As someone who has spent over 20,000 hours in the digital marketing world, particularly focusing on SEO, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads, I've had the opportunity to work with a wide range of businesses. One of the most exciting projects I've worked on recently involved a private jet company looking to turn its aeroplane hangar into a wedding and event venue. The idea of hosting events like weddings, conferences, and product launches in a hangar is absolutely brilliant. The unique factor alone makes it stand out from typical venues, but turning that unique space into a thriving business requires more than just a good idea—it requires a strong digital marketing strategy.
Building a Strong Foundation: Branding and Media
The first thing I noticed when I reviewed their existing setup was the lack of a solid brand identity. They had a DIY website, slapped together with basic Canva templates. Clearly, this business needed a complete overhaul in terms of branding. Branding isn't just about having a logo or a colour scheme for a venue like this. It's about communicating the essence of the venue—the experience you're offering to your clients. That starts with a solid brand kit. This kit should include everything from your logo and fonts to the overall feel of your website. A consistent, well-designed brand kit ensures that your marketing materials look professional and cohesive, crucial for standing out in such a competitive space.
Once we sorted out the branding, we created foundational media. This includes high-quality photos and videos that truly showcase the essence of the venue. I always tell my clients they can't rely on stock images or poorly taken photos when promoting a unique event space. I recommended investing in a professional photoshoot for this venue during an event. Imagine a beautifully styled wedding inside the hangar with actors portraying a ceremony. These images allow potential clients to envision their event at the venue. It's all about creating that emotional connection and showing what's possible in this space.
Combining SEO, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads for Effective Lead Generation
Once we sorted the brand and foundational media, it was time to think about how to drive traffic and generate leads. With my extensive experience managing over $10 million in ad spend for wedding-related terms across Google Ads and Facebook Ads, I knew these two platforms would be essential for immediate exposure and long-term success.
- Google Ads: Google Ads is necessary for any business looking to generate leads quickly. The key with Google Ads is targeting people actively searching for wedding venues or event spaces. While the search volume for "wedding venues" is high, people might still seek more conventional venues. That's where the uniqueness of the aeroplane hangar comes into play. Google Ads allows you to target the right people with a message that makes them stop and think, "Wow, I never thought about having a wedding in an aeroplane hangar!" It's about being creative with your ad copy and highlighting what makes your venue different.
- Facebook Ads: Facebook Ads work wonders for generating awareness, especially when dealing with a niche concept like an aeroplane hangar wedding venue. I'd recommend a 50/50 split between Google and Facebook ads. Facebook's visual nature allows you to showcase stunning images and videos of the venue in action, which can help spark interest in people who haven't considered such an unusual venue. It's a great way to capture attention and drive traffic to your website.
- SEO: While SEO is a long-term play, it's just as important. New websites take around six to seven months to appear in Google's search results. The key is consistency. With SEO, you want to target general wedding-related keywords (such as "how to choose a wedding venue") and specific location-based terms. Creating content that answers these questions helps build Google's trust and improves your rankings over time. It's not a quick fix, but it's well worth the investment once you start seeing organic leads.
Creating a Strong Google My Business Profile
Another important element of the marketing strategy for this venue was optimising their Google My Business (GMB) profile. This is one of the easiest ways for people searching for event venues in your area to get found. However, the challenge with having multiple businesses at the same address—like in this case—was ensuring that both businesses were properly listed without one being filtered out by Google. This means creating a comprehensive, clear, and accurate GMB profile, including detailed descriptions of the services you offer, event types, and your location.
In addition, having a strong collection of Google reviews can significantly improve your visibility in local search results. Reviews build credibility and trust, which are crucial when marketing a wedding venue. The more reviews you have, the better your chances of appearing at the top of search results when potential clients are looking for wedding venues.
Budgeting for Ads and SEO
When budgeting, I always ensure clients know what to expect. For Google Ads, I recommend starting with at least $1,000 to $3,000 per month, depending on your lead generation goals. Each lead will typically cost around $100 to $150, but this can vary depending on the competitiveness of the local market. On the other hand, Facebook Ads are usually more cost-effective for generating awareness and sparking interest, so a similar budget split is ideal.
Regarding SEO, it's important to remember that results won't come overnight. You must budget for consistent content creation, backlinking, and ongoing optimisation. The goal is to create a user-friendly website packed with content that positions you as an authority in the wedding and event space.
Managing Competitor Research and Long-Term SEO Strategy
SEO is a long-term strategy, and for highly competitive areas like Sydney or Melbourne, it's not uncommon for businesses to spend $3,000 or more annually to see meaningful results. However, in less competitive towns, the budget might be significantly lower. I always recommend doing competitor research to get a sense of what's required. Look at the websites of other wedding venues in the area and analyse their content, backlinks, and keywords. This will give you a roadmap for outranking them over time.
Once you start seeing traffic from Google and Facebook Ads, stopping SEO efforts and relying on paid ads is tempting. But SEO should never be paused after just a few months. Even though the results take time, they eventually pay off, and when you do stop ads, organic traffic continues to come in.
Key Takeaway
The key to successfully marketing an unconventional wedding venue like an aeroplane hangar is creating a strong brand, capturing high-quality media, and combining Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and SEO to generate leads. With a unique venue like this, you have the chance to differentiate yourself in a crowded market, but you need to focus on long-term strategies that build your credibility and online presence. You can turn your aeroplane hangar into a sought-after event space through consistent branding, strategic ad spending, and careful content creation.
