5 Tips For Maximizing Your Wedding PR Online

by Meghan Ely 

I’ll admit it- sometimes I grow weary of my beloved lap top. 

There are days that I simply don’t feel like logging into it, keeping up with it and balancing it with the rest of my day to day To Dos. Some 2004 style when a Facebook Profile was simply you’re who, what, when and where.  I was practically president of the “Too Old for Facebook” Group for which I belonged.

Life, as we know it, was far simpler.

What keeps me coming back you may ask? The endless wedding public relations opportunities to be had- from Twitter and Facebook to bona fide web sites that ask you to be an expert (thank you Al Gore!).

Below, you’ll find just a few online tips and tricks to get you started:

1. Embrace Twitter Lists

Twitter itself can be rough waters to navigate, especially if you can’t seem to get away from the fellow wedding professionals who have enough time in their back pocket to share everything from their lunch plans to their afternoon coffee flavor of choice. But the fact is, Twitter is teeming with wedding journalists- from regional and boutique bloggers to editors of national publications.  Take the time to identify and follow the media outlets you’d like to align yourself with and place them on their own Twitter List.  That way, the next time you log in, you can avoid the convos being had about the latest Bachelor and skip to the good stuff.

2. Be a HARO guru

Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is one of easiest barriers of entry into the public relations world yet it’s still often an overlooked Wedding PR strategy by professionals.  A free service, HARO sends you emails three times a day on weekdays, with various requests by journalists for—wait for it—your expertise. It’s positively brilliant.

3. Two Bright Lights

If you haven’t had the chance to join online wedding marketing and pr tool Two Bright Lights, then I encourage you to do so. In fact, go ahead and stop reading this right now and join. We’ll be waiting. You can thank me later.

4. Toot Toot

If you’ve got great news to share, then by all means, tell us on Facebook and Twitter. Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn just because you didn’t land the cover of Time Magazine. There is a fine balance however, as your Facebook Page need not be a portal for every single success- otherwise you’re apt to lose fans, and quickly.

5. Submit Press Releases

Want to find a quick and fairly painless way to boost your rankings on Google?  The next time you prepare a press release, be sure to submit them to online newswires. There are a number of free and paid options available to you- such as PRNewswire.com, Marketwire.com and PRWeb.com.

Wedding Public Relations, ultimately, does not have to be as intimidating as it sounds. Simply take a cue from the list above and before you know it- you too will be front page news.

 

 

Meghan Ely is the owner of OFD Consulting, a niche wedding marketing and public relations firm that caters to the wedding industry. She is a regular contributor to wedding marketing journal WedLock Magazine, Top Wedding Sites and Virginia Bride Magazine. Ely is a frequent speaker on wedding marketing and pr and will be sharing her insight on March 30 at Illuminate: the Workshop in Virginia.

 Bride Photo Credit