Did you know as of this month, 2.77 billion people worldwide use social media on a daily basis? And the vast majority of those social media users are signing onto their accounts and sifting around content for more than 2-hours. Social media is here, and it is a majorly influential tool in our lives, both in a good and bad way.
As a church owner or manager, you are probably wondering how you can use social media to your advantage to grow your congregation. Every potential attendee is probably on Facebook, Instagram, and so forth on a daily basis, which means if you can figure out how to hit them with the right message, then you can guarantee a steady stream of new churchgoers through your door week after week.
Here is our free 2019 social media church guide! Enjoy.
Tip #1: Take Advantage of Scheduling Tools
Many people don’t realize they can schedule up Facebook posts, Tweets, etc. They can even do it all from centralized management tools, like Hootsuite. That means you can essentially sit down on Sunday night and schedule up the entire week, so you don’t have to worry about it.
Unfortunately, Instagram still does not permit this kind of scheduling. That has to be posted in real-time, and as the fastest growing social media app to date, it’s worth your time posting to an Instagram for your church.
Tip #2: Have a Content Plan
As we have mentioned, the competition is stiff on social media. Facebook has made algorithms that sort through content, presenting only what it finds as “the best” to viewers. If you want your content to end up in that cycle, it needs to receive likes, comments, and shares. That’s how the algorithm reads popularity.
Therefore, your content can’t just be any content. You need to have a plan. You need to have your own campaigns, hashtags, and monthly themes that make it easier for viewers to follow along. Right now, sitting down and making a monthly content plan for the entire year of 2019 will make your life a lot easier when you go to post. Plus, it will win you more followers – humans like routine, which means they like knowing that every Sunday, your #WorshipWithUs hashtag will be used while featuring your congregation worshipping.
Tip #3: Know Your Audience
Who are you pandering to on social media? Is your congregation generally older people? Is it all young people? Do you wish you had more young people? These are things to consider when you are not only creating the content, but also posting it. For example, early morning posting times, like 6-7AM, will grab middle aged followers much more effectively than young people. For young people, the best time to post is late afternoon.
Not to mention, if you want millennials, you need millennial content, like crisp, clever photos and edited video. It’s important to sit down and identify who you are engaging on social media.
Tip #4: Know the Platforms
Which social media channels are you using with your church? Sometimes, less is more, which means sticking to 2-3 platforms is best instead of spreading yourself too thin. Many churches opt for Facebook, YouTube, and either Twitter or Instagram. It depends upon your objectives. For example:
Facebook: This is the largest social media platform. It’s the easiest way to reach the most amount of people.
YouTube: YouTube is centered around video. This is a great place to broadcast services live.
Twitter: This is based on feedback. If you want your congregation to be able to ask you questions, etc. this is the place to do it. Note that Twitter is generally the most “hostile” of social media apps.
Instagram: It’s all about beauty and imagery here. If you have a photographer that knows how to curate gorgeous pictures, Instagram can be highly beneficial – especially if you want to attract millennials.
Identify what kind of content you are able to curate, and then hone in on a maximum of 3 social media platforms so you do not spread yourself too thin.
Worship Times
Here at Worship Times, we are constantly researching the latest church social media marketing practices helping congregations around the country to really leverage their following. We understand how time consuming it can be to create content, schedule the content, follow a content guide, and interact with followers across 3 different platforms. That’s why we offer our outsourced services to you.
We believe social media marketing for churches is one of the most effective ways to bring in new people through your doors in 2019.
