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. 

This guide will walk you through a step-by-step approach to using social media effectively while incorporating the latest research and tools relevant to faith-based and nonprofit organizations. (With evolving platforms, algorithms, and audience behaviors, it’s important to stay informed on best practices; we updated this guide in January 2025.)

Step One: Define Your Audience & Goals

Start by determining the focus of your social media channels by narrowing in on your targeted audience. Is it the entire community in your area, solely your congregation, or are you looking to connect with a certain age group? A focused approach will help you determine the best platforms and types of content to prioritize. Churches and nonprofits typically have multiple audiences, including:

  • Current members/supporters ➡ Keeping them engaged and informed

  • Newcomers and seekers ➡ Helping them feel welcomed and connected

  • Community partners ➡ Building relationships beyond your organization

📖 Resources for Audience Research:

How To Find Your Target Audience on Social Media

The Episcopal Church’s Study Your Neighborhood Tool

Community Demographics

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.

📰 For 2025: How Marketing Leaders Can Navigate the TikTok Ban Stress

📰 The biggest Instagram Updates for 2025 (Updated monthly):

📰 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

6 Ways to Grow Your Non-Profit’s Following on Social Media

Non-Profits on TikTok Case Studies

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.). There is no magical number for how many times to post — the best content calendar is a sustainable one.

Learn More About Scheduling Content

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT CREATION / DESIGN

  • Photofy: Free app for combining images and text. It's easy to use and offers a wide variety of fonts.

  • Canva: Free design platform for nonprofits for making social media graphics. Available on desktop and mobile.

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