Begin to segment your audience into categories so that you can gather church content geared towards a specific audience. For example, if you are targeting non-church members then you will tailor a social media post differently than if you are targeting church members. Most churches say they are focusing on members and non-members but their messages are always catered to members only, wasting a great opportunity to reach millions of other social networkers that may not attend their church.
There are times when we need to speak to church members via social media and update them on local ministries activities and events. Also, there are times when we need to speak to non-church members and offer them information, wisdom, guidance, compassion and a variety of other solutions that the gospel has for those that are not a part of the local body. We even need to offer messages that are tailored for those that are on the fence, looking for a reason to step in as well as a reason to step out. Social Media has the advantage of reaching people right where they are, speaking to them in a way they need to receive and moving them to make necessary changes for the better. This is one of the best ways to take ministry to the people.
Look at the content you currently generate. Social media is an excellent use for repurposed content. Take a careful inventory of your weekly production of content and make a list of how many different items your staff can produce. Content is king. If you have plenty of staff and time to post to social media sites yet have poor or inconsistent content, the effectiveness of the iChurch is greatly diminished.
Another aspect to consider when assessing the ministry’s content for social media is the impact of visual content. With the rise of visual social media (which we will get into later), we see the impact of visual content. Visual content such as photos and videos have a much larger impact on your social media audience. Photos have quickly become the most uploaded and shared form of social media content. 250 million photos are uploaded to Facebook every day with an additional 5 million uploaded to Instagram daily. Imagine the impact that your ministry could have by sharing photos of your ministry in action, worship photos from service and images that showcase the impact of your church in your community. Likewise, videos are the most engaging form of multimedia on the Internet. The term “going viral” appeared due to the massive sharing and popularity of certain videos passed around via social media. Here’s a great stat to consider, every minute 72 hours of video content is uploaded to YouTube. Therefore, when developing social media content, video must be included.
Part 2 Coming later this week!!
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