8thDistrictMarket

marketing your church through social media

Transcript

1. “How to Market Your Church Through Social Media: Developing A Cutting-Edge Ministry” Presented by: Rev. Dr. Erika D. Crawford July 27, 2018 Presented for: 8th District Christian Education Congress Bishop Julius McAlister, Sr., Presiding Prelate Mother Joan McAlister, Episcopal Supervisor Presiding Elder Michelle Goodloe, Host Presiding Elder Rev. Ammie Davis, Host Pastor
2. Cutting Edge Ministries Understand 1. Ministry must be unapologetically Christ-Centered 2. Ministry must be inter-generationally engaging not just multi-generational 3. Ministry must be mission-driven not money driven 4. Ministry must be accessible to ALL people (via personal touch and technology) 5. Ministry must be relevant - socially, civically, culturally and spiritually 6. Ministry must be willing to take a risk 7. Ministry must be willing to spend money - THEIR Money 8. Ministry must be willing to grow (which is code word for it must be willing to change) 9. Ministry must have clearly defined vision, mission, and goals 10. Ministry must save souls and transform lives, if not it's a social club. As we look at marketing our ministries and churches, it is imperative that we understand two things: 1) all ministries are not the same; and 2) 2) all social media is not the same. Erik Qualman, author of “Socialnomics” wrote, “Social Media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.” In fact, 81% of the U.S. Population has at least one Social Media Profile, so we need to know what we want to say, where we want to say it and who we want to say it to because having Social Media brings with it the assumption that you have every intention of being Social! Therefore, what every church needs to have is a social media strategy. Social Media is a tool we use to amplify the good work that is taking place, has taken place and will take place in our ministries.
3. A church’s social media strategy should focus on two fundamental purposes: Engaging your congregation and Reaching new people Preparing Your Ministry Marketing… It’s the little things: • Logo – every church should have a clearly identifiable logo. Something that is uniquely you and yours. When people see the logo, they should automatically know what church the information came from. • #Hashtag – Every church should establish and use a common hashtag which will be used across all Social Media platforms by everyone who post for your church. NOTE: Please be sure you the #HashTag History BEFORE connecting it to your church. • Motto/ Tagline – Every church should have a motto or tagline that speaks to who you are, who you serve, what you do and who you are becoming. • Church Sign – Every church should have a CLEARLY visible sign in front of their worship facility that indicates the time of worship and the name of the Pastor. • Voice Mail – Every church should have a voicemail system that indicates the time of worship, the name of the Pastor and church website. • Email – Every church should have an email address that is exclusively for the church. Sperate from the Pastor’s email address. • Website: Every church should have a website (even if it’s a free one) that indicates the time of worship, church address, phone number, email address, fax number and Pastor’s name.
4. Understanding Your Target Audience Social Media strategy begins with asking the following: Who are you trying to reach? • Existing attendees? • New contacts in the local area? • Existing contacts who have grown distant? • Commuters? • Youth/Young Adults? • A cultural background? • Families/ Retired/ Singles/ Men/ Women? What are you trying to communicate to these people? • Are you trying to inform them about your ministries? • Invite them to events? • Straight up preach the gospel? Answering these questions may not feel practical, but they are essential to the rest of your strategy and will inform the rest of your decisions.
5. Social Network Monthly Active Users About Facebook 2.1 billion+ Very diverse user base. Personal profiles connect as ‘friends’. One of the biggest sites on the web. Twitter 330 million+ Microblogging (character limit on posts). One-way ‘follow’ relationships. More of a real-time feed. Lots of brands and celebrities. Over 1.5 billion registered users. Instagram 800 million+ Very popular with 18-34s. Photos and videos only, with captions, but not links. Hashtags used heavily to tag content. Snapchat 300 million+ Mainly private sharing of photos and videos, with individuals or groups. Requires time, but could be effective for reaching younger audiences. LinkedIn 200 million+ Professional site, largely for personal use, though organizations can have profiles, too. Google+ 395 million+ No longer a major player but still has a loyal following. Useful to set up a Google Business profile. ‘Circles’ act as communities for sharing content. Youtube 1.5 billion+ Upload video content, which can be watched, or shared elsewhere. Ability to subscribe to ‘channels’. Even more users who don’t sign in, one of the biggest sites on the internet. Understanding Social Media What are my options? What are the platforms?
6. Helpful Tips for Posting on Social Media • Don’t get depressed at engagement statistics • Don’t always post at the same time of day • Don’t ignore interactions • Don’t give everyone posting access/permission • Don’t push a personal agenda through church channels • Don’t post too much or too little • Don’t post ‘insider’ content • Don’t forget to promote your social media channels! • Don’t neglect your branding • Don’t fail to stay in line with your ‘church voice’ • Don’t bait and switch • Don’t ignore other local churches • Don’t forget tags • Don’t subscribe to too many platforms • Don’t upload photos without permission • Don’t forget to spell check
7. About Live Videos: • Instead of Live Streaming your service, shoot a weekly Facebook Live session for five to ten minutes in length. This is wildly simple, it costs zero dollars, and this will give you a tremendous boost in organic reach • If your church is not ready to live stream DON’T live stream. Free (or low cost) Marketing Tools to Consider • Postermywall.com / Canva.com (Flyer Graphic Design) • Flocknote (Texting) • Mailchimp (Email blast) • TruthCasting.com / ChristianWorldWideMedia.com (Streaming) • Wix.com (Website) • Teamup.com (Calendar) Other Techonologies • Text to give • Online giving
9. Sample Social Media Calendar