A Wedding Photographer’s Guide To Social Media
Searching for your dream wedding team? Bing there, Googled that? Have you thought about using social media in your search for the perfect wedding photographer? Who also caters? And makes beautiful cakes and flower arrangements? I mean, I totally do ALL of those things and with two cameras slung around my neck, but I have to draw a line somewhere. I will step in and provide some light entertainment, though. Just say the word.
MyFace? PageFace?
Statistically, you have likely heard of or already use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, contacts, and people from your past. I bet you even use it at work behind your boss’s back. Perhaps for a bit of creative e-commerce. Have you thought about using the site to further your wedding plans?
Facebook search is straightforward, allowing you to narrow your search to your local network. Don’t forget to investigate industry-specific groups. Have friends who recently married, or served as bridesmaid, best man, usher, or drunken pole dancer? Take a look through their tagged photos. You might find a few which lead to a professional photographer’s profile or business page. Some couples even befriend their wedding vendors or become fans of their business pages. A bit of digging could generate useful leads. Or just send off a Facebook message, you lazy git.
“Twat” did you say?
Twitter? Statistically you are also likely to tweet the contents of your breakfast every morning. Or broadcast how awesome you are. If all of this jargon makes no sense to you, I’m afraid the following tweets won’t encourage you either: “i’m going to listen to wedding dress now..” “Maria is in extreme love with her wedding shoes, what are you in extreme love with? Normal love is not enough!” Some brides are apparently getting a bit too attached to their wedding accessories.
Fear not, though, brave groom-to-be; there are attire tips on Twitter for you as well: “Shane Victorino rocks the shorts to his Hawaii wedding http://bit.ly/3gyMan.” Yes, shorts for the groom and groomsmen, with a see-through gown for the bride. Thank you, Twitter! It’s all starting to look agreeable now, don’t you think? Twitter has a really nice search tool. Click on “advanced search,” type in your chosen keywords, then scroll down and select options to narrow your results to within a reasonable distance. Specify tweets which contain links or questions. Most vendors link to their websites in their profile, so click through if an individual message doesn’t lead you to the information you need.
Just get out there
Now that Google has announced inclusion of Twitter messages in their search content, the social media world is rapidly becoming more accessible to outsiders. Just dive in, and you’ll find what you need. Not all top vendors are active in social media circles, however, so this sort of searching shouldn’t take the place of more traditional methods.
Check out a wedding fair, local directories, and most importantly, ask around. Next week: how to convince your bride-to-be to wear that see-through gown and replace the first dance with a pole dance. Just kidding. Good luck with that.
Randall Murrow is a London wedding photographer in Surrey, serving clients throughout the UK and abroad.
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