Instagram for Ministry
An interesting transition is happening in the world of social media, Facebook is undoubtedly the king of the hill and Twitter is up there as well but the popular new kid on the block is Instagram and it’s here to stay. Instagram now has 300 Million users, over 20 billion photos shared, 1.6 billion likes daily and 60 million photos posted daily (instagram.com/press). With this type of impact it’s no wonder that Instagram is one of the best social media platforms we use for our ministry (our main ministry account is instagram.com/bishopjakes).
In order to be effective on Social Media you must have a strategy, and Instagram is no exception. Before we post a single graphic or video, we make sure we have an overall strategy for Instagram and an idea of what we consider success. Overall, our strategy for Instagram includes consistently posting photos/graphics and videos that are inspirational, informational and conversational. Now let’s break that down, first thing we make sure is that we have a consistent flow of content and posting between 2 - 5 times daily. Next, we want to post inspirational content that uplifts and inspires our audience, we also want to post informational content that keeps our audience updated on things going on with the ministry. Lastly, we want to make sure we keep our posts conversational by responding to comments and questions as often as possible.
Now that we have our strategy laid out, we have to actually create and post the content. Devotional memes are created using our graphic artists or apps like Tweegram, we basically take the daily devotional we post on Facebook or Twitter and add it to a meme and post on Instagram. When we have events we make sure we create flyers or posters that we post on social media, including Instagram. Normally, our flyers are 900x1500 and we make sure we have a 600x600 version created for Instagram. One of our most engaging posts are based on our sunday services where we take an action shot of our pastor and add a quote from his sermon to the photo and post it. Also, we take 15 second clips from his sermons and post those as well, which for some people is the only ministry they receive and we understand how powerful this platform can be. Lastly, one of the things that our audience loves most is the personal and family moments that are posted by our pastor, Bishop T.D. Jakes. Whether it’s a banana pudding he baked for his family or a hug he is sharing with his children, people love to see his transparent moments as a father, husband, family man and regular individual.
Overall, Instagram is yet another platform that our ministry uses to visually tell our story as a ministry. We have so many individual stories from our members, leaders, staff and volunteers that showcase how impactful this ministry is and how great the gospel can be. And the best part of it all is through all of the photos, videos, devotionals, quotes and everything we post, God gets the glory. Amen.
Jason Caston (@jasoncaston) is the author of The iChurch Method (ichurchmethod.com). Additionally, he is also the Digital Platform and Innovation specialist at T.D. Jakes Ministries.