7 Best Garden Wedding Decorations and Accessories
Sneak Peeks, Good vs. Bad?
Photography Credits: MATT SOMERVILLE PHOTOGRAPHY
Both myself and Jess are huge fans of the sneak peek, it has to be said, whenever we do a shoot we can’t resist posting a little teaser. When it comes to posting previews, like ourselves many people will do it without a second thought. It got me thinking are these previews giving away too much too soon or are they a great business tool?
As I mentioned earlier we always sneak peek whether it be a DIY we have done (Jess is currently cake pop crazy!) or a photo shoot. If you follow us on our various social media platforms you will find teasers of what we have been doing on each. For us not only do we enjoy doing it as we love to document all the fun times we have, but it is a great way of building hype around something and capturing the attention of potential clients.
So What’s the Problem?
If you have been fortunate enough to design, create or capture someones wedding day then I am guessing you are going to be pretty darn proud of the end result and there is a good chance you are going to want to take a photos. It’s great to show your potential clients in your portfolio and a wonderful memory for yourself. However grey areas arise,when that photo is then instagrammed, tweeted and posted to Facebook and personal blogs prior to the wedding or only a few hours after. I see it all the time and although I am a nosey so and so and I love to see everyones wedding, I have began to wonder how couples feel about everyman and his dog on social media knowing before their guests and sometimes even themselves?
I obviously took to Facebook and Twitter to find out the thoughts of others and was pleasantly surprised that most said they were happy with suppliers and photographers doing a sneak peeks. Thats not to say that everyone feels the same way so is there some sort of weddiquette that should be adopted here to safeguard everybody?
Firstly, as suppliers I would like to think that your main concern is always for your client. You want them to know they can trust you and you want them to recommend you to anyone and everyone once their own wedding is over. We all know word of mouth is powerful business tool. So if you have plans of taking pictures of something you have designed or created, let the couple know and of course discuss with them if they would mind the photos being used, how and when. In most cases suppliers will find clients are more than happy for them to do as they wish as long as names and faces aren’t supplied – for example I would not be happy if a designer posted an image of me in my dress before the wedding, but the dress on a mannequin would be fine. It would be highly unlikely that guests at your wedding are going to hunt down all the names of your suppliers prior to your wedding so I don’t think you will have much of a problem there. But communication is key and as long as you build a good relationship with your client or supplier then there should be no nasty surprises.
Another thing I would encourage is for photographers to have an option written in their contract for clients to opt in or out of sneak peeks being posted on blogs or social media, after all your clients privacy should always be protected and having a trusted relationship with your client is a powerful thing.
Finally I would like to address one more thing and that is the prospect of your very own guests sneak peeking. We have received lots of enquiries asking how to deal with this subject and and I must say this is a tricky one to get around but it isn’t impossible. The best way to deal with this situation is to be clear and upfront with your guests about your wishes for the day. There are so many apps now that allow guests to upload images to one site, so if you were worried about guests not being happy with the prospect of not being able to use their own phone or camera, a possible way to deter would be to mention in the invitation or order of service that you have a cool app for guests to use. They can then upload all their photos so that you can then decide what happens with these photos afterwards, it also means you don’t miss out on the chance of some good candid shots that you might otherwise miss out on if you banned all other cameras.
I don’t just want to address the issue of wedding sneak peeks here. I would also like to consider from a business point of view whether it is possible to give away too much too soon. You may have noticed whenever we have something new in the pipeline we more often than not provide our readers with a naughty little teaser, but by doing this are we taking away the element of surprise which would otherwise engage our readers or are we building a hype?
Are sneak peeks intriguing, do they encourage people to want more? We have found posting one or two previews to be very successful and it does seem to create an interest and keep readers coming back. However I have seen sneak peeks done to death especially when there is an impending launch. Photos are constantly being posted in which time potential clients have lost interest because they have already know what to expect. It is like tasting a really good piece of cake. If you have one bite you are going to want more but if you have a slice you are going to be full up and your aren’t going to want anymore for some time.
So I would like to know what you view is on sneak peeks and teasers? If you are a supplier or photographer how do you approach the subject. Or are you a bride or groom that has had a unpleasant experience?
Whatever your opinion we value it and we would love to hear from you.
Much Bespoke Love
Emily ♥
I agree with you. I’m totally fine with sneak peeks as long as they are not giving away to much. So far none of our vendors have shared anything I didn’t want them to or spoilt the surprise.
Once we’re married I’m totally fine with people sharing once its done its done. It also helps people that can’t come on the day share in our day like my heavily pregnant sister. We tried to keep our wedding quite small which did mean that some people were not invited that may have been invited had budget and wedding size not been an issue. So it’s nice for them if folks share stuff too.
Hi! I just came across your blog and really love it!
I’ve been debating the whole sneak peak idea lately myself.
I do sneak peaks of 3-5 photos on my blog, but have recently wonder if that is giving too much too soon.
What do you girls recommend? Do you think 1 photo is more than enough to peak interest?
Thank you so much for your kind words! Really means alot! We usually sneak peek 1-2 photos which is definitely enough to spark interest. Hope that helps 🙂 xxx