WeddingWire had a great time at the 2009 Wedding MBA Convention, the world’s biggest convention dedicated to teaching you how to make money in the wedding business, last week in Las Vegas.  WeddingWire’s CEO, Timothy Chi, and CMO, Sonny Ganguly, had the opportunity to educate attendees in a two part ‘Pimp My Marketing’ series on the latest trends to help increase online exposure and further reach to today’s engaged couples.  We have had such a great response on the material we discussed that we decided to share the information with the entire WeddingWire Community.

• ‘Pimp My Marketing’ Season 1: Email strategies, SEO basics, and top online sites
• ‘Pimp My Marketing’ Season 2: SEM basics, tracking and monitoring, and top online sites

Again, we had a great time meeting all the attendees at this year’s convention. We hope to see everyone at the 2010 WMBA Convention, which will be in Las Vegas again!

WeddingWire has teamed up with Meebo, one of the largest social media companies on the web, to provide a new real-time vendor to vendor chat feature within your WeddingWire account. Now you can ask questions, get feedback, or simply communicate with vendors you know from anywhere across the country. Whether you are updating your Storefront or perusing the Vendor Education Center, the chat feature will be visible in the lower right hand corner of your account so that you can easily connect with other vendors.

Don’t see any buddies on your list? Simply connect with other vendors through the Vendors I Know tool, located in the “My Community” section.  Once the connection is approved by the other vendors, their names will show up on your buddy list.

The new Meebo feature also allows you to gather all of your friends on a single buddy list from within your WeddingWire account, so you can communicate in real-time across different IM platforms and social networks, including AIM, Twitter, and Facebook Chat.   All you have to do is log-in to your Meebo account from within the new vendor chat bar to access your accounts.  And if you don’t have a Meebo account, you can easily register for an account and then connect with your various IM and social network accounts straight from the new vendor chat bar.

Log-in to your WeddingWire account and check it out today!

Check out our new WeddingWire commercial to see why over 100,000 vendors have joined the WeddingWire Network.

In today’s wired world, engaging in social media is a powerful way to help increase your brand awareness and reach potential clients.  Just take a look at the recent results of surveys conducted by Nielsen Online:

• Over 67 percent of online users are engaging in “Member Communities”, which includes social networks and blogs, making it more popular than personal email.
• Twitter continues as the fastest growing social networking site, growing in popularity as not only a means of communication between friends, but as an essential part of brand marketing.
• While topping the charts for the number of unique visitors, Facebook also leads the way for stickiness, with the average user spending 3 hours and 16 minutes on the site. The average Twitter user sticks around for about 12 minutes.

Top 5 Social Networking Sites

It is evident in these results that social networking has become an essential part of today’s online experience.  At WeddingWire, we are committed to educating and connecting you with numerous social networks in order to extend your reach to today’s wired brides.

Facebook fan Page is a public profile you can create and personalize to showcase your business and services to Facebook users. With over 200 million registered users, creating a Facebook Page is one way to help reach your customers and potential clients. The best part is it’s completely free!

Creating a Page is easy. Simply visit Facebook Pages, click on “Create a Page” and let the fun begin.

• Step 1: Pick Category & Name
  Choose a category that best fits the services you provide. Please note that you will not be able to change your category once you choose, so pick the closest match. Next, choose a name for your Page. Since this Page is for your business, you should use your business name. This will help extend your brand awareness. Click “Create Page.”

• Step 2: Picture Time
  Click “Upload a Picture” at the top of your Page and upload a photo. A logo or a picture that represents your business is the best choice.

Continue reading »

It’s a busy time of year at WeddingWire headquarters.  We have been traveling all over the country sharing our industry knowledge, meeting and networking with vendors like you, and of course reaching out to brides!

Here are a few places we have been:

2009 Catersource and Event Solutions Conference & Tradeshow
Last week, WeddingWire attended the 2009 Catersource and Event Solutions Conference & Tradeshow in Las Vegas, NV.  It its 16th year, this educational conference and tradeshow brought together catering professionals from all over the world.  This year’s conference featured numerous sessions on how to market, staff and manage catering companies and provided professionals with the skills and networking opportunities needed to support business and increase bottom line.

WeddingWire had the opportunity to meet many of the catering attendees during the Tradeshow and Wedding Networking event.  The trip was very successful and we look forward to all the new members joining the WeddingWire network!

Association of Wedding Gown Specialists
Sonny Ganguly, WeddingWire’s Chief Marketing Officer, attended the annual meeting for the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists in San Antonio, TX, this past weekend.  Sonny presented on Reaching Today’s Wired Bride, and then also led round table discussions on internet marketing, social media, and site traffic.

Running of the Brides
Filene’s Basement is most famous for its annual Bridal Gown Events called “Running of the Brides,” where brides-to-be can save hundreds, even thousands of dollars on designer wedding gowns.  WeddingWire teams up with Filene’s Basement to promote and support these events in numerous locations throughout the year. Here the video from last Friday’s NYC Event.  Check out the WeddingWire users wearing “The Best & The Bridest” pink t-shirts in the front of the line!

Houston Wedding Showcase
WeddingWire sponsored and attended the Houston Wedding Showcase last Saturday. The Houston Wedding Showcase is a one-stop wedding planning show for engaged couples in the Houston area and is produced by two bridal show producers that have a combined 25 years of experience in the industry. This year’s February show was a huge success, attracting thousands of brides.  WeddingWire is proud to be a sponsor of this fresh and innovative bridal show in one of the country’s largest bridal markets!

Stay tuned for more WeddingWire events!

What is the difference between marketing and advertising? Although it seems like a simple question, it is very common to confuse the definition of the two.

By definition marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, and delivering offerings that have value for consumers and society at large (American Marketing Association).  Marketing is the first step in developing a product or service.  Seth Godin said it perfectly in his recent post, “Just about every successful product or service is the result of smart marketing thinking first, followed by a great product that makes the marketing story come true.”

Advertising is the act or practice of calling public attention to your product, service, need, etc. (dictionary.com). Advertising includes paid ads, which can be online, in print, on billboards, etc. Advertising is a main component of marketing.

A good way to look at it is to think of marketing as a pie, in which you have slices that include advertising, market research, product branding, interactive media, SEO, sales strategy, lead generation, consumer involvement, customer support, and more.  Marketing is everything you do as a small business to facilitate a connection between your business and your consumer.

Our goal at WeddingWire is to provide the platform for vendors in the wedding industry to do both.  As a vendor you can create an account and build your Storefront, which helps you create and communicate your product offerings to your consumers (engaged couples).  Our vendor catalog, which is listed off of numerous networks (i.e. Martha Stewart Weddings, BridalBuds, WeddingAces), serves as a means of advertisement for your business for all incoming engaged couples to see.

What are your thoughts on marketing and advertising? Share your feedback in the comments sections!

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards! This new annual award program, launched at the beginning of the week, is unlike other award programs in our industry in which winners are selected by the company.  This year’s winners were determined exclusively by recent newlyweds from the WeddingWire community through survey results and reviews.  This year’s high-performing winners represent the top three percent of WeddingWire’s vendor community.

We want to thank all the winners for their hard work and dedication to the wedding industry!

Remember…reviews are one part of the nomination process, so don’t forget to invite your 2009 clients to review your services on WeddingWire in order to put you one step closer to being eligible for 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards!  Simply visit the Marketing section of your WeddingWire account to invite your past clients to review your services.

WeddingWire recently launched two blog communities for engaged couples.  The best part is the vendor catalog is featured on each blog, making it easy for incoming brides (and grooms) to find you!

• Bridalbuds.com - Real wedding experiences, wedding planning tips, DIY projects, and more from current engaged couples going through the planning process along with advice from newlyweds who have previously been in their position.

• WeddingAces.com - Firsthand knowledge and experiences straight from the experts of the wedding industry!  The diverse group of wedding bloggers featured on WeddingAces are actively involved within the WeddingWire network, blogosphere, and wedding industry.

Become a fan of our new sites on Facebook: BridalBuds and WeddingAces!

On this historic 56th Presidential Inauguration Day, I invite you to visit www.WedWeCan.com.  Our ‘Wed We Can’ campaign, which launched today, focuses on the change WeddingWire has brought to online wedding planning.   Seeing as the internet has revolutionized the way engaged couples can plan their weddings,  WeddingWire provides the technology for engaged couples to simplify and streamline their planning process and easily connect with vendors like you!

Check out the site and press release!

You can now use Twitter People Search to track them down! Twitter is much more useful when you can find the accounts of your friends, colleagues, competitors or companies that interest you.  So whether you are searching for a friend or for WeddingWire, just click the “Find People” in the navigation bar at the top of your Twitter homepage and search away!

Not into Twitter yet?   Sign up for your free account today and let the fun begin!

Follow us on Twitter!

Wishing you good health, happiness, and success in the New Year!

Best Wishes,

The WeddingWire Team