OREANDA-NEWS. November 02, 2015.  Wedding-goers today have a bevy of choices available for capturing, sharing and retweeting photos of your Uncle Eddie who drank too much and thought he could still do “The Worm.” Documenting memories for posterity, however, can be tricky when the pics are spread across multiple social networks.  

The WedSocial app, developed by leading wedding technology company, WeddingWire, gives couples and their guests an easy and consolidated platform for wedding memories and logistical details. In addition to photo sharing, filters and an Instagram integration, WedSocial points guests to wedding-related information, such as reception and rehearsal location.

As a company that connects engaged couples to wedding-related services, WeddingWire has a robust, personal and high-touch relationship with wedding vendors and brides and grooms around the world.  

“One of the challenges we’re facing is that the couple is our customer, but their guests aren’t,” said Bethany Mulcahy, email marketing specialist at WeddingWire.

To increase app adoption among guests, WeddingWire embarked on a strategic campaign using email and MobileConnect to promote the app and encourage downloads. While there are soft mentions of WedSocial when the couple joins WeddingWire, the bulk of the app promotions fall within the final 30 days before the event, which is when the app is mostly likely to be downloaded.

The 30-day promotional journey starts with an email explaining the benefits of the free app, encouraging the couple to download and share it with their friends and family. If the couple does not download the app, they receive a reminder email seven days later.

One day after the app is downloaded, WeddingWire sends an email with next steps for inviting guests to join the platform. Leading to the wedding, the couple receives weekly, dynamically-generated emails with stats on how many wedding guests have joined their WedSocial community.

The Thursday prior to the wedding, WedSocial users are encouraged to share a throwback photo featuring the couple. This email has been particularly engaging, said Mulcahy, because it leverages a social media behavior, generates buzz and has a viral impact.

Perhaps the most critical email in the series, however, is a table card email, sent to the couple 17 days prior to the event. The email encourages the couple to print custom table cards to be displayed at the wedding.

The table cards include an SMS shortcode and keyword generated by MobileConnect, making it easy for guests to simply text in for a link to download WedSocial. The link they receive is customized for the device, directing them to either Google Play or the Apple App Store.

The table card emails solved for a common painpoint, said Senior Manager of Email Marketing Bart Thornburg. “It’s always a challenge to connect people from something in the physical world to something in the digital world. It’s a jump from one medium to another and SMS proved to be a really good way to bridge that gap,” he said.

The results speak for themselves. Since launching the WedSocial email series and MobileConnect campaign, adoption of the Wedsocial app among WeddingWire users is up 74 percent.

Thornburg attributes this success to WeddingWire’s attention to user needs. “Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows us to be really focused on the experience of our community,” he said.

Learn more about driving engagement with mobile marketing. Check out the free cross-channel checklist for more tips.

About WeddingWire:

WeddingWire, Inc. is the leading global online marketplace connecting consumers with event and creative professionals. Operating within a \\$200 billion industry, WeddingWire, Inc. hosts 10 million monthly unique users across its mobile and web platforms. Consumers are able to read over 2.5 million vendor reviews and search, compare and book from a database of over 400,000 businesses. Globally, it provides these businesses the technology they need to serve their clients through advertising, marketing and business management tools such as websites, payment processing, invoicing and contracts. Founded in 2007, the WeddingWire portfolio of sites serves couples and businesses across 14 countries in North America, Latin America and Europe, making it the worldwide leader in weddings with brands including Bodas.net, Casamentos.com.br, Matrimonio.com and more. The company employs more than 650 and maintains global headquarters in Washington, DC and international headquarters in Barcelona, Spain.