Like in any other business it is just as important for individuals in the wedding planning business to be transparent when they use social media. As discussed in Tami Brown’s blog, a lack of transparency in this industry can have a significantly negative impact on your business. The most significant impact that it can have is that both your existing and potential customers lose respect for your wedding planning business. Furthermore, these customers that are displeased with your lack of transparency can lead to negative publicity for your business. Ignoring comments and complaints and hoping they will go away, WILL NOT WORK when you are using social media. Instead just be honest and address the issue at hand. By being transparent you can help build trust and strengthen your relationships with your clients, which can make your business excel.
However, there will definitely be some clients that would not want you to talk about their wedding details on your blog, Facebook, or whatever social media platform you may use. If at any time you find it necessary to talk about someone’s wedding details on say your blog, it is vital that ask or tell your client about it first. Be completely transparent to them about your intentions, and explain the reasons why you need to discuss it. With the current couple I am working with right now, I am planning to ask them if it would be okay if I use some information from the wedding for this blog. My intentions for sharing the information is to receive feedback and critiques about my work, so that I can improve as a wedding planner, considering I am so new to the industry.
CAN YOU BE TOO TRANSPARENT?
Yes, there are times that you have to put limits on transparency in this industry. I agree with Tami that you need to keep a little mystery in the social media world. If you share everything all at once, what will readers look forward to reading next time? Keeping some secrets won’t hurt anyone, as long it is done appropriately! J There are also times, when you can share to much information, and it can hurt your business. Like Tami stated in her blog, oversharing information can lead clients and also prospects thinking that you are to open and that you won’t value their privacy or that you can’t keep secrets. This will obviously cause you to lose a lot of business; therefore it is important that you think about things before you write them. There is no clear cut answer of what the boundaries are when it comes to transparency, but I believe that as long as you use some common sense you will be able to find the appropriate balance.
Hi Lena,
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting, because your industry is one where transparency would definitely not always be seen as a good thing, with brides always wanting a special occasion, and not open up the possibility that anyone on the internet could get all the secrets to copying their exact wedding! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Hi Lena,
ReplyDeleteI read your thoughts on transparency in the wedding industry. I helped plan my brother's wedding this past and I found that we really tried to go with Vendors who had credibility. These vendors established their credibility by being transparent in their services, contract and during our initial consultations. I agree with you in that, the more transparency a vendor can provide, the better chances they will aquire customers who are happy. Furthermore, I
found that we as a family had a bit of a difficult time being transparent in terms of trying to keep certain parts of the ceremony a surprise for the guests. Like you said above, sometimes a bit of secrecy is not a bad thing!