Start Me Up! - Part 17
Wedding Belle Monday, March 29, 2010 at 8:03AM Social Media – To Blog or not to Blog…
There is no way around it, social media is everywhere. The argument persists, is it here to stay or just another passing fad? Well, whatever your school of thought – the fact remains that social media is front and center and if you are looking to grow a business in today’s crowded market, you need to get out there! Chances are that if you are here – whether you are a faithful devotee, an occasional visitor or just happened upon Belle while trolling the web - you know what a blog is. For the sake of covering our bases, the word blog is short for web log. Wikipedia defines a blog as a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Some people blog to share information and ideas, or simply to keep an online diary of sorts.
The world of wedding and event planning is a virtual pot of gold for blogging. There is a huge market for ladies and gents (yes, mostly ladies) looking to chat about weddings, read about weddings, get free advice, snag a few tips and tricks and even just to learn what the hot new wedding trends are. Now, as you may know from my first few entries, I am no “expert” in all things wedding, which is totally okay! You don’t have to be an industry expert in order to start blogging, you just have to have something to share and be willing to put it out there. More likely than not, if it is wedding or event related your words will not fall on deaf ears.
When you have some time and if you haven’t already, take a moment to do a quick online search for “wedding blogs” and “event planning blogs” and see what pops up. You can even do a search of these types of blogs relating to your region of the country or the world. There are tons, but who says there can’t be one more and that one more can’t be you? The beauty of “business blogging” is that it is a great opportunity to raise brand awareness, network with other vendors and reach an audience you may not have had access to otherwise. In the case of yours truly, I am banking on the fact that there are hundreds of Belles out there and I know I definitely would have appreciated a little advice and realistic info when I was getting started. After all, everyone was a newbie at some point right? Maybe you are obsessed with theme events, fascinated by proper etiquette or love chatting about color trends and ways to incorporate color into your event – these are all blog worthy!
Best of all, it’s easier to start a blog than you think. Some of the popular websites to host your blog with are: Wordpress, Typepad, Blogspot and Blogger. There are tons more out there and many are free. If you think you would like to start a blog, start by doing your homework. Read other related blogs out there, read comments to the posts, poke around in the bridal chat rooms and try to get a sense of what potential clients and industry colleagues are talking about. If you are stuck on a “voice” for your blog, perhaps you will be inspired. Or maybe you just want to get out there and write - GO FOR IT! After all, what do you have to lose? At the very least, maybe it will give you that extra push you need to stay current and keep your finger on the pulse of what is happening and who is making it happen. If you think you have something to say, you may be pleasantly surprised by how many people want to hear it.
xx,
Belle
Reader Comments (1)
Great tips! Here is an inspiring wedding blog that I follow, check it out: http://www.forgetmeknotweddingsblog.com/
Happy blogging!