Facebook has changed over the years, but its popularity as a social media platform has not. It is still the largest social media platform in the world, with over 3 billion active users worldwide. How many of those people live near your church? What if you could use Facebook to get more people to walk through your doors?
In this article, we are going to equip you with new strategies you can start using today. All of them are about utilizing Facebook to grow your church. This is not about tricks, scams, or increasing your numbers for the sake of it. This is about using the platform to expand the reach of your church so that you can touch more people with your message.
First, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Facebook and church growth. Is using this platform even viable? What are some of the benefits it provides? What are some of the challenges?
Then, we’ll give you our list of the top 5 strategies for using Facebook to grow your church. These are all action items you can start implementing today on your church’s page to hopefully get results. Ready to learn more?
Let’s jump in.
Estimated reading time: 11 minutes
Table of contents
Using Facebook for Church Growth?
Let’s start by exploring the relationship between churches and Facebook. Then, we’ll get into the benefits of using Facebook to grow your church. After that, we’ll even take a look at some of the challenges you may face in trying to do this. Our goal is to prime you with the basics you need to know before jumping into our list of strategies.
Churches and Facebook: An Evolution
When churches first started to use Facebook more a few years back they were using it in a very basic fashion. An occasional event update, thought or verse of the day, and maybe some pictures of the last outreach. These, of course, are good things to share as a church on Facebook. Are you still just doing these things? You should be doing more now!
Facebook has increased its functionality, features, and offerings. Everyone can take advantage of this now. There is a lot you can be doing now for more effective church Facebook strategy.
The Facebook landscape has changed in recent times. It is more competitive. Thousands of organizations and businesses are competing for visibility on Facebook. It costs money now to get the most out of Facebook in some instances too.
Benefits of Using Facebook for Church Growth
Using a church Facebook page can greatly help with church growth. First, it allows you to easily share events, services, and news with church members and the wider community. Social media platforms like Facebook make it simple to reach a large audience quickly. You can post updates, inspiring messages, and photos that keep people engaged.
Additionally, having a Facebook page lets you interact with church members, answer questions, and receive feedback in real-time. This connection helps build a sense of community and keeps people coming back.
By using Facebook, you can also attract new visitors who might see your posts and become interested in joining your church. Overall, a church Facebook page is a valuable tool for staying connected and growing your church’s presence.
Challenges in Using Facebook for Church Growth
Using Facebook for church growth comes with some challenges. First, not all Facebook users see every post because of the way Facebook’s algorithm works. This means that important updates might not reach everyone in your church’s Facebook audience.
Second, managing a church’s Facebook page can be time-consuming. You need to regularly post content, respond to comments, and monitor messages. There’s also the risk of negative comments or misunderstandings, which can be hard to handle.
Additionally, some church members may not use Facebook or may not be active on social media, so you might miss reaching them.
Finally, creating engaging content that stands out in a crowded feed can be difficult. Despite these challenges, with careful planning and effort, a church’s Facebook page can still be a valuable tool for connecting with people and promoting church activities.
Top 5 Facebook Strategies for Church Growth
And there you go! Now, we’ll get into our 5 church Facebook strategies for grabbing people’s attention and getting them to check out your church. Our hope is that after implementing these strategies for a while, you’ll start to see positive results and actual church growth!
Let’s get into them.
1. Be Consistent
First things first. We have all heard the expression, “if you are not going to do something right, then don’t do it at all.” I do not think this saying holds true in all areas of life, but in this area it does. If you set up a Facebook page and only post something every now and then it is actually going to hurt you more than help you. You will give people the impression that you set one up for the sake of doing so. You will also insinuate that you do not care about relevantly or genuinely communicating with people.
Now the good news is that you do not have to always be posting content all the time. Research and evidence show that you should not be posting more than around once a day. Posting several times in a day or fanatically will cause people to become uninterested or even write you off completely. They do not want constant updates from the same person all day long.
You need to be consistent. Have a time in the day you can dedicate to posting something. Stick to this time or schedule. Becoming disciplined in all aspects of life is a good thing. The same applies here and consistency will yield good results as you will become more visible. Your Facebook friends will start to rely more on your posts and will be awaiting your every post too.
This leads me to the next couple points. Not only do you need to be consistent, you need to be posting things of substance and that are engaging.
2. Use Media
Lots of photos and as much video as possible is great for your church Facebook strategy. Posting lots of candid pictures will help you engage people. It helps to make you come off as authentic, reduces apprehension, evokes emotion. As we know, a lot of people will not visit a church for the first time because they do not know what kind people they will come across during a service.
For people who are new or newer to your church, this will help them become more familiar and feel more attached. Take photos of life change, ministry activity, and of your staff that people will actually connect with at your church. This takes people inside of the life of your church.
The more video the better also. Nothing too long. Nobody wants to watch a full-length movie. Video can often be more powerful than photography. People will get to experience your church more this way.
With the nature of limited attention span and how people prefer to communicate on Facebook, you may not want to stream a whole sermon or service. Do a shorter video of an encouraging word for the day, video snippets of your last youth event, and more things of the like.
You can “go live” on Facebook now. Churches are seeing great results by doing this. Asking people to send prayer requests in real-time. Getting to interact with those people right then is powerful. Other members may also tune in at that time being able to encourage people more than they may have been able to do so at an actual service.
This church Facebook strategy takes people inside your church before even visiting. PR Journal put out a great article in 2014 about what fortune 500 companies and non-profits top 3 Facebook strategies were: 1. Openness and Disclosure (showing what goes on within the organization). 2. Access (allowing customers to reach out and interact with a company). 3. Positivity (making the experience enjoyable and pleasant for the customer), so don’t just take my word for it.
3. Build Your Brand
Lastly, build your brand for your church Facebook strategy. Your church has a unique vision, identity, and hopefully a positive perception from membership as well as your local community. What are the things your church does best? Always be pointing to what you do best when you share on Facebook.
Share or allow trusted members to share testimonies on your Facebook page too. Businesses do this online all the time to gain trust with their prospective clients. Why shouldn’t you do the same with prospective visitors/members? This also illustrates what God is doing at your church and creates excitement.
The neat thing about doing this is that when a testimony is posted, people can comment on that post then that person’s friends see that comment too. This takes your church viral if you Ask your members to share what they love about your church on your Facebook page. Their friends and followers will see that too.
Make sure your logo, specific colors, and messaging is present on your Facebook page also. Your Facebook branding should also be consistent with your church website branding. In doing this, it promotes that you are valid, consistent, and makes you a memorable organization.
4. Try a Facebook Ad Campaign
Trying a Facebook ad campaign can be a powerful part of your church social media strategy. Here’s how it can help:
- Reach a Larger Audience: Facebook ads allow you to target people beyond your current followers. This means you can connect with new people who live in your area but might not know about your church.
- Promote Events and Services: You can create ads to highlight special events, services, or general information about your church. This can attract more people to attend or learn more about what you offer.
- Boost Your Social Media Presence: Ads help increase visibility on social media, making sure more people see your church’s posts. This helps keep your church in the minds of potential visitors.
- Targeted Advertising: Facebook lets you target ads based on location, interests, and demographics. This ensures your ads reach the people most likely to be interested in your church.
- Track and Adjust: You can see how well your ads are performing and make changes if needed. This helps you use your advertising budget wisely and get the best results.
Incorporating a Facebook ad campaign into your church social media strategy can effectively grow your church and engage more people in your community.
5. Create Facebook Groups
Creating Facebook groups can be an excellent part of your church’s social media strategy. A Facebook group helps build a strong church community by providing a space where members can connect, share, and support each other. It’s a great way to keep everyone informed about church activities, prayer requests, and events in a more personal and interactive way.
Once you set up your Facebook group, you can use it to engage with members more effectively. For instance, you can post updates, share inspirational messages, and create discussions that help deepen relationships within your church. This interaction can enhance your church’s social media presence and foster a sense of belonging among members.
If you’re running Facebook ads to promote your church or events, linking them to your Facebook group can also be beneficial. Using a Facebook ads manager account allows you to track how well your ads are performing and adjust them if needed. This can help you attract new members to the group and keep the community growing.
Overall, creating and managing a Facebook group is a valuable tool for nurturing your church community and enhancing your church’s social media strategy.
Church Growth with Facebook
And there you have it! We hope this article was helpful! We encourage you to start implementing as many of these Facebook strategies as you can to hopefully start seeing some results soon. You want to be viewed as valid and want to be top of mind when it comes time for someone to want to visit a local church.
Let us know in the comments below if you have found success with any other strategies! God bless!
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