With over 2 billion monthly active users worldwide (half of who log on daily), the potential reach of your Facebook page is huge.
Here are our top tips you can use to run a Facebook business page like a pro, deliver awesome content, and grow your church community!
Get the Most Out of Your Facebook Page
What are your goals? This is a crucial question you need to ask whether your church already has a Facebook page or you’re setting up a brand new one. Determine what you want to achieve with your church’s Facebook page before you start creating and delivering content.
Some of your church page goals may include growing and educating your community, generating traffic to your blog, networking, and increasing donations. Once you have a clear idea of what you’re trying to achieve, you can start building a strategy that will help you achieve each goal.
Now that you have your goals straight and your church Facebook page is up and running, it’s time to identify your community, tell your story, and create some amazing church content.
Find Your Audience
One of the most crucial components of any Facebook content strategy is understanding who you’re trying to engage with. It’s important that you thoroughly research and identify your target audience, as they are the ones who determine the success of your Facebook efforts.
Start by creating a detailed profile of your ideal Facebook user (also known as a ‘user persona’). This persona is usually a semi-fictional representation, and should be based on research of your existing church staff and members. In this profile, include all information that’s available to you, like demographics, personal insights, motivations, and behaviors.
Once you know who your Facebook community is, you can determine what they like and how to engage with them.
The Importance of Storytelling
Storytelling is one of the most powerful persuasion tools out there. It connects ideas with emotions while giving shape and meaning to your mission. Visual storytelling is also an extremely effective way to create memorable marketing campaigns.
Plan your church’s storytelling strategy carefully. Remember: Posting random visuals is not a panacea and doesn’t guarantee a sudden increase in engagement.
Build your Facebook storytelling strategy on content that is authentic and reinforces your church’s mission. Don’t forget to make use of the story section on your Facebook page, and be sure to share photos from the church, congregants, events, etc.
Create Engaging Content
Besides images, you can also create videos with information about your ministry and its mission. Ask your existing church members to share stories regarding their beliefs, their relationship with God, and any other topic that inspires them. Facebook is a great way for congregants to spread their word further and focus on living their belief. Getting out and helping others grow in their faith can really highlight your involvement in the local community.
Whenever possible, try to stream live videos. Your Facebook page followers will be notified when you go live, which is a good way to remind them about your page and attract new prospective followers.
Facebook Advertising
Are you creating great content but still only reaching a small percentage of followers? With changes in the Facebook algorithm, it’s becoming more challenging to grow a page – and even engage with existing followers – without using ads.
There are no simple fixes in social media marketing, so it’s worth considering investing a little money to promote your church posts on Facebook.
Boost Your Posts
Boosting your posts is done in just a few clicks and can be useful if your goal is to increase post engagement among your current followers.
Though boosting a great post can encourage people to share it and possibly attract new followers, it’s not recommended for more specific targeting goals like driving more traffic to your website or increasing newsletter signups.
Use Ads Manager
To use Facebook pixel, you need to have pixel code installed on your website. If you are a current Worship Times member, simply reach out to us and we’ll help you set it up.
Create a Facebook Group
A Facebook group enables a group of people to interact around a common topic. Creating a Facebook group for your church can help build an engaged community. These groups are perfect for sharing stories, keeping your members up to date, and discussing events.
In your church’s Facebook group, you can inform, inspire, motivate, and teach the content you are most passionate about. This group can build trust by providing value, gather like-minded people in one place, and create a sense of belonging.
Facebook groups are wonderful places for churches to support and help their religious community. For example, holding remote Bible studies and providing a safe place for members to ask follow-up questions will make the experience even more valuable for your members.
Tell People About your Page
Linking your Facebook page to other social networks, your website, or blog will benefit your church by building awareness and increasing audience reach.
Connecting your business page to other social media platforms can give you access to new features. When your Facebook is linked to Instagram, it lets you use the Instagram for business feature. Once that’s enabled, you can run ads and promote posts on Instagram, as well as see demographics about your audience.
Crossposting is yet another benefit of linking your social media accounts. Crossposting can be especially useful to save time, as can sharing your eye-catching Instagram church post with your Facebook community.