Brian Lawrence celebrates 40 years of industry excellence
TEANECK, N.J., Sept. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — When you grow up in a catering business, weddings become part of your DNA. So, it’s no surprise that Brian Lawrence built a career in that niche. This year marks Lawrence’s 40th anniversary in the wedding industry. He has used a lifetime of experience to become the owner of a wedding marketing website design and SEO firm and a well-known wedding industry speaker and educator.
After spending his formative years in catering, Lawrence entered into the retail stationery and favor business and discovered how frustrated couples were with traveling from place to place to find their wedding needs. This discovery led him to the “one-stop” wedding shop concept.
At its height, Lawrence owned seven locations and handled 1000 weddings annually, from Staten Island to Philadelphia. These shops also gave him ownership in a photography studio, an entertainment company, and a limousine service.
After a successful retail run, Lawrence looked for a venture providing more consistency with his family. He created one with national invitation brand Encore Studios. As Vice President of Marketing, Lawrence focused on co-op advertising and dealer incentive programs. During his 14 years, the company substantially expanded its dealer base and increased sales until the stationery industry took a seismic shift to the digital age in 2008. By 2010, Lawrence decided it was time for another career chapter.
Lawrence has always been a wedding industry “student” and after a lifetime of learning, he started sharing his knowledge. He wrote two books and joined the seminar circuit, including the National Stationery Show, Wedding MBA and WeddingWire World. Lawrence also produced his own industry events and contributed to publications like Vows Magazine, Mobile Beat, and Stationery Trends Magazine.
Lawrence frequently appears on webinars and podcasts. And he collaborates with wedding business consultant Alan Berg, Joe Bunn of The DJ Vault, and The Venue Association. He’s also an advisor to VenueX, an app that’s revolutionizing how wedding venues can better serve their clients.
Unlike many website-design firms, BrianLawrence.com focuses exclusively on the $57 billion wedding industry. The art director has a strong background in invitation design and the content writer is a former bridal magazine publisher. All three share what Lawrence calls “entrepreneurial empathy.” He also works with top SEO professionals and each site is reviewed by industry expert Alan Berg.
In addition to new sites, Lawrence also improves existing ones like the National Bridal Gown Sales Event, originated by New Jersey wedding salon owner Sue Maslowk and includes over 500 independent retailers. Lawrence took the site from being just a countdown to the big July sale to a year-round local bridal fashion resource.
Lawrence also makes SEO a consulting cornerstone. His approach involves thorough behind the scenes evaluation, constructive fixes for long term solutions, and writing optimized keyword content. This approach is documented in a Local and Organic SEO Case Study for Joe Bunn DJ Company, one of the nation’s leading entertainment services.
One of the biggest challenges wedding entrepreneurs face is ranking on Google. Large corporations have a virtual monopoly on keywords in every city. But with a Google Business Profile, local wedding pros can easily be found. Lawrence uses his ever-expanding knowledge about Google to help clients build highly ranked profiles.
Lawrence just started a project with Louisiana to bring more weddings to that state. He’s working with New Orleans “Ambassador of Romance” Tony Talavera and Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser.
Lawrence is also embarking on a personal mission. While going through a stack of intern applications, he came across one from a young Ukrainian woman who had applied just two days before Russia invaded. After connecting, Lawrence put together a Facebook Group to bring together wedding professionals to raise funds for humanitarian organization Nova Ukraine.
Wedding pros can learn more about improving website presence, elevating SEO or building a Google Business profile with a complimentary 30-minute consultation. And to find out more about “Wedding Industry Leaders for a Better World,”
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SOURCE BrianLawrence.com
