When people talk about social media and which platforms should Churches and ministries be on, two of the top ones are always Facebook and Instagram. They are both owned by Meta. Currently, Facebook has just under 3 billion monthly active users which is 36% of the world’s population. Instagram now has over 1.5 billion users. Again, a huge number of users. Facebook is a great way for family and friends to share life updates, Instagram is very popular with photo enthusiasts and millennials.
While Meta can boost that they own two of the top social media platforms in the world, it have come under increase pressure of late. For starters, TikTok has just passed over 1 billion monthly active users and was the most downloaded app of 2021, with 656 million downloads. And then the Kardashians because upset.
The Kardashians are huge Instagram favorites and have become major influencers on that platform. Last week, both Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner went on their Instagram Stories to rip Instagram for trying to be more like TikTok and less like how Instagram was originally created to be. As they said, they wanted to “Make Instagram, Instagram Again.” By that they meant that they want more photos, less TikTok style content.
As more and more people were responding positively to Kim and Kylie’s stories, Instagram responded. The CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, posted on Twitter, of all places, that changes were coming to Instagram. He said that they were, in fact, switching to more video based content and sharing more recommended content to its users. This only made matters worse for Instagram and Meta. People were more outraged.
Meta capped off a crazy back and forth week with two other announcements. On Wednesday, not only did they announce an earnings miss in their quarterly earnings (a first ever), but CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared that both Facebook and Instagram are going to show you more recommended posts, rather than posts from your friends. Needless to say, users are NOT happy. Users do not want to see more recommended posts. They want to see more posts from their friends. However, in a turn of events, it looks like Instagram is listening to what people are asking for and decided to NOT change the app to look more like TikTok…for now. For how long, no one knows, but the reality is that changes will be coming to Instagram eventually.
With every change Meta makes or looks to make provides opportunities for your online ministry. Click To TweetThese changes and updates can have a dramatic effect on people, businesses, and Social Media Managers? So how does this affect Churches and Social Media Managers who use these platforms for ministry purposes? What are the opportunities? Here are 4 to consider.
- Organic Reach is Dying. Know your organic reach on these platforms will not be what it used to be. Facebook was already trending this way, but it looks like Instagram will be that way, as well. While that is disappointing for these platforms, there are other platforms where organic reach is stronger. Twitter, YouTube and TikTok still have great organic reach potential. Utilize these social platforms more and limit what you do on Facebook and Instagram.
- Facebook Ads. While organic reach on Facebook is difficult, Facebook Ads are STILL effective. Paid advertising on Facebook still reaches people and it looks like Meta will be prioritizing it even more. And, it is still relatively cheap to do them.
- A Digital Missionary Opportunity. While Church Brand accounts may be hurt by these moves, Digital Missionaries can still minister effectively. In fact,Twitter is still a great place for Digital Missionaries and you can still encourage people in a variety of ways, especially during holidays. But even on Meta platforms, there are opportunities for Digital Missionaries to minister no matter what changes they make. Here are 5 different things they can do.
- Metaverse. While Facebook and instagram is changing a lot and you will still have limited organic reach on those platforms, Meta is still ALL IN on the Metaverse. They have spent a lot of money investing in it and will continue to do so as they compete against other companies to develop this new environment. Because of all the work Meta is doing, it is worth your Church exploring more about it.
Conclusion
The week of July 25, 2022 was a rough week for Meta. A poor quarterly report and a series of failed announcements caused quite a stir amongst their users and the social media community. Changes at Meta are happening. However, that doesn’t mean that the ministry aspect of social media is over. It can and should still happen. It will just look different and you have to continue to look for ways to minister despite the changes. God can still work and people still need to hear about Him. Keep adapting and see what God does.
What do you think? What do you think of changes at Meta? Share your ideas below or on social media.
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