Having a good church social media strategy is critical in today’s tech-saturated world. But many churches are unsure how to connect and engage with their followers on social media. Here are some tips to help you use your church’s social platforms effectively.
Make a Social Media Plan
If your church has been haphazardly posting to Instagram and Facebook, not really putting much thought into the content or timing of the posts, now is a great time to sit down as a team and make a plan. Discuss things such as the purpose of your church’s social media accounts, what types of posts you would like to do, and who will be in charge of posting.
Additionally, look at your analytics and determine when the ideal time to post is based on the activity your page already gets. Additionally, make sure you let members know which social media channels you have by including social icons on your website, brochures, flyers, and signage at church.
Add Visual Elements to Posts
One of the best ways to keep your followers engaged on social media is to post a variety of content, particularly images, podcast clips, and videos. Captions are important, but posting a caption on its own without an image rarely does well. People are incredibly visual, so even if all you’re posting is a quote from the Sunday sermon, make sure you put it in “picture form” using a stock photo or a colored/textured background.
Post Announcements on Social Media
While you should never rely on it as your sole means of communication, social media is one of the fastest ways to get announcements out to your congregation. This is because people can tag friends in the comments or share the post with others. Additionally, people typically hop on social media at least once a day, so you’re bound to reach a good number of people if they follow your church’s page. Don’t rely on email only to get the word out: be sure you’re posting announcements to Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook as well.
Make It Personal
One of the best church social media strategy tips we can give is to make posts personal. If you only post announcements or sermon links, you aren’t going to get much engagement.
There are plenty of ways to make your social media more personal and interactive. Post a poll related to your church (for example: which color should we paint the new fellowship hall: white or light gray?) or a verse of the week. If you’re hiring, let your followers know. Or invite various leaders in your church to submit a short word of encouragement/challenge and post one of those devotionals on a weekly basis to your accounts! Having VBS this week? Share pictures of the kids having fun! Need volunteers for the missions conference? Reach out via social media. Social media should be a convenient, fun way to stay connected as a church.