Business, General Tips, Your Event Career
9 Savvy Ways to Promote Your Wedding Planner Certification
The Importance of a Wedding Planner Certification
Let’s start by debunking a rather common misconception… Technically, you aren’t required to have professional training OR a reputable wedding planner certification in order to work in this industry. But does that mean that you don’t need it?
Absolutely not! In any given industry, the most successful individuals are those considered to be “subject-matter experts”. In order to fall into this category, you need to know your stuff! And how can you possibly call yourself a subject-matter expert without a solid education or the right qualifications under your belt?
Think Of It This Way…
Imagine that you need to have a root canal performed on one of your teeth. You’re given the choice between two dentists. The first dentist was professionally educated and trained in school. As a result, they have a reputable designation from an institution you can trust. The second dentist, on the other hand, watched a lot of YouTube videos on root canals… and that’s it.
Which dentist would YOU want working on you? I think we all know the answer, right?
Sure, this is a rather extreme example. After all, you won’t be performing surgeries on your clients. But the point remains the same: whenever given the choice, a prospective client will always prefer to work with a wedding planner who has proper training and a legitimate certification to their name.
How a Wedding Planner Certification Will Benefit Your Career
Besides making you more impressive to clients (which will mean more bookings!), there are tons of other reasons why it’d do your career good to get a wedding planner certification. Here are just a handful of the most important ones, in my humble opinion:
- Since there might be some planners in your local area who aren’t professionally trained/certified, the fact that you are will automatically help you to stand out from the competition!
- By getting properly trained through a reputable institution, you’re guaranteed to build your skill-set the right way and take it to a masterful level!
- Professional certification training will teach you how to price your services so you can make the best salary possible!
- Plus, you’ll get comprehensive business training! Thus, you’ll understand how to launch – and run – your very own, successful business!
Marketing Your Certification
Okay, so we’ve established how important it is for a wedding planner to obtain a reputable certification. But the thing is, if you don’t market it correctly, your certification won’t be all that useful for you. After all, if prospective clients or employers can’t easily find your qualifications, it’ll be all to easy for them not to realize they exist in the first place. And we WANT them to know how skilled and qualified you are for the job! So, what steps can you take to maximize your wedding planner certification so it’s properly showcased to all the right people?
9 Business-Savvy Ways to Promote Your Wedding Planner Certification
1. Promote your qualifications on your website!
When it comes to the type of information you share on your business website, there are endless opportunities! With that comes all sorts of ways to showcase your wedding planner certification and designation. For example, you can easily work your qualifications into your About Me page. Another option is to incorporate your educational experience on your Portfolio webpage.
Moreover, if your school provides a digital logo for your obtained designation, download it and include it each the bottom of each webpage. If you’ve graduated from QC Event School, for instance, you can easily download a digital logo for either of the following, relevant designations in the Online Student Center:
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International Event and Wedding Planning Professional™ (IEWP®)
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International Wedding Planning Professional™ (IWPP®)
2. Promote your wedding planner certification on social media!
As a rule of thumb, you should create social media channels on relevant platforms (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, etc.) that coincide with the same business name/handle used on your website. On these social media channels, it’ll be critical that you regularly post content that’s 100% unique to your business and brand. One such thing you can post about is your professional qualifications! For example, share a high-quality photo of you proudly holding up your wedding planner certification! In the post description, talk about the course(s) you took, where you took them, what you learned, and why you recommend that school!
3. Include your certified designation in your business email signature!
This will serve as a frequent reminder to both prospective and returning clients that you’re a true industry expert who’s put time, money, and effort into mastering your craft. Plus, it’ll be equally as impressive when emailing back and forth with potential vendors, suppliers, and/or employers.
4. Use consistent (and appropriate) branding when showcasing your wedding planner certification!
Whether you’re incorporating the accredited certification body’s or school’s registration mark/logo online or offline, consistent branding is key. This is just one of many reasons why ironing out your business’s brand before officially launching is so critical. After all, you may be showcasing your wedding planner certification mark/logo in a myriad of different ways! For instance, you may include it within letterheads, stationery, business cards, electronically, etc. Regardless of the method used, prospective clients should always be able to tell that it’s connected back to your specific business. One example could be to switch the color of the mark/logo to a color that aligns with your brand, and that using that same colored mark/logo everywhere.
5. Make a photocopy of your certification and keep it in your physical portfolio!
This way, when you meet in-person with prospective clients, vendors, or employers, you can easily slip it out and show it to them.
6. Do a press release for your wedding planner business…
…and include your professional certification as part of it! A press release can grant you immediate exposure to your target audience. Furthermore, it can also improve your SEO, sharing potential on social media, boost your bookings, and increase traffic to your website. By including your wedding planner certification within this press release, and then – in turn – guiding people to other platforms that also showcase your certification, there’s no way your impressive qualifications will go unnoticed!
7. Celebrate your wedding planner certification in a blog post on your website!
In general, writing a blog and hosting it on your business website is a smart move. It’ll help boost SEO, bring traffic to your website, and demonstrate your expertise as a wedding planner. Additionally, it can also provide you the perfect opportunity to proudly showcase your certification. So, write a whole article dedicated to the training you received! In it, you can talk about where you trained and the official designation you received upon graduating. Plus, you can also discuss all the ways your education has prepared you for a successful career!
8. Create a newsletter!
By developing a newsletters for your business, you can keep past clients, vendors, and employers up-to-date on where you and your business are currently at. Moreover, a newsletter can be an excellent way for you to stay top-of-mind for prospective clients, too! You can always incorporate a section within your newsletter that summarizes your educational background and certification(s). Then, as you continue your education, you can release future newsletters that specifically announce any new qualifications you’ve added to your resume!
9. Use your wedding planner certification as an educational moment!
Clients want to know your qualifications. More specifically, they’re eager to understand what you can bring to the table. They want to know how your qualifications will help them achieve the celebration they’ve always dreamed of. So, answer this question before it’s even asked! By displaying your wedding planner certification on your website and social media channels (and making this information easy to find), prospective clients will be able to learn that much more about you before the client consultation takes place. Thus, they’ll already have a stronger sense of trust, as well as confidence in you, by the time they meet with you in-person.
Can YOU think of other ways your wedding planner certification can be marketed? Let us know in the comments below! And don’t forget to join QC Event School’s free Virtual Classroom on Facebook to connect with QC students and graduates!
Thanks for reading! 💕
