Social Media
CONNECTING WHERE PEOPLE ARE
For many, getting started on social media can feel like wading through murky waters. The beauty, and at times the hardest part, is that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to social media. Deciding what to post, where, how frequently, and when can feel overwhelming, but by using social media, churches have the power to spread their message to a wider audience. To get started, check out these steps for supporting your church with social media.
Step One: Determine Your Audience
Start by determining the focus of your social media channels by narrowing in on your targeted audience. Is it the whole community in your area, solely your congregation, or are you looking to connect with a certain age group? By focusing on who you want your message to speak to, it will be easier to decide what to post and when.
Learn More About Finding Your Audience
Step Two: Getting Started
It’s natural to want to tackle every social media channel at once, but focusing on one or two platforms will allow you to grow your audience there, and then expand. We recommend choosing two platforms at first, whether that be Facebook, Instagram, X (Formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, or LinkedIn, and growing your audience there first.
We suggest focusing your efforts strongly on Facebook at the beginning of your social media use. Since the majority of the church’s demographic is already on it, it is a great first platform to get connected with your audience.
Learn more about getting started with Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), TikTok, and LinkedIn
If, like many of us, you’re skeptical about why your church should have a LinkedIn, check out this article.
Step Three: Content is King
Now that you have an audience in mind and a platform or two that you’re excited to post on, now is the time to decide what message you want to bring to your audience. It could be church announcements, behind-the-scenes moments, or a quote from that week’s sermon. Don’t forget to utilize videos when possible to connect further with your audience.
Learn More About What To Post On Your Church’s Social Media
Step Four: Make Posting Simple
Even if it’s a simple Google Doc, start a content-scheduling calendar with ideas for what you want to post so you do not find yourself looking for images and ideas five minutes before you want to post. Get started by having dedicated content for certain days, like posting a quote from the sermon the day before on Monday, a look at the week ahead at church on Tuesday, etc. To make posting even easier, use a scheduling service like Hootsuite, Later, SocialPilot, or Buffer. Many of these have free plans available that allow you to schedule and post content for different social media channels all in one place. They also allow you to track what kind of posts are doing the best with your audience.
Be realistic about the bandwidth of who is posting, and make a schedule that is both reasonable and compelling (IE: Posting once a day is a great idea, until you account for creating content, keeping posts relevant, and what happens when the poster is on vacation.)
Learn More About Scheduling Content
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Teens, Social Media, & Technology Overview 2015, Pew Research Center
Study: Not All Millennials Use Social Media the Same Way, Contently / The Content Strategist
A Theology of Digital Communication, Justin Wise