What’s your social media strategy?

Whatever you think about social media – Twitter, Facebook, Blogging etc – it is becoming an increasingly important business tool and one which is certainly relevant to the wedding industry with it’s young, internet savvy client base.

Successfully using social media comes at a cost – it is time consuming and you have to give up some control of your brand.  But do it right and the potential rewards are high. And in terms of money, the cost is low.

What you must not do is dabble in social media without a clear set of aims and an action plan. Of course, as with any marketing activity, you will need to measure your results and adapt as you  go.

Here are 5 strategies to consider – which one is right for your business?

Ignore

You can probably get away with this at the moment – but not for much longer.  How many successful wedding businesses do you know without a website? In a few years not having a social media presence will place you firmly in the dark ages against your competitors.

Monitor

What are your competitors up to? Social Media makes checking up on their latest news, products and ideas very easy. Follow them on Twitter, check out their Facebook pages  and keep up to date with the latest industry trends.

If you are not yet ready to invest in actively using social media, use it to keep your finger on the pulse and learn from other’s mistakes. When the time is right, you will be well prepared.

Network

The wedding industry has always thrived on networking and social media is a fantastic networking tool. Many wedding professionals are using Twitter and blogging to build their industry contacts and hence grow their businesses.

Sell

Let’s be honest, the ultimate aim in using social media for business is to sell more. And there is nothing wrong with that.

It can be a great way to advertise promotions, let people know about new products and generate interest in your service.

However, if all your social media activity is sales focussed it’s unlikely to be cost effective in the long term and direct advertising methods are likely to work better. You need to be more subtle – and social.

Build Customer Relationships

To do this successfully you will need to integrate social media completely into your business.  This is a long term project and you won’t see results overnight, but if you set the foundations in place now, you will be well ahead of the competition.