Being on social media for your Church is important. It gives your Church an opportunity to engage with your community and help encourage people in their faith. However, it can be overwhelming as there are many different things you can do on social media today. This overwhelming part can often prevent Churches or ministries from moving forward in social media and really get engaged in it effectively as a ministry opportunity.
So, how do you become more effective on social media? What can your Church do? Here are 5 steps to take.
Find a point person
This could be anyone…especially that someone who loves their iPhone. Student Ministers are ideal for this because they are on all sorts of social media now with students and they understand better than most on how to interact online better. But it doesn’t have to be just him/her. It can really be anyone who is good with technology and loves one or more of these social networks. What you need here is a point person that can help spearhead this initiative to get your ministry on social media.
The person running your social media can be a staffer or a volunteer as long as that person has a hear for social media and sees it as a ministry opportunity. Click To TweetGet on the basic social accounts
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and even Twitter are the key social media accounts. Those are great social networks to be on with lots of conversations happening on them. However, you do not need to be on all of them, at least to start. If you really want to know which social media accounts to be first, you have to find out which ones your congregation are on. You can do this by doing a survey, poll at church or just ask around. Once you can identify which accounts they are on, get on them as soon as possible and start creating content.
Create content
Creating content can seem overwhelming, but this is simply posting engaging videos, images and messages where you are encouraging others. These could be Bible verses, notes from a sermon, a worship song, devotional or some behind-the-scenes stuff that is happening in your ministry that gives people a glimpse of what goes on. Create and share the content that fits your Church’s culture, rather than trying mimic or copy another Church’s postings.
As you are creating content, it is important is to create content on a consistent basis and stick to it. Consistency matters. There is not much worse on social media than to start posting a lot all at once and then become inconsistent at it. To know how to create engaging images try using apps like Canva, Word Swag or creating videos to share.
When creating content for social media, consistency matters. Provide engaging and interactive content that fits the culture of your Church. Click To TweetEngage in the conversation
When you get into social media, posting can be easy. However, it can become very easy to just post and that’s it. Do not let it become a one sided conversation. Instead of just posting about events and what is happening at your Church, seek to engage as well. How do you do that? By interacting with others who are you “friends” or “followers” on these social media accounts. You can do that by checking what they are posting and interacting with them. People are constantly sharing on their pages. See what they are sharing about and interact on their pages. It could be a great way to start spiritual conversations and follow up with them about life situations.
Another way to engage in conversations is to search hashtags. Check certain hashtags of topics you are looking to engage people with. For example, if you are looking for fitness tips so you can talk about ultimate health found in Christ, search #fitness. If you want to invite people to a Christmas Eve service at your church search #christmas or #christmaseve. Searching through hashtags can be a great way to meet new friends and share about the love of Christ with them.
Social media can become a one sided conversation. Resist the urge to just post about your Church. Seek to engage in conversations. Click To TweetShare information
When you are on social media, you want to encourage, engage and interact with people. While that may be the primary role, there is also an element of sharing information. Being effective on social media also means sharing information about what is going on with your ministry. After all, people look will be looking at your social media to find out what is happening at your Church or in your ministry. So, gather information you need to share via social media and share it. Don’t make it the only stuff you share as creating content, content curation and engaging with others is even more important than this. But, share away and let people know what is happening.
People are looking at your social media channels to find out what is going on at your Church. Use social media to keep people updated. Click To TweetConclusion
Being active on social media is important for your Church. You don’t have to be on all the platforms, just the ones people in your community are most active on. Here are five easy steps to start being effective on social media in your Church or ministry. While social media as a whole can be overwhelming, take steps to create content to encourage people spiritually, but also engage with people as they are sharing about their lives. Take it one day at a time, creating consistent encouragement and content, and see what God does.
What will you start incorporating today? How can you become effective on social media for your Church? Before you finish reading this post, write down a quick action plan that you can start implementing today so that you can avoid social media mistakes. Share them below or on social media.
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