We were lucky to catch up with Anna Mercurio recently and have shared our conversation below.
Anna, appreciate you joining us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?
From 3rd grade teacher to budget bride. After being laughed at by a local wedding planner for being a “budget bride” (although my budget was easily the price of a new Mercedes), I was furious and wanted to help other local brides who may be in a similar situation. I created an Instagram account “239.Bridezilla” as a parody and to hopefully bring together the local bridal community.
Slowly my silly account began to grow and several wedding vendors kept reaching out for me to model in their wedding styled shoots. Finally, I agreed to do one. Onset, a lot of the wedding vendors were curious about my story, loved how fast I grew my social media and asked if I could manage their accounts, From there, my client roster quickly grew as well as my opportunities. I was able to help match brides to vendors AND explain why wedding pricing is as high is it is (turns out wedding planning is actually a lot of work).
Four months later, I left teaching and had a over 50 clients. I was doing B.T.S for vendors onsite full time when I decided to end my own engagement. Heart broke and upset, I was too nervous to announce this to my vendors for a few months. Would they think I was unfit to do my contracted job if I ended my engagement? A once of a lifetime hurricane, and a few missteps, I was able to continue to grow my social media business and expand into supporting local businesses as well. 239.Bridezilla now focuses on content creation for wedding vendors and brides. After having growing pains we created our social bee,marketing account which is designed to help local business with their social media and networking needs.
Anna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Through the use of my IPhone, my professional team of photographers and videographers, I am able to help local businesses with their social media. Social media is a tool that is proven to increase businesses inquires and bring in more revenue when used correctly.
When I started, there really were no “bridal content creators” local to Florida or many social media managers who specialized in the wedding industry. Although we have only been around for a little over a year, I have seen hundreds of accounts similars to ours come and go. I am really proud of the growth we have made in a year. I am even more proud that our mission is to still serve every bride regardless on their budget get the wedding they deserve,
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Engage with everyone, stay constant, show your face! I pride myself on being a spitfire in the wedding industry and although “engaging with everyone” on social media can fluff a few feathers, IT STILL GETS YOU NOTICED. Respond to your followers, start conversations, and ask questions! Building relationships through social media is what allowed me to grow my business.
Stay consist- you have to show up for your social media to grow!
Show your face- your clients want to know whose dream they are supporting!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I love building friendships with other artists and creatives! The social media space can feel a little overcrowded and lonely, so having a friend who does something similar to you is therapeutic. I am so grateful for the friendships and businesses I have been able to help flourish.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.social-bee-marketing.com/?fbclid=PAAaZom1NtLcHkKyrW814GPrQ7XuIIrhhs_5UFVdUhy0jnYp6XHnoagi7iE3E_aem_AaI7IRKru2MKa5MEx9XdPlB4zhC-58v-Fur47FgFOXmLTB-Wz9QeSfh3–kJyHb8Sw4
- Instagram: @239.bridezilla @social.beemarketing
Image Credits
Sam Copland Photo Zphotoandfilm TheHendricksphoto