Social Media’s Undeniable Role in Wedding Planning: Why Companies in the Wedding Industry Need to Hop On the Bandwagon
It is no secret that in the modern business world social media is taking over. Companies, organizations and even local startups are jumping on the digital bandwagon to promote their services, goods, and other details about their businesses.
Social media has touched many target audiences, but the industry that’s growing exponentially is the wedding industry. Brides have turned into self acclaimed junior wedding planners by scoping out what the industry has to offer her on her big day via social media and there’s no signs of this trend slowing down.
According to Wedding Wire (see full article here: http://problog.weddingwire.com/index.php/social-media/wedding-planning-on-social-media-5-statistics/), 74% of people who use the Internet at all have some form of social media interaction, and of the 74%, 89% are 18–29 years-old. With the average age of a newlywed woman being 27, this is the audience vendors, wedding planners and venues need to invest their time and effort into targeting.
Not only is social media changing the way brides and grooms plan their wedding, it is shifting the way proposals are happening as well. Social media has created a competitive connotation behind proposals. There are entire websites, i.e. www.howheasked.com, dedicated to helping both man and woman plan their ideal proposal. Everything from the ring to the venue to the photographer can be found and booked all by going through this one site. Not only can you handle all your proposal logistics on this go-to site, you can also compare and contrast your proposal to thousands of others. HowHeAsked also has a large Instagram following of nearly half a million people ready to build their proposal expectations, compare their special moment, and tag their significant other’s in their favorite stories.
Another moment social media is changing the idea of wedding planning? Purchasing a wedding dress. In this article, http://www.examiner.com/article/you-can-say-yes-to-the-dress-with-cisco-webex, Marianna Pfeifer describes how a bride stranded in a different state the day she was supposed pick out her wedding dress with her bridal party used the video meeting app Cisco WebEx to bring her scattered bridal party together to help her make her decision. This millennial bride dug into her techy upbringing and problem solved by using social media.
Brides and grooms are also worrying about their wedding being the trending topic amongst their friends and followers alike. In the Huffington Post article, Here’s How to Throw a Social-Media-Optimized Wedding (you can see all the tips here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-to-throw-a-social-media-optimized-wedding_us_56788dcde4b0b958f657b6cc), there are several different pointers on how to make sure your wedding day posts rack up the most likes. New career opportunities are emerging due to the high demand of having a “successful” wedding according to social media standards. Wedding and event planners are offering the service of having an expert in attendance of your wedding in order to live tweet, Instagram and Facebook the whole event. The service can also include a posting of the couple’s first dance on Periscope.
Erica Laudon, the founder of Modern Wedding Mom, agrees that the art of wedding planning has been enhanced by the take off of social media. She states in the article, How Social Media Has Changed Wedding Planning: Pressures Intensify For Wedding Perfection (found here: https://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2014/03/social-media-changed-wedding-planning-pressures-intensify-wedding-perfection/) that social media has opened up the door for many companies in the wedding business, such as florists, caterers and photographers. Companies without a social media presence seem outdated, unprofessional and are more than likely going to be skipped over by the next couple planning their wedding. 61% of couples like or follow vendor pages and keep record of whose work they like and dislike.
What does all of this mean if you’re a company within the wedding industry? Take the time to do your research when it comes to social media and your field of expertise. Your next client will not be walking in with a large, three inch binder full of color coded sticky notes. She’ll be walking in with a tablet and a Pinterest board loaded with ideas. Social media plays a big part in planning a wedding in 2016, and adding a Facebook page or Instagram profile could help boost your reputation and clientele.
