Make Party Planning Easier with Social Media

Thanks to social media, party planning has become much easier! From intimate, living room gatherings to large-scale celebrations, there's more available than Facebook events (although we still recommend them) to take your party planning online.

Twitter - Twitter's a great resource to find vendors such as venue, entertainment, catering, etc. Looking for something specific? Send out a tweet and there's sure to be someone in your network who can help you find it.  Need to know if the hotel you're booked at for your wedding offers free breakfast? Use Twitter to ask them directly. Twitter is also a great way to get news of your event out. Use it in conjunction with other social media channels to drum up pre-event excitement by using a specific hashtag such as #janstagette. Because anyone can see your posts, remember to use Twitter to chat about the event only and keep the specifics (like address) for the official invitation.

Google+ Events - Google + recently rolled out their Events in June 2012. Offering an attractive, easy-to-use interface, Google+ Events allows you to choose the look of the event, add any information (YouTube URL, ticket seller URL, etc.) and upload photos before, during and after. Once a guest accepts the invite, it goes directly into their Google calendar so it won't be missed!

Pinterest - This addictive online vision board network can be used for much more than sharing those must-have shoes. Use it to create a board of your daughter's "favourite" things and share it with guests who are looking for gift-giving ideas. Or create a board after the event to showcase the gifts you received from your wedding or beautiful decor.

Caroline Pigott is the owner of Flourish, a boutique marketing & social media firm dedicated to helping other women entrepreneurs flourish through such services as social media management, SEO web content, press release writing & distribution and consulting.

For more information, visit www.youwillflourish.com.

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