Learn

While I was on maternity leave, I had a lot of time to play on social media. Surprising, huh? Through the GIFs and messages to my friends, I noticed something: The social media landscape was changing. And these changes weren't small; they were dynamic changes!

Some examples include Facebook adding a video button to its navigation or Instagram adding Stories. I started to realize that the way we coach churches to use social media was going to change quickly. This thought came to fruition during my first client meeting after maternity leave. 

I used to say A LOT, "Your website is the hub, and social media is the vehicle." I would say it to encourage churches to create content like blog posts on their websites. I would tell them that the main purpose of social media was to push out the content from your website. And while that is still true (you need to be creating timely content on your website and using social media to share it), I don't think it is exclusively true anymore.

As we sat around the table with a client prepared to talk about blogging, I couldn't do it. This church already had a good following on social media. They were already starting to engage with their followers. So instead of talking with them about a blogging editorial calendar, I started helping them brainstorm how they could create social media-specific content. This is a BIG change! 

You're probably thinking, "Oh great! Something new we have to do." But I really think putting effort into this has the potential to have a huge impact on your ministry. After all, social media is all about building relationships.

Here are 4 ways you can start using social media differently: 

Facebook Groups
Facebook Groups are what I am most excited about right now! The potential for relationship building is HUGE inside of Groups. Typically, a Communications Director only looks at the success of their main church Facebook page to measure engagement. But every time a ministry creates a Facebook Group, that's a communications win. Every time a small group uses a Facebook Group to do life together, that's a communications win. The hope is that the communications team at a church will find ways to empower their ministry leaders to create small niche Groups and use social media as a tool to build relationships.

Instagram Stories 
Has your church tried using Instagram Stories yet? This is an easy way to get your church in front of your audience. Recently, Instagram updated their algorithm to show users more posts from accounts in which they've shown interest in the past instead of the most recent post. Instagram Stories, however, stays at the top of the page, so it's a good way to connect with your audience on a daily basis. You could even create stories that point people back to your account, so they can interact with your content there. 

Live Video on Facebook 
We talk about live video a lot, and it's because it is SUCH an important part of the social media landscape right now. I heard another marketer say that Facebook Live is the only way to beat the algorithm. Because of the algorithm, only a small percentage of your audience sees the posts you make. However, because Facebook is trying to expand Facebook Live, they will show live videos to almost 10 times the number of people compared to a normal post! This alone makes it worth the effort to create and utilize a Facebook Live strategy! It also brings authenticity and transparency and makes it easier to build relationships. 

Twitter Analysis
Lately, as we meet with clients, I've been asking them, "Is Twitter worth it?" This typically takes a church by surprise because they assume we would recommend using Twitter. But due to the increased volume of people on Facebook and Instagram as well as the low engagement patterns of the people who use Twitter, I've been telling a lot of churches to delete their accounts. This is a big decision, so I wouldn't recommend you take it lightly. Look at the way you're currently using Twitter and see how many times you're posting, what types of content you share, how many people interact with it and how many website visits you're getting from Twitter each month. If those numbers are low, it might be time to cut Twitter out of your communications toolbox and put that time and energy into expanding your Facebook (and perhaps Instagram) engagement. 

These are just a few of the new social media changes we're excited about. I would encourage you to put more effort into social media in 2017 than you ever have. And if that means reallocated hours away from other efforts, then that might just be what you need to do. Create a strategy, post consistently and don't be afraid to get creative!