In an ideal world you should be using all forms of social media, but for lots of businesses - especially small businesses without dedicated marketing teams - this can prove too time consuming and also too expensive. In the wedding industry, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Youtube are the most frequently used social media channels.
We would recommend an awareness of all of them, but focusing on the ones that you think will fit your business the best. It is better to perfect two platforms than to have 10 channels which do not help your business! Here are some of the most common social media channels and how you should be using them...
Best for: Portfolio businesses such as photographers, florists, cake designers and makeup artists.
Instagram is an image-sharing platform and one of the newest and fastest-growing channels among the social media giants. Instagram’s monthly users totalled 700 million in 2017 – an amazing increase of 200 million year on year. While overall only 41% of the UK population use Instagram, it's not a platform to overlook, especially when you're targeting couples between 18-34, as 81% of all online adults in this age group are using it. The Shopping capability works well for larger businesses, but the lack of links can sometimes throw smaller businesses. Read our top tips on succeeding on Instagram here.
Best for: Networkers such as wedding planners, and any business that wants to share quick news updates, sales. Good for customer service.
Twitter is an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short messages called tweets. According to a 2018 survey by Flint, nearly half the UK population (47%) use Twitter, although this figure is a decline from recent years. However, we recommend having a presence on Twitter if only for your business-to-business (or B2B) networking - 85% of B2B marketers use Twitter, and 50% of B2B marketers view Twitter as effective social media channel. If you're just starting out, seek out wedding-specific hashtags such as #weddingwednesday and #weddinghour to connect with other wedding businesses and begin networking. We have a handy article here if you're not quite sure how hashtags work.
Best for: Most businesses!
Facebook is a social networking site that allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and videos, as well as send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues. Despite the recent negative press, frustrating algorithm changes and clamp down on organic reach, Facebook is still the world's biggest social media platform - 79% of the UK population are on Facebook. It's also a good platform for business when managed well - 77% of B2C companies have acquired customers via Facebook, and Business Pages on Facebook allow customers to enquire with However, the difficulty is getting seen without paying through the nose for it, which is why we include paid Facebook campaigns as part of our bespoke marketing packages. Get in touch to find out more.
Best for: Fashion businesses, such as bridal boutiques, and venues with high quality images to share. Good for linking to online shops.
Pinterest is an online pinboard, where you can create mood boards with images that link back to content. 200 million people now use this social media platform every month, with an increase of almost 40% year on year. This is one social media platform that specifically works well for weddings, as the audience is predominantly female (45% vs 27% of online UK adults, according to Flint) and the most popular demographic is 25-34 year olds, which tends to correlate with the ages that women are getting married. What's more, Pinterest helps drive purchases - according to Pinterest stats, 90% of weekly Pinners use the platform to help them shop, with 72% saying Pinterest inspires them to shop even when they're not looking for something specific. Pinning attractive images of your product is key to capturing this audience.
YouTube
Best for: Videographers, bands, DJs and entertainment.
YouTube is a video sharing website that joins Facebook as one of the most popular social media platforms in the UK. Over three-quarters of the UK population surveyed use YouTube (79% to be exact), with the most active users falling into the 18-24 age bracket. 79% of all content during an average month is consumed via mobile, and the average video viewing time is 3.7 minutes. Short video content can certainly be useful for certain wedding businesses - the obvious one is videographers, but other businesses can benefit too. Venues can upload video tours, photographers can upload slideshows set to music, and makeup artists, hair stylists and cake decorators can create time lapse videos of their work. Crucially, videos uploaded to YouTube can then be shared on the other platforms.