5 Common Marketing Mistakes For Food and Event Planners
Marketing is an art form. What is it? You want to do your craft. I get it. Here’s the thing. It's not enough to find the right people and throw out a few ads; you have to get them interested in what you're selling! We all know that marketing can be tricky, but luckily for you, we've compiled five common mistakes event planners and chefs make when marketing their services so that your next marketing campaign will be successful.
Private chefs and caterers often ask me to get more visibility, attract new clients, and show up consistently with marketing. It can feel challenging running your own business and doing all of the things.
As a result, I remember the madness in my earlier years when I tried to attract everyone. That left me frustrated and taking on any client willing to pay. In turn, I found myself stressed and dissatisfied.
My recent Youtube discusses the top marketing mistakes food and event professionals make. I went into depth on the central issues that can be preventing you from having the desired success.
In this blog, I wanted to make those marketing mistakes. People often find themselves scared to show up consistently on social media, lack clarity on the target market, miss keywords, clarity on services, and stay relevant on trending topics.
Don't Be Scared of Social Media
There is a fine line between food blogging, private chef services, catering, and event services. You may have clarity on the difference between these professions. Most importantly, showing only food plates can translate only food blogging. When building a brand, show up confidently on social media. People want to get behind the scenes and knowing more about your business.
Behind the scenes does not have to be your family or super personal topics. It can mean showing your team, the workday flow, meetings, to name a few. Someone is booking you to handle a special moment. In other words, there’s not a shortage of providers, so people choose due to your services and how much they like you. If you are scared to show up on social media now, I recommend taking bite-size steps forward until you feel comfortable.
Know Your Audience
In the past, I have spoken about the importance of knowing your audience. Everyone who loves to party or eat is NOT your audience. Above all, we talk to no one when we talk to everyone. I did a great video on target markets for my Patreon community. You can access the recording by clicking HERE.
Once you have clarity on your target audience, you will know what and how to post-marketing materials. It can be the difference between posting on Instagram, Facebook, or Linkedin. You will find that certain audiences are more likely to be on specific platforms.
Be Careful with Keywords
Keywords go hand and hand with how people find you or your business. Using the correct keywords will help with optimizing your website and being seen. I did discuss the importance of SEO in my YouTube Live on 5 Common Marketing Mistakes.
Know What You're Marketing to Them
As you grow a client base, you will gain more clarity on your services. Yes, you can do everything. Yet, I’m always discussing capacity building and process improvement. It’s best to focus on a few primary services to provide and market them consistently. That way, your existing clients know how to refer to your services, and your new audience knows how you can help them.
If your message is not clear to your audience, you will likely receive underpriced bids or requests out of spec. It’s unfair to blame your audience for not knowing what you don’t market.
Keep Up With Trends in the Industry
Lastly, let’s use industry concisely, not generally. Private chefs should follow trends that other private chefs are doing. Food bloggers will get the best results following directions that other food bloggers are doing. It’s important to know what’s happening in your industry to speak to it correctly. Your audience and future clients want to know.
In conclusion, social media is a powerful marketing tool that can drive traffic, increase brand awareness and generate leads. However, it can also backfire if you are not careful about what you post on social media sites. Don’t be scared of social media – know your audience so that you don't make any mistakes with keywords or hashtags to avoid being penalized for spamming other people's content and conversations on Twitter and Facebook. Keep up with trends in the industry by reading articles like this one every week (or at least once a month) - these blogs will teach you more than we ever could! Which mistake have you made? Let me know below!