If there were awards given out for cat ladies obsessed with photos of their pets, then I’d certainly be in contention. I’m not sure why the eleventh photo of my kitten sleeping is just as fetching as the first, but it is.
I can’t remember how I stumbled upon Instagram but it only took posting two or three photos of my morning coffee, and I was hooked. With recent news of Instagram’s purchase as well the newfound ability by Android users to install the app, I can’t help but encourage my clients to jump on the bandwagon. Will it connect you directly with your brides? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean it’s not something worth considering.
So what’s the pull you may ask? I’m glad you asked-
1) Inspiration– Sure, Pinterest is the reigning champion of DIY centerpieces and alarmingly beautiful kitchens, but I tend to favor Instagram as my number one spot for inspiration because, simply put, it’s realistic. Case in point-just a few days ago, I formed a stamps crush on the new William Johnson stamps thanks to this post from SimpleSong. It’s a lovely detail I can start incorporating tomorrow versus this homemade stamp find on Pinterest that is not moving off of my to do list any time soon.
2) Wedding trend spotting– I didn’t realize how much of a “thing” succulents were until I started enjoying a steady steam of them on my feed. I turned to the media oftentimes when spotting the latest wedding trends but if I really want to stay ahead of the curve, I turn to Instagram.
3) Networking– Thanks to social media, we are no longer bound to geography when it comes to meeting other wedding pros. To me, Instagram is a hub for really fun and creative wedding folks, as well as wedding bloggers (who, by the way, really are stylish in every part of their lives, I’ve discovered :)). Additionally, I’ve been able to connect with others attending the same large scale conference simply because we both used the same hash tags when posting.
4) It’s easy– I have optimized my Instagram so it can post on my Facebook Fan Page if I so choose, which then in turn posts to my Twitter feed. I haven’t actually sat down with a stop watch yet but I dare say it’s easier than opening my Facebook app, going to my page and posting it there. Efficiency, how I love thee.
5) It gives people a dose of your personality. I’m all for drawing a line in the sand when it comes to your professional and personal lives. The fact of the matter is, however, brides want to get to know you as a person as much as your company. Instagram gives you the best of both worlds- glimpses into your everyday life that you control without running the risk of risk of saying something on Facebook that you’ll regret later.
6) You learn a lot about yourself. Apparently I love coffee as much as my pets, a fact I was not privy to prior to Instagram. I’ve even compiled a collage of my latest photos at the top of this post to serve as proof.
7) You find other people like you. In what may not be a shock to many of you, I recently was watching my beloved My Cat from Hell and posted a photo to Instagram of my kitten watching the show. I then ran a check on the hash tag I had inserted (#mycatfromhell, and found 41 images from others throughout the interwebs- many who had the same idea of posting their cat watching My Cat from Hell. They say that there is company in misery but I dare say there is company among oddballs who all find that sort of thing amusing.
So stop rolling your eyes at the thought of adding another social media channel and get with the program. I’ve got hundreds of kitten photos waiting for you, after all.
Meghan Ely is the owner of wedding marketing and wedding pr firm OFD Consulting. She is the exclusive wedding pr columnist to wedding marketing journal WedLock magazine and is a highly sought after speaker in the wedding industry. She loves ruffle table runners and Royal Wedding Tchotchkes. To learn how OFD Consulting can assist you with your wedding marketing and wedding pr, please contact us today.
