If you follow me on Twitter, you received this tweet from me today: 
I found a must-read post today entitled: How To: Plan A DIY Wedding Using Social Media. Whether you photograph weddings or not, this will open your eyes to the way people are now using the Internet to do things within their daily lives. 
The writer of the post, Josh, is planning his wedding for next July. As a part of the process, he shared all the different tools he and his future bride are using for the planning process.
- Sites to plan out the color scheme
- Sites to plan invitations to wedding collateral
- Blogs to document the entire process
- Mobile technology to work with iPhones and BlackBerry’s to keep everyone up to date
- Registry programs
- Honeymoon planners
The list goes on.
When you take a look through his planning process – and yes he still has 9 months to go – its amazing the resources that are at his finger tips. And how well he can use them.
Think any other newly engaged couples are doing the same thing?
What about in the future?
I walked into a small group a week ago to give a presentation on social. All were 35+, with several being 50+. The most common questions were “who cares what others have for lunch” and “I don’t have time for all of this”.
If your clients no longer read magazines and newspapers, listen to their iPods instead of radio, and throw away all junk mail, how are you going to reach them? If they are doing a ton of research online with the help of social media and you’re not there, how are they going to find you?
Maybe the better question is
Can your business really succeed in the new marketing world if you’re not there?
It’s not a matter of saying “I don’t have time”. You have to make the time to learn how to use it correctly to keep your business momentum moving forward. If you have a goal of being in business in five years, part of your marketing better be social media. It’s here. And it’s the way everyone will be marketing in the future.
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