Instagram is for more than food pics, or posts from your latest vacation. While it’s a fun tool to share about your life, it can also be used in helpful ways for churches. If you think of a church as a “business”, then Instagram instantly becomes a handy tool. Instagram for churches is about exposure, information, and engaging with those outside the four walls of our buildings.
In this article, we hope that you learn more about the useful ways you can use Instagram for your church. Beyond information, it’s a great engagement tool, and also a fun way to share the gospel!
Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
Table of contents
So, Why Instagram?
Instagram is the fastest growing social media platform. There are over 1 billion users, and nearly half of them use the platform at least once per day. Your church is missing out on a huge audience if you’re not on Instagram.
Much of that audience is younger. In fact, about 59% of people on Instagram are under age 30. If your church is looking to reach a younger demographic, having an active Instagram presence is the way to go. Instagram lets you to connect with this younger audience and shows them your church is paying attention to the trends they engage in.
Like other social media platforms, your church Instagram helps you build connections with new and existing church members outside the confines of your weekend service. Instagram can also be used as a platform for evangelism and outreach.
What makes Instagram unique is its emphasis on visual media: photo and video are the primary focus. This is a great opportunity for you to showcase the life and culture of your church online!
Getting started
To get started, there are a few easy things you must first do! Thankfully, Instagram is user-friendly and is very easy to set up. Besides creating your profile, there’s a few more steps to follow, so let’s find out what they are!
Create an Instagram account
Setting up your Instagram account for your church is simple. Church Instagram accounts should be created as Business accounts. This allows you to run ads and enjoy some other features specific to Instagram Business accounts.
If you already have a church Instagram account, you can switch to a Business account in your Account Settings. To make your Instagram account a business account, you can:
- Go to your profile
- Tap Settings and privacy
- Tap Account type and tools
- Tap Switch to professional account
- Choose a category that describes your business
- Select Business
Key features of an Instagram business account:
- Detailed analytics: Access to insights about audience demographics, post reach, impressions, and engagement to measure campaign performance.
- Promotional tools: Ability to run targeted ads and promotions to reach specific demographics.
- Contact information: Displaying business details like phone number, email, and address directly on the profile.
- Influencer collaborations: Partnering with influencers to promote products and reach a wider audience.
- Branded content tagging: Enabling other users to tag your business as a sponsor in their posts.
- Professional appearance: Presenting a more polished brand image with dedicated business features.
Customize your profile
Username: Your username is important to set as something easily identifiable for your church. It’s a good idea to use the same username across all your social media platforms (if it’s available) to build consistency around your brand identity.
Profile picture: Choose a high quality version of your church logo. The size for Instagram profile pictures is 110px and circular, so you’ll want to make sure your logo is easy to read and doesn’t get partially cut off.
- Add details to your bio
- Description: This is a great place to give a snapshot of your church. Add your mission statement, service times, and your branded church hashtag (i.e. #newlifechurch).
- Website URL: Include your church web address so Instagram users can click and be taken directly to your website for more information.
- Location: Add the physical location of your church so users know where they can find you.
Post to your page
Next, once you’ve created your account and updated your page description, it’s time to start posting to your page.
How to post
Posting to your church Instagram account is easy. In the app, click the + at the bottom of the screen and select the photo or video you want to post. You can choose an image from your photo library, or you can take a photo or video directly in the app.
Once you’ve selected your photo, Instagram has built-in editing features you can use to make your photo look great to your liking. Use one of the pre-designed filters or edit further by clicking the Edit button to access the full range of editing features.
Next, add a fun caption, tag your location, and make sure to add relevant hashtags. Hashtags are identifiers to help users discover your content in the Explore section of Instagram. Try to use 1-4 hashtags for each post.
Here are some examples of hashtags you can use:
- Local: #austintx
- Trending: #worldfriendday
- Related: #church, #faith, #god
- Branded: #newlifechurch (specific hashtag with your church name)
Then simply, click share to post to your account.
How often to post
Unfortunately, there isn’t a magical number of posts you should post to your church Instagram account. The key is consistency and purpose. Start with 2 or 3 posts a week and try to work your way up to daily posts. That said, focus on quality over quantity. If your church doesn’t have enough content to post every day, that’s okay. Take advantage of the posts you do have, make them look great, and be consistent.
What to post
Instagram is all about stories. You can use your church Instagram to highlight visuals about the amazing things happening in your church and community.
Here are some ideas for what to post:
- Feature the people who make up your church — think volunteers, staff, and members of your congregation
- Give behind the scenes access to event planning and service preparation
- Promote your weekend services and upcoming events
- Celebrate past events
- Repost from your followers
- Share inspirational and engaging content like Bible verses or conversation starters
Beyond photos: Instagram’s other great features
Reels
Instagram allows for videos up to 60 seconds long. Videos are great for recaps, behind the scenes, announcements, and promos. Does your church have an upcoming conference? Post the “reel” of that conference promo! Have an inspiring testimony to share? Post it as a reel!
Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are a great way to engage daily without having to make an official grid post. Stories are 15 second snapshots that are raw and authentic. They disappear 24 hours after they are posted, so they add a layer of exclusivity to the content. Instagram Stories are also full of fun features like:
- Fonts
- GIFs and stickers
- Polls
- Question stickers
- Location tagging
- Hashtags
- Emoji slider
- Filters
You can also reshare posts to your Story to add another touchpoint with your audience. Save your best Instagram Stories to your Story Highlights to create a library of extra content that can be accessed at any time.
Go Live
Instagram gives you the option to “go live” at any time. This can be a super awesome feature to participate in if you’re having events. Go live during worship and let people participate on the app. You can see people’s comments in real time!
Top 5 Reasons You Should Have a Church Instagram Account
1. Connect with your audience
The potential with Instagram is huge, especially since it’s rapidly growing and more and more people are joining each day. Your church Instagram has several opportunities to connect with both new and existing members of your audience.
- Follow local business accounts, other ministries in your area, volunteers, and church members. By being part of a larger social conversation, your church stays involved, engaged, and connected with people in your community. Following members of your congregation is also a great way to repurpose some of their unique church photos on your own page.
- Use hashtags and tag your location to help people find you. The Explore tab helps users find new accounts to follow and engage with. The more frequently you use hashtags and tag your location, the more often your content will appear in the Explore feed as “recommended” for new followers.
- Share stories. Your Instagram is more than just a digital bulletin board — it’s also like a digital scrapbook! Post about upcoming events and promote your services, but don’t forget to share real stories about the people in your church.
2. Social Media Can Help Your Church Reach More People
Social media is an incredibly powerful free tool for your church to reach more people. With over 4 billion active users, social media platforms like Facebook, X (Twitter), TikTok and Instagram can help your church reach people who may never have heard of your church before.
By sharing messages, education and inspiring people through your social media, you are now providing a way for people to find your church. Social media allows you to share your church’s message with a larger audience. When your church has a presence online, there is more opportunity for anyone in the world to see your message which takes off the limits of who you can reach.
Nowadays people will check your social media accounts before coming to your church and while you don’t need to look perfect, fake the amount of people in the auditorium or even have professional video/photos, you need to be active on social media and genuine.
When someone shows up to your social media page, they need to know your church still exists and is alive and well! If your church is active on social media your church can show up on the “suggested” section for people who are friends with people who go to your church.
3. Social Media Can Help Your Church Expand Your Church’s Outreach Efforts
Although social media doesn’t replace traditional ways of reaching new people, it definitely can expand your outreach efforts. By sharing inspirational messages, encouraging members to share their faith, and providing resources for people who may be struggling, your church can extend its reach beyond its physical walls.
Social media doesn’t replace traditional ways of outreach or ministry. It adds to it. Think of social media as an addition to your outreach efforts.
When you create one post it can live on for a long time and reach more people, or you can repost your posts that do really well every 3-6 months and just change them up a little bit. You are creating an online presence that will last beyond the amount of time you create the post and hit publish. There’s no telling to who will see your posts and how it will impact them.
4. Enhancing Church Communication
Real-Time Updates: One of the key benefits of social media is the ability to communicate with your congregation in real time. Whether it’s a sudden change in service times or urgent prayer requests, social media ensures that everyone stays informed.
Event Promotion: Social media is an excellent tool for promoting church events. From holiday services to community outreach programs, platforms like Facebook and Instagram make it easy to get the word out quickly and effectively.
Service Announcements: Regular updates about weekly services, Bible studies, and special events can be easily shared. This keeps the congregation informed and engaged, even outside of regular church hours.
5. Cost-Effective Church Marketing
Social Ads: Unlike traditional advertising, social media ads are relatively inexpensive and highly effective. Churches can use platforms like Facebook and Instagram to run targeted campaigns that reach specific demographics.
For instance, Google Ad Grants provide $10,000 per month of free advertising to non-profits, including churches, allowing them to promote services and events efficiently.
Targeted Campaigns: Social media allows for precise targeting, ensuring that your message reaches the right audience. This means you can focus your efforts on people who are most likely to be interested in your church, making your marketing efforts more effective and less costly.
Organic Reach: One of the best things about social media is that you can achieve significant reach without spending a dime. By creating engaging and shareable content, churches can organically grow their audience. This is not only cost-effective but also more genuine, as people are more likely to trust recommendations from friends and family.
Best church instagram accounts
We’ve gathered a few really great church instagram accounts to check out when you are looking for inspiration!
- Lakepointe Church
- Elevation Church
- The Austin Stone
- Gateway Church
- Trader’s Point Christian Church
- Mariners Church
- Red Rocks Church
