Wedding destination Web site and mobile application WeddingWire has already seen 6,000 uses of the hashtag it created for its campaign that is giving away a honeymoon trip to Mexico to a winning couple that posts a photo upon their engagement on Instagram and attaches the hashtag #JustSaidYes.

By considering relevancy, WeddingWire is able to connect with consumers at the most appropriate time by hosting this contest. Furthermore, consumers are often enticed to engage with brands when a free offer is involved.

“Mobile is ultimately the foundation of our #JustSaidYes campaign,” said Sonny Ganguly, chief marketing officer at WeddingWire, Washington, D.C. “We are leveraging Instagram to help capture each couple’s engagement photos in a fresh and unique way.

“We are proud to highlight these special moments on our responsive landing page and across social platforms,” he said. “Even if you are not engaged or married, you are looking at these creative images of how couples are expressing their love and often sharing them with your own network via mobile.”

Hashtag to win
Similar to The Knot, WeddingWire connects engaged couples with vendors to help plan their big day.

As many companies continue to realize the best use of social media to grow their business, WeddingWire leveraged their social platforms for an interactive engagement season.

During this year’s season, which is traditionally considered to be Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day when nearly one-third of all engagements take place, WeddingWire launched the #JustSaidYes campaign, encouraging newly engaged couples to post a photo on Instagram and announce their exciting news for a chance to win a mini-moon to Mexico.

Since the campaign launch in late December, WeddingWire has seen the #JustSaidYes hashtag used nearly 6,000 times, according to the brand.

Upon press deadline, there are more than 6,400 uses of the hashtag on Instagram alone.

The sentiment of the program especially resonated on Instagram, where WeddingWire saw its follower list increase by 40 percent. Television personality and fashion designer Whitney Port also joined WeddingWire in the campaign, encouraging engagement amongst her own 882,000 followers.

The campaign runs through February 20.

WeddingWire believes its campaign has the potential for more than 4.4 million impressions.

A competitive space
The wedding and engagement industry is very competitive, and brands often compete for brides’ attentions.

For example, online wedding registry Zola introduced a new feature for its mobile application in November 2014 that combines all uses of a couple’s wedding hashtag to aggregate photos taken during their special day.

Images posted on Instagram or tweeted on Twitter using the established hashtag are added to a couple’s Zola account. Users can zoom in and out of their wedding timeline via these social shares and re-share images (see story).

Earlier last year, Zola took advantage of the release of iOS 8 by integrating gift tracking and Web capabilities to its app. Through updates provided by iOS 8, Zola allows its users to add any product found on the mobile Web to their wedding registry on Zola.

For example, if users find a product on Target.com that they like, users can easily add this via Apple’s tool of Custom Action. Custom Action is the ability to create a new kind of interaction from Mobile Safari to any iPhone app (see story).

Similar to leveraging new technologies, brands often find success and raise awareness for themselves by offering giveaways.

“Providing a high-valued prize such as the mini-moon with Paradisus has allowed WeddingWire to reach new consumers while creating a renewed way to engage with our existing audience,” Mr. Ganguly said. “Consumers enjoy the opportunity of winning or receiving a free item. We are tapping into this interest to increase awareness of our brand and build buzz around engagement season.”

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York