybe you can just ship to the uk.
• 32:41
  Maybe that's an option.
• 32:42
  Julianne: I think that, yeah, let's do that.
• 32:44
  2023.
• 32:45
  Becca: Let's go.
• 32:46
  Awesome.
• 32:46
  Well, I look forward to seeing your garters landing
• 32:49
  in the UK again sometime soon.
• 32:51
  Julie, it's been such a pleasure to talk to you.
• 32:53
  Thank you for your time.
• 32:54
  Thank you.
• 32:56
  Such an interesting chat with Julie.
• 32:58
  It is always good to get another perspective on the whole world of
• 33:01
  marketing in the wedding industry.
• 33:03
  And one thing I really liked is the fact that she just doesn't care about likes
• 33:07
  cuz it's not on her objective list.
• 33:08
  So I'd encourage you to think about what are your objectives when it comes to
• 33:11
  your marketing and your social media.
• 33:13
  Do you need to be in all the places or do you need to focus down on one
• 33:16
  of them and do the likes really?
• 33:19
  After all, I'll see you next time.