Make Your Ribbon Cutting Count

A ribbon cutting is one of the few times your whole community is paying attention to your business at once. Friends, customers, the chamber, maybe local media. Most businesses get one photo out of it and move on. You can get months of marketing from that single hour.

Before the day

• Invite more people than you think you need: customers, vendors, neighbors, family.
• Tell your local chamber and ask them to share it.
• Post a countdown on social media the week before.
• Clean up the storefront and signage. It will be in every photo.

Get more than the cut

The moment the ribbon falls is the photo everyone expects. The ones that really sell your business are the others: your team greeting people at the door, customers trying your product, the space full of people, the little details you worked so hard on. Those are the photos you'll use on your website and social media for the next year.

Tell the story

Ask someone to say a few words about why you started the business, and get it on video. Thirty seconds of you, in your new space, explaining why you're doing this is more powerful than any ad.

After the day

• Post the best photos within 24 hours while people are still talking about it.
• Tag everyone who came and thank them.
• Send a few photos to the chamber and local news. They often run them.
• Save the rest for “one month ago today” posts and your website.

I'll be there

I photograph and film ribbon cuttings, grand openings and community events across the Upper Cumberland, with photos ready to share fast. Tell me about your event.