Excited to Tell the Whole World About Planning Your 'Happily Ever After'? You Might Want to Think Again.

Posting a countdown to your wedding and honeymoon on social media sites may seem like a great idea, but it may be in your best interest not to. “Why?” you may ask. Well the answer is simple, exposing too much information can give somebody with mal intent insight into when you will or will not be home for an extended period of time.

According to Sara Yin, “Tech-savvy burglars are using social networks to check when people are away from their homes, and even scope out properties before robbing them”.

Here are some tips for how you can protect yourself while still sharing your excitement:

•   Be cautious when accepting friend requests from people that you don’t know.
• These people may be looking for information about where you live or how they can hack your account(s).  

• Be cautious about listing personal items like your birth date, address, job, contact information, etc.
• This information can tip others off about potential passwords that you have set for your accounts.

• Set security settings so that only you and your friends can see your information.
• Protect yourself from potential dangers as much as possible by putting your settings to “Friends Only”.
• Limit accessibility to photos that are posted of you.
•  A visual image of places that you go or live are the last things you want a stranger to have.

• Do not make statuses about your schedule or location.
• Sure, you are excited for your wedding in 20 days located in Punta Cana. Disclosing that kind of information to the Internet gives screams that your home will be empty for a week or so.

The readings this week showed me that the happy countdown postings on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest may have serious repercussions. Remember, your safety, security, and privacy are the most important thing! Plus, who wants to arrive home from the beginning of their ‘happily ever after’ to find their house has been turned upside down? Not this bride!



Sources

Infographic: Burglars Perform Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter Checks, Too

U.S. Government Social Networking Training Module

A Wider World: Youth, Privacy, and Social Networking Technologies

Weddings at Laughably Low Costs

Erik Qualman’s book, Digital Leader, outlines that there needs to be focus on an overall goal to achieve personal success. These goals should be set so high that they are considered “laughable” to others. When it comes to wedding planning, there are so many things to accomplish before the “big day” that the bride might want to delete her inspiration boards and walk down to City Hall for a quick “I do”.

According to Qualman, “Having a huge goal inspires us mentally and physically to overcome the hurdles and obstacles that we will encounter along our path”(p.178). According to the New York Daily News, the average of cost of a wedding is $27,000 in the United States. If a bride’s goal is to have a wedding under $10,000, it can be done. Websites such as The Frugal Girl, Wedding Bee, and Pinterest have several do it yourself (DIY) ideas to help make every bride’s wedding their dream day at a fraction of the cost. “Opportunities are even more limitless and accessible now that we can leverage tools like YouTube, Twitter, iPad applications and more to make things happen, and happen quickly” (Qualman, p.184).

Becoming a digital leader is the new age of wedding planning and even more so the new age of wedding saving. For example, there is a free app available for iPhone and Android users that allows guests at a wedding to take pictures and save them to the same album. The amount of photos that can be posted is limitless and still free. The cost of a photographer is cut and a wedding on a budget is more attainable!

Having a clear vision of goals is very important to ensuring that a wedding will be everything it was dreamt to be and not at a laughable cost. After all, according to Worldometers, there are over seven billion people in the world. Out of seven billion people, we find one person to spend the rest of our lives with. All of a sudden a $10,000 budget doesn't seem so laughable anymore. 

Goldwert, L. (2012, March 23). Average U.S. wedding costs $27,000!! Manhattan brides spend the most to get married  - NY Daily News. Daily News America - Breaking national news, video, and photos - Homepage - NY Daily News. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/average-u-s-wedding-costs-27-000-manhattan-brides-spend-married-article-1.1049836

Qualman, E. (2012). Digital Leader. USA: The McGraw Hill Companies.

Worldometers - real time world statistics. (n.d.). Worldometers - real time world statistics. Retrieved February 11, 2013, from http://www.worldometers.info/

                                         

Get Engaged with The Knot

Social media sites have become a goldmine of information for soon-to-be brides & grooms. One of my favorite wedding planning websites, The Knot, has certainly strategized their public relations campaign to “stay ahead of the game” in relation to their competitors.

Every now and again The Knot will post about the newest trends in bridal in an email, on their website, in their magazine, and on social media sites. Whether speaking about flowers, gowns, centerpieces, or hairstyles, the company is dedicated to creating a competitive advantage through the early detection of expectations from the end consumer. According to Steyn, this tactic “giv(es) the organization the autonomy to concentrate on achieving its mission” (p.2). The motive of staying the trendiest wedding planning website certainly spreads a message. However, it also creates a stronger brand because the representative is creating user engagement by constantly updating new information to the different sites and asking for feedback.

For example, below is an image of today’s Facebook post by The Knot. You will see the hyperlink above the image.

If you click on that link, it will bring you to a landing page on The Knot’s website that talks about the topic posted on Facebook. See below!

Neat, huh?

The Knot is also a regular user of using social media to link communication between the website, vendors, and the bride and groom. The company makes interaction(s) with consumers as direct and personalized as possible.

The Knot’s usage of social media represents a strong public relations understanding. However, their placement of brands and ads reveals that the company is utilizing cooperative partner funding from other bridal professionals. Their marketing, social media and public relations strategies are clear representations of their brand and their vision. Their usage of integration marketing communications is consistent and daily. However, their personalized pages, countdowns and inspiration boards engage the customer and create the overall Internet planning experience for brides and grooms-to-be.

How do you feel about their website? Are you engaged with The Knot? Or is it just not meant to be?

References

The Knot
The Knot's Facebook Page
B Steyn’s Contribution of Public Relations to Organizational Strategy (2007)

Pinning Your Way to "I Do"

Within the next three months, wedding season will come out of hibernation and be in full swing! However, wedding planning doesn’t only run from May through October. Rather, brides and grooms are planning their weddings year-round and social media has made searching for inspirations, booking photographers, and getting other brides’ opinions a piece of cake!

One of my favorite social media sites, www.Pinterest.com, makes searching for wedding inspirations too easy! All you have to do is:

1. Sign up for Pinterest.com & log in!
2. Hover your mouse over categories and choose “Weddings”
3. Peruse the thousands of “pins” that can be used as inspiration for your wedding

**Interested in saving this inspiration? Click “Repin” and pin it to one of your favorite pinboards or create a new pinboard designated to making your wedding picture perfect!**

Social media sites such as Pinterest, WeddingBee, theKnot, theWeddingChannel and more have made choosing and planning a wedding much more hands-on. Honestly, it is a true boggle how brides and grooms used to plan their weddings before there were wedding checklists online. Now, you can book your vendors without ever having met face-to-face!

Stay tuned next week to find out how social media can help make sure the best day of your life is exactly what you want!