Every church leader knows that social media is something they need to take seriously. Most churches have done something to give their church a social media presence.
But as we have talked with church leaders across the country, we have found that very few are satisfied with their social results.
In our experience, it’s because most churches don’t have a coherent plan.
In today’s episode, we do a deep dive into how your church can build a social media plan that will get results.
We hope this conversation helps your church reach more people and grow.
Table of contents
Recruit a Champion
Your social media plan needs a leader, just like any other area of ministry. Many churches mistakenly believe that social success happens organically, all by itself.
We find that many churches make the mistake of not having a specific person with specific responsibilities in place. The buck needs to stop with someone.
While this person should be tech-savvy, an essential attribute is that they are open to being held accountable to execute the strategy.
Choose Your Platforms
The next step is to choose the social media platforms that are the right fit for your church.
While your church should probably be on more than one channel, you don’t need to use every social network you have ever heard of.
In most cases, your church should be on Facebook. In addition, you should look at Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin.
Don’t forget YouTube. That’s a social platform too.
Find Your Frequency
One of the next things you need to determine is how often you would like to post. With frequency, remember that consistency is the key.
While most churches post too little, you need to know that you can post too often as well.
We believe the ideal frequency is daily for Facebook and Twitter, three times per week on Instagram, and Weekly on Linkedin and Youtube.
Create A Schedule
One of the strategies that successful churches employ is to have consistent schedules for posting.
An example of this would be throwback Thursday, where you include a weekly post with an element from the past.
Most churches will post a sermon on Sunday or Monday every week. Some will include a day each week with a scripture graphic.
Building these schedules will make your job in creating content more manageable.
Pick Your Tools
There are many tools that a social media manager needs to have in their tool belt.
One of the first is an efficient way to make graphics. It used to be that a team member needed to use Photoshop to create decent graphics. Now there are tools like Canva that can help you make graphics in a couple of minutes.
Also, some churches like to use post schedulers like Buffer or HootSuite. While we prefer to use the native posting platform, these tools can make it easier for your social team to post consistently.
Build A Response Team
Finally, you must have more than just one person on your Social media team. While have one is essential, you need an army of people to help carry the load.
Most importantly, you need people to like and comment on your posts. Sometimes having one person comment helps to get the ball rolling.
Also, when someone new interacts with you on Social, they must interact with a real person. Remember, it’s SOCIAL media.
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About The Author
Comments 1
I have just accepted a leadership role to build a team for social media. We are a small church in Stone Mountain, GA. I am looking for tools and help to build a positive platform for our church.