3 Reasons Why You Should Not Direct Message Vendors on Social Media

Social media is a resource difficult to live without in today's society. Of course, there are those strong individuals who can go more than a day without checking their accounts or uploading selfies, but they are in the minority of people. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even Tumblr, are all platforms for people to showcase their personalities and find people that they want to know more about. In most cases, these vessels are also used by professionals to display their talents and attract potential clients.

One really awesome feature that most sites boast is the ability to direct message (DM). It's an amazing resource that allows you to stay connected with friends and keep up with the people you may have lost touch with. It's an important feature in the world of social media, but a lot of times, we don't realize the short-comings that can also surface from it.

Today, I want to spend a little bit of time talking about the problems with DMing your potential wedding vendors instead of reaching out via email or their website. If this can save one message from getting lost and bring you closer to the vendor of your dreams, then it has done the job :).

The 3 Reasons Why You Should Not Direct Message Your Wedding Vendors:

1. The Message Request Folder

The biggest problem I see with DMing is when you message someone's personal account, your inquiry will most likely end up in an alternate area that many people don't look at regularly or even know about. This tab on Facebook used to be called the "Other" folder and is now called the "Message Requests" section, which is where messages from strangers go. The message request area is finicky, since there are no notification of new messages except a little greyed out "(1)" when you click on the inbox icon. Since there's a lack of apparent notification that is quite easy to glance over, it's very difficult to be guaranteed your message will get seen.

2. Important Details Are Easily Missed

If a vendor is getting messaged on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, it can be hard for them to keep the messages organized and give all of the details they need. There is a lot that goes into getting to know a client that cannot be learned through a chat program. On my contact form I ask a few of questions that really help me understand your day, so I can have all the important details established and we can move straight into specifics. If you're messaging me through Instagram, you aren't covering all of those details that I like to see, so our opening messages are mostly me trying to understand all of the technical aspects of the wedding and determining if we would work well together. While the tag line for social media is to "stay connected" most vendors find it difficult to communicate effectively through these platforms.

3. Informal Communication = Not a Priority

It's easy to get into the head space that your social media accounts are personal. It's a place where goofing around with friends is easy, and there isn't so much worry about keeping up the appearance of an eloquent business owner. Social media is such an informal means of communication that - to no fault of anyone - business messages can easily be pushed off or delayed. I am the first to admit that I take a lot longer to formulate responses to people who message my personal accounts. I'm not sure if it's because I feel as though replying immediately will create the expectation to always respond at times when I'm not working on that aspect of my business or am just spending some time relaxing, or if I just feel less organized and impersonal when messaging on my private accounts. I know the feelings for both sides, since Marlayna and I dealt with a business owner for the styled shoot who completely disappeared in the middle of a conversation on Facebook. It happens, and it feels awful. While I won't ever desert a client, some vendors may and it's something that with a quick email could have been avoided.