Since the advent of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, engaged couples have taken to the services to announce their engagement, build up excitement for their wedding, coordinate with guests, and post pics from the big day to be saved in the annals of the Internet. However, with social media, things are always changing and in 2016, photo and live video services like SnapChat and Periscope have presented couples with more options than ever before. So read on to see our guide to using social media to heighten your wedding experience for both you and your guests!
First and foremost, any social media efforts to promote your wedding should start with a hashtag. Hashtags are prominent on such different networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, providing your guests with a short-hand to organize all the pics posted by your family and friends.
When it comes to choosing a hashtag, you first want to decide whether you will be creating different hashtags over the course of the wedding build-up or want to create an evergreen hashtag that people can use well after the wedding.
When creating a custom tag, you can use you and your spouses’ names–be it your first names like StefandSteve, initials, or last names–along with what you’re actually promoting, be it the #bachelorparty, #rehearsaldinner, or the actual #wedding. And before you settle on a specific hashtag, do a search across your chosen social media channels to ensure no one else had used it before. Finally, make sure you make plentiful use of your hashtag, from putting it on your wedding invitations to adding it to all your posts.
Once you’ve nailed down your hashtag(s), start brainstorming content ideas, like photo opportunities, you can then share with the world. For instance, in the parties leading up to the wedding, come up with some fun and unique photo ideas that make the most of the venue where you are celebrating–like taking photos on our iconic patio. And on the big day, have a custom background printed with your initials or a symbol of your love that your guests can pose against, creating truly unique images that are unmistakably your own. After all, standing out from the crowd is one of the biggest trends at the moment and thus, you want to use social media to communicate just how innovative and trend-setting your wedding was.
If you are a younger couple, chances are your guests will use SnapChat while at your wedding, so create a custom GeoFilter with your event’s name so that each image is immediately recognizable as being from your wedding. Alternatively, if you have a more Instagram-friendly crowd, have them tag your venue in their photos.
Finally, to close out with a truly one-of-a-kind idea, make the most of live streaming services like Periscope and Meerkat. If you’ve bought a drone to take aerial photos for your video, set up your live streaming channel to broadcast breathtaking video from your celebration. This will most definitely make your wedding stand out not only on social media, but amongst your guests as well.
Join us next week as we continue our look at how to find the perfect wedding planner.
