If you have inside goss on the inner workings of Apple Incorporated, you and I would get along great talking ‘inside baseball’ on Apple, because I love talking about Apple.
“Inside baseball” is one of my favourite Americanisms, it’s a figurative adjective meaning the details are appreciated by only a small group of insiders or aficionados. It usually refers to a detail-oriented approach to the minutiae of a subject, which requires such a specific knowledge about what is being discussed that the nuances are not understood or appreciated by outsiders.
Inside baseball is a great subject matter for wedding industry podcasts and catchups, but it’s terrible social media content if only because no-one knows what you’re talking about.
Wedding industry Inside Baseball
There’s terminology, language, and detail that is insider talk, inside baseball if you will, that shouldn’t really make it onto Facebook, Instagram Stories, or our websites. Here’s a few I have thought of, and you can add yours in the comments:
- Wedding season: because although you might see 10-100 couples on your calendar, they see one single date, their wedding date, and all your other couples don’t matter, so don’t talk about wedding seasons, how the season is starting, or finishing, or whatever.
- Brides: for years we've referred to the people who hire us as brides, but they're not that anymore, they are men, women, others, couples, partners, grooms, oh, and brides.
- Bookings now open: No couple is sitting there waiting for your bookings to open. Posting on social media that your 2025 booking season is now open is a waste of their time, and yours.
- I’m at an industry event: Peaking behind the curtain of your life and sharing personal moments, family moments, business and industry moments, can have value in showcasing your personality and authenticity. But find a line and stay on the right side of it when you’re at a wedding fair, or industry social night. How much of the sausage factory do your couples need to see to know that you’re a competent celebrant?
- Gear talk: My friend Morgan brought this up to me in relation to photographers talking about which lens or gadget they are using, but it can apply to celebrants as well. Your gear, from microphone and PA, to red book or iPad etc, is part of your story and your product, but if that’s all you have to talk about ask some couples what they really love about you and I bet it’s not what brand e-reader you use to read your ceremony from.
- New websites, logos, or branding: The amount of money you’ve just spent on a new website and branding package probably makes you feel it should control the narrative of your social media stories for the next 2-3 years, but the truth is that everyone already expected you to have great branding and website - highlighting that you have one now is like telling a Police Officer that you’re no longer drink driving like you were last night.
What do I talk about then?
Talk about you, what makes you you, and how you being you makes your couples lives - and weddings - better.
That story is one we’re all dying for you to tell!
Originally published on the Celebrant Institute: https://celebrant.institute/business/talking-inside-baseball/.