Last month I watched my next-door neighbor enjoy her daughter’s wedding after nearly a year of planning. We’ve had countless conversations since the engagement and I know she was thrilled to come home and put up her feet after it was over. It was especially fun since the bride was friends with my daughter back in middle school and they were sorority sisters in college. I have watched her grow up!

Recently my own daughter became engaged, and while the wedding is too far off to start any serious planning, I have started to consider my role as Mother of the Bride. (known by many as M.O.B.) And here is what I know: walking the road in my support role for the wedding day there will be a lot of twists and turns, probably some good and bad surprises, and hopefully a wonderful result at the end. But most interesting was the sudden realization that there are a lot of similarities between this role and the role of social media.

How so, you ask?

1. You have to build relationships. This is where social media shines. Our communication models have evolved and businesses need to get on board with how to do business here. People have always bought from those they Know, Like, and Trust, and social media is just the perfect platform to do so. Prospects want to get to know us before buying, and you can outshine your competition and become the go-to person by building relationships in Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.Now, in my role as MOB, I have to build new relationships with my future in-laws. They live hundreds of miles away, and I have never met them. In fact, it’s likely that I won’t meet them until the day before the wedding. So, I will pick up the phone, maybe use Skype, and get to know them so we aren’t strangers when we walk into the church together.
2. You have to have a plan. Many business owners don’t have any kind of business or marketing plan, and therefore, have no social media plan. Without a strategy to follow, you will likely end up making mistakes, wasting time and effort, and not get the results you desire.What I know for sure about weddings is that there are people out there called Wedding Planners. They can make the experience run smoothly and get the promised results. It’s likely my daughter will call upon her own planning and organizing skills to pull off her wedding, but there are certain steps you have to take, things to do, and we will all sleep easier at night and be a lot happier with each other by creating and following a plan.
3. It’s not about you. You’ve all heard that social media has its own 80/20 rule. Some say even 90/10. As a business owner, you get to talk about your company and its products and services only about 20 percent of the time. The rest of the time you are sharing information of value to your audience, plus entertaining and engaging them in conversations. You need to think of your audience first and foremost.

As MOB, it certainly is not about me, what I want, what I wear, or what I think is right. My opinion will be taken into consideration, but I just get a tee-tiny bit of input. Maybe 20%. Bottom line, it IS all about my daughter!

With careful planning, and a little bit of know how, we can all be successful in our social media (or wedding) endeavors.

(Wish me luck, and leave me some love!)