Churches, Ministries & Social Media Strategy
Photo by Tracy Le Blanc from Pexels
The Opportunity for Churches and Ministries
Noise. There is so much noise to sift through.
On top of that, people are feeling even more lonely, depressed, and isolated. Platforms meant to bring unity and connection are polarizing friends, neighbors, and families.
This creates a sad but urgent opportunity for the Church to step in. This article explores these opportunities with examples of churches and ministries currently leading the way.
According to Backlinko, 3.93 billion people use social media. That’s a little over half of everyone in the world... 63% of those being active users with an average time spent on social media of 2 hours and 24 minutes. To put that in perspective, if someone joined at 16 and lived to 70 years old, that would be 5.7 years of their life spent on social media.
90% of the individuals aged 18 to 29 in the U.S. are on social media. 82% between the ages of 30 and 49 are on social media (Source). That means nearly all Gen Z, Millenials, new families, and newlyweds are reachable through their phones, tablets, or laptops.
Social media is beyond relevant and necessary for churches and ministries to reach our younger generations. Unfortunately, simply having a social media account nowadays won’t cut it. There is a higher standard on what content you produce, how well it represents your “brand,” and whether it engages your audience.
Humanity needs connection, hope, encouragement, and unity now more than ever. And where are they going most often, especially amid the pandemic? Social media.
This means Church, you need an appropriate Social Media Strategy.
How Can Churches Start Implementing Effective Social Media Strategy?
The main goals for an effective social media strategy for churches and ministries:
Encourage and support current members
Challenge worldly thinking and teach the Word of God
Keep members up to date on upcoming events or schedule changes
Evangelize and engage with non-believers
Identify community needs that your ministries can meet
Build an online community with access to people who may not be able to make it to your location
Showcase your church culture, personality, and Christ in all you are and do. Marketers call this building your brand.
Getting the Right People and Support
If you do not have a Media or Communications Team, getting some freelance help to set up your social media accounts can be an invaluable starting point. After that, finding volunteers to help keep it going has proved successful for most. Eventually, getting a team together whose sole purpose is to keep up with your social is a must. Freelancers, a content specialist, or a copywriter can help keep up your social media strategy and help brainstorm, plan, and create consistent, quality content. At a minimum, you will need one person who can act as the photographer/social media person.
Create and Maintain Multiple Social Platforms
Most churches and ministries at least have a social media account, but to stay relevant, multiple platforms will need to be utilized... well. The best way to start is with Facebook and Instagram. Followed by Twitter, and if you are keeping up with the times, Tik Tok usage has exploded this year. Many digital marketing agencies are specifically putting money towards marketing on Tik Tok for this very reason.
Social Media Strategy Churches and Ministries Should Focus on in 2021
Video Strategy
Videos are trending as the most engaging and shared content across all platforms. Aim to be funny or entertaining because these get shared most often. This can be an excellent opportunity to show some personality and behind-the-scenes videos within your ministry.
The ideas can be endless:
Children's ministry: Have your volunteers recreate a funny dance used to teach the kiddos in Sunday School.
Go even further by posting Sunday School teachings every Sunday for kids stuck at home right now.
Local Outreach: Take a video of the behind-the-scenes prep for creating goody bags you give to the homeless. Do a song and dance number along with it.
Video testimonials are strong avenues to create a connection with your audience.
Sermons and sermon excerpts obviously!
Quality images and videos under 60 seconds will do the best on Instagram. Text length can vary depending on the goal of each post, but generally keeping it shorter sees the most success. The most emphasis should be on your top two lines. They need to be the attention-getter that explains why I should pause my scrolling and read the rest of your post. Make them click that "...more." People scroll to get lost and entertain themselves, so focus on entertaining and engaging photos and videos. The art of Instagram hashtagging will have to be discussed in a later post.
Some ideas could include:
A quality, screengrab photo from a sermon with the main point in those top two lines.
Missions photography with testimonies in the text.
Share a video excerpt of this past Sunday's worship service.
30-59 second video explanation of what to expect at your next church or ministry event. These can be very helpful!
Facebook, More Specifically...Facebook Groups
Facebook does a great job at keeping us informed, keeping someone distracted, and/or connecting on a deeper level. Facebook Groups have grown in popularity and usage to better connect on a deeper level. Groups can be public or private with customized guidelines for how to interact. Groups almost guarantee followers get a specific notification each time there is an update. Private groups have been a great way to build a more intimate community and safely share more personal details. What an incredible way to connect and get to the things that matter! This is what marketers call niching your audience, which tailors your content to the specific needs of your specific audience.
Facebook Page
If you do not have your own Facebook Page (not the same as a Facebook Group), go make one. They give you behind-the-scenes insights and opportunities to boost some of your posts with paid advertising. Though I recommend this less for ministries just starting, as ad spending has gone up with some policy changes, with the right post it could be worth it! When you have a Facebook Page, posting consistently will help build your audience, reputation, and audience engagement.
Real-Life Examples of Churches and Ministries Killing It!
As a Dallas native, I have to bring up my home church: Watermark Community Church. They do a fantastic job at keeping members up to date, sharing the Gospel every chance they get, and giving solid resources to those that are searching, hurting, or looking for support.
Watermark Community Church
Dallas, TX
They use their Facebook page to send updates, info about upcoming events and ministries, and little excerpts from previous sermons. This is keeping up with our “sound bite” society...dwindling attention spans that are being competed for daily.
You can see an Instagram post sharing someone’s testimony with quality graphics and quotes on the image. Canva is a great free tool to help you accomplish a similar look.
If you search ‘Watermark’ on Instagram, multiple options come up (see below). They went as far as creating an account for each of their ministries, niching their audience, even more, to ensure they are getting the right content in front of the right people.
Prestonwood Baptist Church
Plano, TX
Prestonwood created a private group for its members to create a tighter community and have a safe place to reach out and discuss. Great way to keep up with your members, check-in, identify needs within your community, and keep them informed. They also have an excellent media team that produces the same high-quality videos and photography that Watermark does.
The Village Church is sharing sermons on Facebook they posted on their own YouTube account, utilizing multiple platforms to reach more people. You can see their content is also staying relevant by keeping up with cultural conversations, biblically addressing the current racial tension in the U.S. The “Call” button is easily accessible and makes it that much easier for anyone to reach out, which is another reason to create your own Facebook page.
Last one, and NOT from Texas! Sorry, not sorry (born and raised Texan girl 😁)
International Justice Mission
Washington, D.C.
International Justice Missions, a non-profit seeking to protect the poor from violence and slavery, does a great job at keeping their followers informed and inviting them into how they can help. Telling hard stories in digestible pieces while at the same time urging and educating how you can join their cause. Their video testimonials are gut-wrenching, inspiring emotion and support for their noble cause.
In Conclusion
As Christians, we are called to focus on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). Church, ministries, let’s help fight for the world’s attention because every day is a battle competing for the attention, praise, and following of 3.63 billion people! Social media strategy is evangelism, discipleship, and community-building. We have global access...let’s use what we have to bring hope and healing to the world!
I would love to hear from you! Are you a church struggling to get your social media off the ground? Are you a ministry that cannot seem to get any following? Are you overwhelmed with the thought of trying any of the ideas we discussed above? Let me help!
If you need any help brainstorming ways to better your social media strategy, reach out! And let me know of other churches and ministries that are doing a great job with their social! Would love to celebrate some of your favorites!
