This month we have been talking about social media and social media marketing, which is great for anyone who is at that point of launching their own wedding and event business. If this is you, you might like to start with What is Social Media Marketing, Using Social Media in the Wedding Industry and a Facebook Page for your Event Business. But if you are just starting to think about a career in the wedding or event industry, or even if you are an Academy student, you can use social media to help develop your knowledge and skills in a range of areas; from planning to design to of course, using social media. Today we take a look at two social media platforms that you can learn from.
Using YouTube to help you learn stuff
We have a great YouTube channel with a library full of excellent resources for those right at the beginning of thinking about a career in the event industry, through to those doing it. And we are not the only ones. YouTube has over 1 billion users and you can navigate YouTube in 76 languages – which covers 95% of the Internet population. Yes there is a lot of, well let’s be honest, crap, on YouTube, but with that many users, returning day after day, it can’t all be bad. Right?
If you want to learn anything, go to YouTube. There is a wealth of information on there, which makes it great for learning specific skills. A quick search this morning for a video about ‘tall centrepieces’ led me to a lovely man, called BunchesBob. Bob has a whole library of floral design videos. Many have been created for the DIY bride, but if you are wanting to offer basic floral design services alongside your Styling services, BunchesBob is worth checking out. I also recommend spending some time on YouTube if you think working in weddings and events might be for you, but you want to learn more to be sure. Thinking of becoming a Wedding Planner? This video will help you decide if its the right career for you.
Use Twitter to help you understand more about what is happening in the wedding & event industry
So far this year, Twitter has over 310 million active users each month. That is a lot of Twitter accounts and a lot of Tweets. Twitter can be a bit confusing when you first drop in, especially when you are looking at it with professional, rather than personal eyes. But, it can be useful in a number of ways including getting to know what people in the industry and their customers are talking about. It is a way to involve yourself in the world of weddings and events, before you have even started and it is one of the reasons I recommend students set up an account early on.
The first thing to do after you set up an account is learn the language and the easiest way to do this is to pick some accounts to follow and then just sit back and watch how others interact via Twitter. You may also like to read this getting started guide from Twitter. There is a learning curve associated with Twitter but it moves fast and it won’t take long until you are familiar with the terminology. When looking for accounts to follow look for like-minded professionals, following shared news stories, Trends etc. Twitter Chats are also a great way to learn and we host one each week called #WedBizHour. Visit any of our campuses to find our own Twitter link and follow us. We follow members of the local wedding and event industry via our own account, which means you can use us to help you get started with your own networking via Twitter.
We are so fortunate to live in an information age and it is all at your fingertips. Ok, you need to do a course (with us of course) to gain a full qualification and all the skills and knowledge you need to be a Planner or Designer, but there is a also a lot to be learned for free and social media is a great place to start. If you don’t follow us on social media, click on the link to a campus near you and then on the social media links from our home page. This is a great place to start your ‘free training’ and learn more about the industry you want to be part of.
