If it's free, it must be true?

Like I had mentioned last night, the rave about how important social media is to the wedding industry isn't just my personal opinion. As I was googling away for "advertising", "wedding industry" and "marketing", I happened to come across this website called Splendid Insights. In my Marketing Comm and Advertising classes we have spent a great deal trying to understand what an insight it. Essentially an insight is a deep understanding on who your target market and how one can motivate your consumer in a way that builds a relationship and effectively changes their behavior.

Spendid Insights is a great website used by bloggers, wedding planners, or anyone interested in wedding statistics. It provides an unbiased opinion on the almost $300 billion wedding industry in which their customers can make strategic marketing decisions. Because they are not funded by the study responses they receive, founder Liene Stevens believes, it makes them more credible.

They have creative infographics like this one about Pinterest (which I've talked about before):

Here is a link to some stats I found interesting about wedding-related media I found on their blog:

US Wedding Statistics 

It's safe to say, I'm a going to be spending a lot of time skimming this website.

"Like"

Last weekend, I was in my first wedding in Richmond as one of my friend's bridesmaids. When the big day finally arrived, it started with chaos, appointments gone wrong and a very stressful bride with her bridesmaids doing whatever they could to comfort her (I love you!!). Once we arrived to the venue, we quickly started getting ready. Then suddenly, the photographer arrived! I had totally forgotten about this important part, I mean who else was going to take those cheesy photos of us after the ceremony. With a day full of shambles and whatnot, the photographer began to tell us stories of her own wedding and all the struggles that came along with it. Eventually, she ended with the a good note of it being such an amazing day at the end. When I eventually asked my friend where she had found the photographer, she told me that her new husband had actually found her through Facebook. At first, for some reason I was taken back by 1. she had let a guy choose her photographer and 2. how easy it was for him to find someone on Facebook! I had forgotten how easy it is now to have your small business as a Facebook page and get friends and family members to refer you. I guess if I think back to the 90's when one got married, they would look for the trusted Yellow pages book and hounded over the hundred of entries for photographers. Facebook has great features that can link different types of social media networks together and create awesome sights for small businesses, like one's website, Twitter, and Flickr account.

This is so crucial for today's wedding market. It seems like very day more and more younger couples are taking those steps of commitment. And we all know know how likely it is for them to open a yellow book. FAT CHANCE. With a generation so influenced by what their peers are "tweeting" about or "liking" on Facebook, it's great to have a strong presence in social media in general. Younger consumers depend on unbiased opinions that a Facebook page or review can provide. Social media has also opened up a greater "word-of-mouth" effect for decision makers in allowing others to share their experiences.

So if you have a small businesses and if haven't already, I HIGHLY encourage you to create a Facebook fan page. You'll never expect the amount of business this can generate. Oh and if anyone is getting married in Richmond, you should check them out! (They definitely helped calm our nerves a little that day)!

ADS on ADS on ADS

The other day I was strolling around campus, I happened to stop by a magazine stand and of course The Wedding Planner Roanoke edition caught my attention. I quickly grabbed the free copy and put it in my bag to read later. Later that day when I eventually had time to read it, I found myself flipping through the pages quicker than I had anticipated. There were ads EVERYWHERE! Yes, I was expecting it, but I was hoping to read some creative pieces about wedding planning. There were some short articles giving future brides some tips and there were a few weddings featured. However out of the 82 pages that comprised the entire magazine, only 14 were readable material. I'm not sure why this fact bothered me. I like ads, I love looking at what companies have to offer.

I think magazines like The Wedding Planner, have editions to target their market audience. I realized I had picked up the Roanoke & The New River Valley editions, but there are also editions that cover other parts of Virginia like, Charlottesville, Central Virginia, and Fredericksburg. This gives small businesses a chance to branch out and reach potential customers. I've begun to see how important advertising is in this billion dollar wedding industry. 

My pretend happily ever after

I guess many girls begin to plan their future dream weddings in their minds at a young age. They dream about the flowers and the ring and the horse-drawn carriage, and yea I guess that perfect man as well. Growing up, I never gave it much thought. I am 21 years old and recently I have a feeling a lot of people I know are getting married or engaged and it has encouraged me to start planning as well. I wasn't until recently when I was asked to be a bridesmaid to my friend's wedding that I started to think of mine. Thanks to Pinterest, I have been able to keep track of this future special day; and so have many other young brides-to-be.

If you have been living under a rock for the past year, let me tell you a little about what Pinterest is. Basically, it's a large virtual pinboard. It's separated in categories like books, clothing, quotes and places. You also have the option of creating your own categories, such as dream wedding. About 28 percent of the users are between 35-44 years old followed by 27 percent of the users are 25-34. Eighty percent of all users are also woman.

Using the search options, many have been able to search for wedding ideas and pictures that usually come hand in hand with a link that redirects you to the main source of a certain picture. Companies such as wedding planners, photographers and designers have been able to use Pinterest to advertise their business websites and blogs. One can even go into my depth and follow their search with a certain location, "in Richmond". With the help of Pinterest, many women are reinventing the term DIY bride. Anne Fulenwider, editor in chief of Brides, recently said that, "[Pinterest's] changing the industry for vendors, planners and magazines... it's exploded and really changed the conversation." Following in the track of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest has become the 3rd most trafficked social networking site according to Experian Market Research.

However, many feel Pinterest is taking away from the traditional wedding planner binders and resulting in wedding that have "been seen on Pinterest." Now these tech-savy brides are clicking away and have 50 boards dedicated to their best friend's wedding. Whether you like Pinterest or not, it's safe to say that this new network site has created a buzz amongst woman and the wedding advertisement industry in relations to technology. So even if you aren't married or engaged...or even dating (much like me), it's never too early to start pinning, oops I mean planning for your wedding. HAPPY PINNING!

Works Cited:

Barker, Olivia. "Pinterest Changes the Way Brides Plan Their Weddings." USA Today. Gannett, 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 03 Sept. 2012. <http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/story/2012-04-11/pinterest-wedding-planning/54188942/1>.

Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Sept. 2012. <http://pinterest.com/crodr010/>.

"Pinterest SEO." History-of-Pinterest «. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Sept. 2012. <http://pinterest-seo.com/history-of-pinterest/>.