A social media strategy for your wedding might seem extreme, but with the advances of social media these days, it’s really just the smart move. You’ll want to have as much control over how your wedding pops up on social media as you would with anything else. Here are five steps to creating the perfect social media strategy for your wedding – don’t worry, it’s not hard.
Decide what not to post
Thoughts about this must start the second you get engaged. Suddenly, you’re thinking about the perfect ring selfie to let everyone know the good news…stop right there. You should tell your family and close friends the good news before you post to your social media accounts. You might even want some time alone before you tell anyone. After all this is done, you can re-evaluate, but even then you might decide to keep a close up of the ring for real life. After the ring selfie, you must think about what you’re about to post before you start stressing about wedding plans online, giving out about people or generally bugging people about wedding plans. Making a clear decision about how much of your wedding is going to be on social media is an excellent start to being socially savvy before the big day.
Create a hashtag
If you’re a social media addict you’ll already have been dreaming about your perfect wedding hashtag. The earlier you come up with one the better, as it can be used in all social media mentions in the lead up to the big day too. Keep it simple and easy to remember, otherwise there’s no point in having one. Use your initials, your new married name with your wedding day year, etc. If you have a creative, personal but simple hashtag that’s outside the box, by all means go ahead! Just make sure it’s easy to translate and pass around. Once you have your wedding hashtag, start using it and encouraging any of your bridal party or family who are on social media to use it. You might even get it trending by the time your wedding day rolls around!
Check for WiFi
Most venues will have WiFi in some way, shape or form. If it’s really important to you that social media is active on your wedding day, make sure you talk to your venue coordinator about the WiFi situation. Check if it’s strong in the reception area and if it’s password protected. If you’re creating signs around your reception reminding people of your hashtag (which you definitely should) make sure you include the WiFi password also. This will not only save guests having to ask staff members, but it will encourage your guests to Instagram to their hearts’ content.
Decide on social guidelines
You might be concerned about a social media strategy taking you and your guests away from your actual wedding day. It’s still really important to live in the moment and for your guests to be present on your wedding day, and that’s where guidelines come in. Living in the age of social media means, whether you want it or not, social media will seep into your wedding day. However, a social media strategy helps you control how that happens, and while you can create plenty of positive ways to use social media for your wedding, you can also embargo it if you want. It’s your wedding and your guests will respect that if you ask them to. Consider unplugged portions of your day. Request a ‘no phone’ policy for your ceremony to prevent you walking down the aisle with a sea of iPhone screens your face. You could also consider requesting the phones to go away for your first dance or perhaps your speeches. This way, social media will be there, but it won’t take over your whole day.
Appoint a social manager
Finally, you have to make sure you keep yourself off social media too. This won’t be a big ask because it’s your wedding day, but if you feel the need to have a few updates on your Instagram or Snapchat without going anywhere near your phone, appoint a social media manager. Give your phone to a trusted sibling, bridesmaid or other close friend to manage your social media accounts for the day. Let them know how much you want them to post, anything you want kept off it etc. Social media aside, if you’re giving your phone to someone, make sure you ask them to take a few normal phone pictures throughout the day. That way, when you go to bed with your phone and wake up the next morning, you can instantly look back at your own wedding day with your new husband. It’s a great way to start the first morning as newlyweds.
- Jenny Darmody
Image credits: Ring selfie: Instagram | Hashtag sign: Daniel Lateulade Wedding Photography | Bride and groom: Julian Kanz | Unplugged sign: Etsy | Bridesmaids: Etsy