News providers are already jumping onto the craze by grabbing account names and apps like these ones. NBC has started a Twitter account called @royalwedding any they say they want it to be a “hyperactive look at everything royal wedding”. Twitter is also getting involved by creating an exclusive integrated map inside the new Royal Wedding iPad / iPhone app. Social media is also an outlet for royal announcements which may displease or please the social media community. Recent buzz around the TFL royal wedding oyster cards may send Royal souvenir collectors into a frenzy whilst road closures and diversions on the wedding day will only result in a backlash of complaints and criticism.
Whether you are famous or not anything involving the most important day of your life and a very public platform is bound to have its pros and cons. The customer service side of social media is ideal when planning a wedding efficiently. Simply following wedding related hashtags, sharing ideas in wedding forums, using Facebook fan pages for updates and keeping an eye out for special offers are simple tasks you can carry out to make your special day so much easier. However, the ‘personal’ side of social media may cause chaos for brides and grooms to be. Photo albums (undesirable ‘Hangover’ style stag do pictures?), comments (possible jealousy and criticism from fellowbridezillas?), spam (honeymoon spambots or Facebook ads anyone?) and over exposing details (destroying the suspense or boring people to tears with your wedding plans) are all aspects of social media which can go horribly wrong. Balance and respectability is key.
Businesses have to asses what they want from social media! With so many opportunities presented by social media, it is easy to get lost and forget what you set out to do. In terms of the royal wedding there are three lessons to be learned. The first is the POWER of social media and the influence and scope it can have over peoples’ lives. Obviously in this situation, this is no fault of William and Kate. They probably never anticipated being a constant trending topic. The second is the COMMERCIAL opportunity. Social media is a perfect two-way channel for consumers who have a requirement and businesses that have a product to sell. Many people have used the royal wedding buzz to push products and memorabilia which may have been almost impossible to do otherwise. The last is RESEARCH. Social media platforms create a field day for brides and grooms-to-be. User generated content, special offers, customer service, referrals, competitions, recommendations, voucher codes and forums are just some of the social media tactics used to make wedding day decisions and purchasing easier.
What lessons do you think the royal wedding has taught us? It will definitely be interesting to watch the dynamics of social media just before, during and after the royal wedding. Harnessing the different social outlets can increase online presence and engage your market space with whatever content you are putting out there. Whether it is blogs, news, tweets, or event (royal wedding) there is a market out there to engage with. Companies like ours can assist organisations to know what works and how to get the right results. If I mention the words “wedding and camera”, you think life long memories. Because of the social media age, that digital camera at the stag do can start off as a innocent gadget but turn out to be a weapon of mass destruction, or as evidence in a court case. Identifying these trends is crucial to building an social strategy and outlining where your business wants to be seen for, and what types of conversations they want to be involved with. Just remember this. If you go and see the royal wedding in person, remember to look up from time to time or you’ll spend more time tweeting than enjoying the celebrations.
