Who creates the social media content for the ministry?

I was reading a great article over at SocialMediaToday.com and I came across an article titled "Who is Creating Social Media Content in Your Organization?" This article was written with a business focus but it had a great point that can apply to the social media strategies of ministries. There is often an awkward silence when it comes to the question of "who creates the content for the ministry".

I am currently working with a ministry that is learning how to really embrace social media but the last hurdle to overcome was content creation. There seemed to be a disconnect in understanding who should create the content. There was a case that the marketing department should make it, there was a case that the web/social media person should make it, there was a case that the pastor should create it and there was a case that each department should generate their own content and somehow feed it to the social media sites.

Each of these approaches has a valid basis as a resource for social media content. If we look at a graphic from the article Who is Creating Social Media Content in Your Organization?", we can get a better idea of how businesses should approach social media content

"While the upper right is ideal – since the content will be the richest and most integrated because people knowledgeable about the brand are creating social media content – organizations can wind up in any other quadrant as well. Agencies can work in producing content; interns aren't great choices. Lawyers - who don't so much directly create content as create it by default through saying "yes" or "no" to what can be shared - are an even worse option."

Now if we take the approach of the infographic then we can make a case that the brand experts for the ministry are all of the above options that we mentioned earlier. The marketing department has the information to market the ministry, the pastor and pastoral staff can minister and provide social content, each department within the ministry may have content that can be distributed using social media and finally the web person that setup the social media page, especially in Facebook, can program and customize the page.

Overall, the content for the social media website should come from a variety of sources and be filtered to an individual social media manager who can facilitate what goes out and when. This scheduling process is highlighted in the book, The iChurch Method.

Social Media and the Church...can they work together to change the world?

I was surfing the Internet looking for social media videos to present at a conference. I wanted to provide a summary of social media and its impact on the Internet in such a short amount of time. A major ministry gave the conference and they are attempting to embrace technology, social media and how to utilize the Internet to preach the gospel to the world.
The first video I showed them was this:

The previous video was a good glimpse of social media, but sometimes people need to see things more than once to be convinced of its importance, thus I showed this video next.

Social Media has connected the world so quickly in such a short time that if the ministry learns to embrace it, the impact could be world changing! In the bible there is a great commission:

Matthew 28:16-20 ¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

When Jesus was preaching He had to go from city to city preaching His message, or one of His disciples would take the message to the masses. This process took time, and I am not talking hours, or even days, sometimes it took weeks and months to get a message out. Today, with the Internet and social media, we are able to instantaneously get our messages of the gospel to the masses. This instant, global communication empowers the church to effectively and efficiently fulfill the great commission and "go and make disciples of all nations".

But of course we must always keep in mind that social media is a two way street, so in addition to proclaiming the gospel to the masses, we must answer their inquiries and questions in order to help them understand the reason Jesus is the truth, the way and the life.

What should a ministry put on Facebook?

This week I was introduced to a new blog called @stickyjesus by a buddy who sent me their "8 ways to use your social networks to increase your church's reach". I thought the article was great and to sum it up here are some of the great ways mentioned that you can increase your social media websites reach:

1. Post your church services.
2. Post quotes from the pastors sermon.
3. Post blogs from your church leaders.
4. Post special events.
5. Promote mission opportunities
6. Share, links, pictures and videos.
7. Be contagious, get as much out there as possible.

After reading this blog post, I recalled the key points I gave a few weeks ago at the 2011 Pastors and Leadership Conference I spoke at. The question I got was about Facebook fan pages, a participant asked "What are the best things to post and how often should I post?"

First things first, no matter if it's a website, social media site or a church bulletin, CONTENT IS KING! You want to provide as much engaging content as possible. Whether it's the content listed above or other content that your church provides, make sure you stay consistent and let the content flow. Now, let's answer the first part of the question above, "What are the best things to post?", well here are the best things, in numerical order:

1. Video - video is the most engaging form of content on the internet as well as Facebook fan pages. This multimedia format has quickly became the most influential and impactful format to get content out to your online users.

2. Links - links give people a call to action, this allows them to click to another page to get more information based on the headline or blurb that is located on your fan page.

3. Status update - Always a fan favorite, just a plain old status update with some information. Whether it's a motivational quote or a reminder about bible study, status updates are great ways to communicate on Facebook fan pages.

4. Photos - Photos are a great way to capture the moment. Continue to provide photos to your fans and they will comment on the great pictures you provide.

5. Questions - questions is a feature that is quickly rolling out on Facebook where you can ask questions to your fans and get instant feedback. This is not only a way to get important questions out to your fans but to also allow them to express their opinions to you. This two way interactive feature is a great representation of the essence of social networking.

Now that you have an idea of what to post, let's address the second part of the question, "how often should I post?". Well here is a good daily strategy:

1. Morning post (6am - 10am)
2. Late morning post (10am - 12pm)
3. Afternoon post (12pm - 3pm)
4. Mid-day post (3pm - 6pm)
5. Evening post (6pm - 10pm)
6. Overnight post (10pm - 6am).

You don't have to post as often as these 6 times suggest but this is a good start. This way you will start to be consistent on posting and start to develop a large fan base that wants to interact with your ministry.

What role should social media play in the church's web strategy

I was doing an interview for a conference I was speaking at and a great question was posed to me. The question was "What role should social media play in the church's web strategy?" As I took a second to think about the question, I came to this conclusion. I believe that social media is a great outreach tool for ministry and should be treated as such. The church should use Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Youtube as additional ways to reach people and expand the online congregation, but not as a main focus of the online outreach as the website is utilized. Social Media is a great free tool but it is controlled by outside companies and should be considered as such, an outside tool for ministry. On the other hand, the church's website is owned by the ministry and should be the focus of all online ministry efforts, very similar to how outreach ministries are extensions of the local church. Online ministry efforts should mimic offline ministry efforts and here are great examples. The church's website (online) should be likened to the church's local building. This is the main place where people gather and get the majority of their ministry and information from the church. The online store is similar to the church's bookstore, a source for products that the church creates as well as other products the church considers important. Social Media is similar to the numerous outreach ministries that the church supports and utilizes to reach the people outside the walls of the buliding. When outreach ministries go out and does ministry for members and non-members of the congregation, they are representing the church and attempting to bring people back to the church to join and support the ministry. Likewise, when content from the church is pushed out via social media, it should have links that go back to the church's website so that people that are on facebook, twitter, youtube or google+ can receive the updates and then click a link back to the church's website for more information.

Just as a church would not focus all it's efforts on a single outreach ministry, the church should not focus it's entire online ministry efforts on social networks, they are just extensions of the website and a way to get people back to the website. A good online strategy should be a website, social media, blog, online store, online donations, email blasts, online video, mobile and online learning. These areas are a good start and even though you may not be able to do them all, add in as many as you can and go from there. If you want a great book on how to take advantage of these online tool then check out The iChurch Method: How to Advance Your Ministry Online.

Internet Church is coming

Over the last few years I have been watching the Internet Church phenomenon and how it is evolving and taking shape.  Since I find Online Church/Internet Church as the inevitable next step in the evolution of The Church, I have been researching what new technologies and strategies are coming to the forefront and how churches can use these opportunities to advance their ministries online. What I am starting to see are more options for Online Church/Internet Church as well as younger people migrating towards digital ways of connecting to ministries instead of the traditional church interaction of weekly attendance.

Now don’t get me wrong, virtual church attendance will never supplant actual church attendance in terms of importance but I do believe that there are some churches that will need to address the fact that there will be people that will support their ministries, watch their streaming services and consider themselves members of the church and never step foot inside the church. I have seen churches address this with examples of Internet Churches setup by Lifechurch.tv, SaddlebackChurch.com and TDJakes.org.  Another great example of this was the Church on Facebook experiment conducted by Liberty University. I won’t recite the entire article but to sum it up, Liberty University conducted their weekly church service online because the location they were supposed to use was not available.  They used Facebook as the main tool of communication and streamed the services online and interacted with the online audience.  Here is a quote “What is Facebook, after all? It’s a community. What is church, after all? It’s a community. For us, doing church on Facebook isn’t innovative. It’s intuitive,” Moore wrote.  The experiment was a success and a great step for Liberty University to further develop their online church audience, which was more than 61,000 people last year.

There have been a few companies that have arisen to help churches take that next step and create their own online campuses.  Companies such as Streaming Faith and Streaming Church.tv have paid options that are available where a ministry can select a package and these companies provide the entire solution from streaming to social media integration.  But the best option may be coming January 9, 2011 when the most innovative and technologically advanced church, LifeChurch.tv releases their Online Church product for FREE.  This software will allow churches to utilize their own streaming software and integrate it into their online campus software and create that full online campus experience. The only addition that churches will have to supply on their own will be live streaming services and this can be done with FREE websites like www.ustream.tv or www.livestream.com.  

Overall, I believe that many of the larger churches with the resources will adopt these Internet Church/Online Church options within the next year or two but it will take up to five years for it to trickle down to the smaller churches.

Hootsuite.com is a great ministry social media tool

As usual, I continue to read numerous technology websites to see what’s new and what technological advancements can help ministries reach out online easier.  I came across the article “Increase Traffic by Optimizing Publish Times” and the main software they spoke about was hootsuite, which is located at hootsuite.com.  The premise of this article was to help social media specialists learn the benefits of scheduling their posts at certain times using hootsuite.com software and not have to manually post their facebook, twitter and linkedin updates.

I started using hootsuite.com early 2010.  It was an important factor in my development of a social media strategy for ministries.  With ministries that have a good amount of content to distribute via social networks, hootsuite is a good way to automate the process of content distribution.  As stated earlier, with hootsuite you can schedule your posts at any time of the day, this not only enables the automation of multiple types of posts such as ministry updates, daily devotionals, ministry links, videos and pictures, but also enables posts during traditional off hours.  These off hour posts make a local ministry visible to an international audience.  This was the strategy I used for a large ministry located in Dallas.  This pastor not only had a large national following, but a large international following, thus we started to schedule facebook and twitter postings throughout the evening and overnight hours which were targeted towards the international audience.

With hootsuite a ministry can schedule their social media posts up to 30 days out and this can help the ministry focus more on the content and interactions of social media and less on managing the technology used to distribute it.  One of the main points I focus on in The iChurch Method is the strategy used in social media and not the actual technology.  The websites used for social media may change but the strategy (content and interactions) will remain the same.  Here is an example of a ministry’s weekly social media strategy from The iChurch Method:

Facebook Social Media Posting Strategy Template

Monday

• Morning - Inspirational Quote
• Afternoon - Product from Weekend Shows or Sermon
• Late Afternoon - Video (current events, promotions or Sunday announcements)
• Evening - Poll
• Night - Repost Inspirational Quote
• Overnight – Additional inspiration

Tuesday

• Morning - Inspirational Quote
• Afternoon - Video (current events, promotions or Sunday announcements)
• Evening - Weekly Broadcasts of TV Show/Sermon
• Night - Repost Inspirational Quote
• Overnight – Additional inspiration (testing this strategy)

Wednesday

• Morning - Inspirational Quote
• Afternoon - Current Event/Conference Post
• Evening - Bible Study Information
• Night - Repost Inspirational Quote
• Overnight – Additional inspiration (testing this strategy)

Thursday

• Morning - Inspirational Quote
• Early Afternoon - Conference Post
• Late Afternoon - Video (current events, promotions, update or Sunday announcements)
• Early Evening - Poll
• Night - Repost Inspirational Quote
• Overnight – Additional inspiration (testing this strategy)

Friday

• Morning - Inspirational Quote
• Afternoon - Product from Weekend Shows
• Evening - Video (current events, promotions or Sunday announcements)
• Night - Repost Inspirational Quote
• Overnight – Additional inspiration (testing this strategy)

Saturday

• Morning - Inspirational Quote
• Afternoon – Saturday service Reminder
• Night - Repost Inspirational Quote
• Overnight – Additional inspiration (testing this strategy)

Sunday

• Morning - Sunday Service Post
• Afternoon - Product airing on TV
• Evening – Reminder about Sunday evening service
• Night - Inspirational Quote
• Overnight – Additional inspiration (testing this strategy)

What is The iChurch Method?

The iChurch Method is simple: a method to help ministries advance the Kingdom online and take the gospel to the world. It’s a five part approach to taking your ministry online and reaching the world: Part 1: Website – A Great Website that is Easy-to-Use. Part 2: Multimedia – Interactive Multimedia. Part 3: Ecommerce – Online Stores/Online Donations. Part 4: Social Media – Engage and Connect. Part 5: Mobile – The Future of Technology and Ministry.

With these five parts, a ministry can reach and change the world. The iChurch Method book is a MUST READ for every ministry leader who desires to have a global presence online. Caston Digital and CEO Jason Caston, created this method to help all ministries establish a global presence and utilize technology to the fullest, without having to worry about huge financial investments and hiring numerous technical specialists. As explained in the book, this method is as advanced enough for a technical expert to understand, but simple enough for a non-technical church leader to understand.

Order The iChurch Method Book today!!

Ministries Need to have great Customer Service

I have been a customer for about year or so at the local cleaners and have spent quite a bit of money there.  Unfortunately, this last time, the cleaners left numerous spots on my white Air Jordan basketball shorts and I was none to pleased.  I took the shorts back to the cleaners and let the owner know that they messed up my shorts and could she please get the numerous spots out.   Prior to picking my clothes up, I told my wife, if this lady charges me for the cleaners mistake, I will never take my clothes there again.  Well, as soon as she showed me the shorts, spots still there and all, she rang me up for $2.83, and with that I gave her $3.00, told her to keep the change and took my business elsewhere.  That was one of the worst cases of customer service I had ever seen.  That cleaners lost over $400 per month in cleaning services over $2.83, and she didn’t even notice.

Which leads me to my point, customer service is very important whether in business or in  ministry.  One of the main focal points of The iChurch Method is to use technology to provide better customer service for your members.  Whether it be through the website, social media, mobile or any of the numerous ways a member can communicate with the ministry, make sure your ministry acknowledges correspondence when they receive it from members as well as responds in a timely manner.

Here are three good examples your ministry can use to increase it’s customer service capabilities.  First, make sure when a user sends an email or request to the ministry online, use an autoresponder to show that you received the email.  Second, if you have a “contact us” form on your website, make sure you also have a “contact us” form on your mobile site so that people can reach out to the ministry even if they are away from their computer.  Finally, when online users reach out to your ministry using social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, acknowledge and respond to users and let them know that your social media channel is a two way, interactive, street.

Five Key Social Media Strategy Points

The 2011 Echo conference in Dallas was a great one based on the articles and notes that I have seen come from there. I have no excuse for not being there since I am located in Dallas, but I will be there next year and the following years.

A great article I found from the Echo Conference came from Scott McClellan and it was about Social Media Content and Strategy (http://churchjuice.com/blog/more-than-a-profile-social-media-strategy-ech0-2011-notes/). Here are a few key points from the article:

Five verbs that should be a part of your social media strategy.

Listen. People are talking, but what if we started with listening? What if we used it like a grandma who just likes to look at pictures of the grandkids? As a church, you could follow people in your church to get a feel for what they care about. If there's a community you're trying to serve, follow and listen to them.

Converse. Social in social media implies that it's two way. Churches are good broadcasters and trying to port that to social media fails. It doesn't send the message you want. It says, "I'm important and you're only as important as the stuff of mine you click on." As organizations we love to broadcast. Conversing is different than what we do lots of time as a church.

Share. It sounds a lot like broadcasting, but it's different in mindset. Sharing is about giving gifts to people. Broadcasting is drawing eyeballs. Sharing is about saying here's something you might like even though we didn't create it. Or if you did make it, tell why you created something for someone.

Tell stories. This is difficult in 140 characters. short blog formats or short videos. Committing to telling stories commits you to observing stories. You start listening as you walk through the church, or as you follow people on twitter, in a different way because you're looking for a story to tell.

Invite. Social media gives us the power to invite people into the work God is doing and the stories God is telling. It allows the stories we tell to spread (when we're telling good stories).

These Five Verbs sum up social media strategy very well. There is much more to this article, check it out - http://churchjuice.com/blog/more-than-a-profile-social-media-strategy-ech0-2011-notes/

Online Church...Social Media...The Great Comission

The 2011 Echo conference in Dallas was a great one based on the articles and notes that I have seen come from there. I have no excuse for not being there since I am located in Dallas, but I will be there next year and the following years.

A great article I found from the Echo Conference came from Justin Wise and it was about Social Media Effectiveness (http://joshburns.net/2011/07/28/echo-11-justin-wise-social-media-effectiveness/). Here are a few key points from the article:

• Internet now leads television as 'most essential' medium
• This is culture in which we are doing ministry
• 61% of respondents said that the church website was very important as to whether they would attend the church
• 88% of 18-27 year olds said that the church should use social media
• The stats go down as the age goes up.
• Regardless of age, we're all social networking.
• Top three social sites people are using – Facebook, Video site, Twitter. The rest are blog, private community, photo site
• How are you using social media to create awareness? To get people connected in community? To foster engagement with your online community?
• What is most effective in creating awareness?
• Engaging your online community – 2 different types
• What is least effective? Engaging a broad, public audience (everything to everyone)
• Google analytics just pulled in social analytics
• How often should you update your status on Facebook or twitter, and when should you post?
• Craft your content not just for your community, but for your platform, Facebook, twitter, etc.

These key points emphasize the fact that the internet and social media will play a key role in the future of ministry. Yes, we will continue to do traditional ministry as we have before with the church and the four walls and the pulpit, but there is another facet of ministry that is emerging where an online audience is the recipient of the ministerial tools of the church. Young adults that are online will start to identify themselves with ministries and churches that they have never set foot in, they will start to create an online community that will be an online extension of the church. The church should embrace this transition and embrace online ministry, it's one of the best ways to take the gospel to the four corners of the earth and fulfill the Great Commission.

Google+ for Ministries...Can it Help?

I just read an article on Google+ over at Church Juice ( http://churchjuice.com/blog/google/ ) and it was very similar to my initial thoughts on Google+ and how it could benefit churches and ministries. I have been using Google+ since it came on the scene and I wanted to really get an idea of how it worked. Here is one of the best things I have noticed about Google+, the potential integration with other apps and services that Google offers, and Google+ was thinking mobile on day one. This long term vision will help Google+ last far into the future. Churches already have had to develop strategies to embrace twitter, Facebook, linkedin, youtube, vimeo and a variety of other social media websites. Google+ is yet another social media tool that churches will need to embrace. The question is, what are the benefits of Google+ and how can it be integrated into the church's social media strategy without adding to much work. First and foremost, I have come across some great "How to get started with Google+" guides and tutorials. Here are a few:

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-get-started-with-google-plus-your-complete-guide/

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/startgoogleplus/

Here is a summary of my thoughts on Google+, the benefits of Google are listed below:

Business Profiles: business profiles are coming within the next few months and depending on the number of features they have for marketing and interacting, they could be just as beneficial as Facebook Pages. The benefit that Google+ has is that they can use Facebook Profiles as a model and build upon that a better project. Google+ is currently deleting profiles that appear to be used for business purposes therefore they either will have a PR nightmare or their business pages will be so great that they make people forget this profile deleting fiasco.

Circles. Basically this lets you organize the people you know into groups so you can communicate specifically with them. Friends, parents, co-workers and/or acquaintances can all go in different circles (Google official video: http://youtu.be/BeMZP-oyOII). Circles could be used by churches to organize different groups of people to minister to. If a ministry is setting up online small groups they can use circles to setup which people will be in which group. This niche marketing tool could help the church focus on who they want to market or minister to, whether it be all of their online members or a select few.

Hangouts. Group video chat anyone? If multiple friends are online, you can all get together face-to-face. You can even watch YouTube videos together (Google official video: http://youtu.be/Tku1vJeuzH4). This would take online ministry to another level by making ministry much more intimate and personal. Small groups can meet online via video chat and minister and fellowship with each other. If they decide not to use video chat then it would be considered a Huddle. This is group chat without the video. (Google official video: http://youtu.be/iA22daAstNg)

Sparks. We all have things we’re geeked out about. This lets you share your interests with friends (Google official video: http://youtu.be/MRkAdTflltc). The topics that can utilize sparks within a small church group can be numerous. This topic starter could be used to facilitate ministry discussions based upon a church topic.

Instant Upload. An easier way to automatically upload pictures from your cell phone to the web (Google official video: http://youtu.be/6y_xKVSRAy8). This is an easy way to share ministry events quickly right from your phone.

Social Media Strategy

Our good friends over at Vocus have provided a great social media development strategy worksheet that ministries can utilize to help create an effective social media strategy. This interactive module asks specific questions to help formulate a social media strategy that would be beneficial to the ministry. If you are in a hurry you can click on the PDF option at the bottom of the module and download the social media strategy worksheet and complete it at your leisure.

http://www.vocus.com/social-media-strategy/index.asp

Can a ministry or church sell products on Facebook?

I was reading a great article on Facebook shopping/commerce at socialmediatoday.com.  The article ( http://socialtimes.com/fcommerce-now_b65147 ) had some great points about how Facebook could be utilized as an online shopping destination.  There are already some companies using Facebook as part of their ecommerce strategy and they do have an online store via facebook.  Most often the Facebook online store simply are product images with links back to their own online store, but that’s due to customers feeling more secure making purchases on a company’s secure online store and not facebook....yet.

There were some great points in the article about why Facbeook could become a great online shopping destination.  They were as follows:

1. Facebook is a mall — Millions visit Facebook daily for an increasing number of their digital-life activities — catching up with friends, playing games, sending messages, etc. The Facebook mall has the amenities; now it’s ready for the shops. Creating an on-Facebook storefront has a rather low barrier to entry. Facebook is likely to keep it that way until shopping starts to scale and, perhaps, beyond. As it has done with advertising, we can look forward to Facebook encouraging the creation of F-shops buy providing information to brands on how to best create Facebook commerce sites and featuring success stories.

2. Users will spend more time on Pages — Studies show that, currently, the overwhelming number of users rarely return to pages they Like and are mostly exposed to brands on their News Feed, the Facebook destination of choice. That’s going to change.

The number of monetization and data collection opportunities on the News Feed is too limited for Facebook and, consequently, for brands. In addition, all other benefits of social media engagement aside, corporations are best motivated when they are provided with the clearest link between their advertising and marketing expenses to their sales. Over time, Facebook’s feature structure will evolve to encourage more discovery across a greater number of platform destinations.

3. Be where your customers are — Brekke argues that retailers already have customers buying on their website and, as they are not present on their Facebook Pages, ads to drive traffic to an F-store may be misguided. Let’s set aside the possibility that, as a result of forces that include, but go beyond, Facebook, web commerce declines. In the bricks-and-mortar world, would a retailer be happy to cede business across town when he can stock a rent-free store just down the street from his competitor? No way. How is that logical on Facebook?

4. Today’s retailers are not tomorrow’s F-stores — In the nascent days of web commerce, few would have predicted that so many big winners would be dedicated companies (e.g., Amazon) and not the established stores everyone knew and frequented.

If retailers just modify their web pages to Facebook without a social strategy, they are going to fail. Successful F-shops are likely to offer fewer, more targeted products based on information culled from users’ social graph. Potentially, the experience of shopping on Facebook could be like going to a mall only with stores with stuff the individual shopper Likes. Yes, with a capital “L.”

5. Credit where credit is due — It makes sense for Facebook to work to maximize the number of ways Facebook Credits can be earned and spent on its platform. Brands that use Facebook Credits for Facebook Deals may move to accepting the virtual currency in their F-shops. Shops on Facebook are likely to be incentivized to accept Facebook Credits in their F-stores and websites, offer them as rebates, etc.

Now, with these great points, the question is, how can ministries use Facebook as an extension of their ecommerce strategy? Once a ministry establishes a viable ecommerce strategy with a dependable online store software, a facebook ecommerce presence should be the 2nd or 3rd steps.  As I stated in the iChurch Method book, once a ministry has setup an online store, they have established a place on their website for people to purchase their products.  The next step is to either make the online store mobile device compatible and/or Facebook compatible.   With 750 million (and counting) registered members of Facebook, there are numerous people that could benefit from the products of the ministry.  

Online shopping software such as payvment.com, aspdotnetstorefront.com, magento.com and other online shopping software, have mobile and Facebook plugins that make their stores Facebook friendly.  Therefore, it’s not difficult to take an online store, fill it with ministry products, and then add a few plugins and take that store to the 750 million people that enjoy Facebook around the world.

A Brilliant Facebook Content Strategy

I came across an amazing blog post from Genae Girard - http://optimizationsummits.com/new-media/hiccup-your-way-past-competitors-on-facebook/. This blog post was about what content should be used to engage and interact with Facebook fans (and twitter). The blog post is located below.

The key points of the blog and how it can help ministries reach people online are as follows:

• Make sure to use a rich mix of information, education, humor and fun.
• Humor allows your audience to come away with a warm fuzzy feeling and friendly attachment to your message.
• Interactive Questions/Polls - The purpose here is to begin the conversation and let people create a community buzz.
• Content - If you don't provide a myriad of interesting topics that are relevant and current, then customers just simply go away. Clicking "unlike" on Facebook is just as easy as clicking "like".
• Current Events - If your content isn't relevant to the current times then you won't reach the current generation. Make sure your content helps reach the old and the young, we have a message that is timeless so apply it to today's issues and let them know that the solution is Jesus no matter what!!
• Promos and Specials - Mentions specials, promotions, new products, events, ministries and services. Make sure you run creative promotions and contests that will keep the attention of your online audience.

Overall, with the right amount of relevant and enriching content, a Facebook page can be a great tool for ministry and helping reach people across the globe.

Social Media and Ministry Leadership

The entire focus of iChurch is to help advance ministries online.  This is done by utilizing a five-step approach of websites, multimedia, ecommerce, social media and mobile.  The reason for a five-step approach is to make iChurch as easy as possible and to help ministries understand how to integrate technology into their ministerial approach.  The problem most often is getting the leadership to buy into the benefits of social media as well as get involved in the actual implementation of social media.

I was over at one of my favorite blogs, @StickyJesus and I saw this post that gave a great summary of a 10 Things We Wish Pastors Would “Get” About Social Media

http://stickyjesus.com/2011/05/10-things-we-wish-pastors-would-get-about-social-media/

1. Technology + influence = power. The church needs a voice at the online table locally, nationally and globally. Political systems are being influenced (and overthrown) via social networks. The church needs to be in the conversation influencing the culture with God’s word—not the other way around. This influence needs to start with our pastors, our leaders.

2. Your city is online. The unchurched you seek to reach—within 20 miles of your sanctuary—live on social networks. Do a city search here and follow them on Twitter. Share your values, listen to theirs, and genuinely connect. If you connect with your church family on Facebook, you also potentially connect with their neighbors and friends who may not know Christ. Your reach as a pastor becomes wider, your influence, deeper.

3. Get to know your flock—online. We joyfully know everything about you. We know your wife’s hobbies, your kids’ favorite sports, when you go fishing, and when Pastor appreciation day is. Social media is a great way for you to get to know us. We don’t expect long conversations, just an acknowledgment now and then, a show of support for our families, or nod or prayer toward our ups and downs. We also have blogs, ministries, and Facebook pages—just like you, so drop by and interact with us the way we are quick to interact with you.

4. Social media is social. If you are online, pastor, understand “social” is a two-way street. Your social network is not your second pulpit. If you think it’s cool to have 10,000 followers and only follow 10 people, think again. Social platforms provide a place for you to engage, grow, respond, give, and comment. We do not ache to see a stream of your blog links, sermon links, or 24/7 scriptures. If you present a one-way conversation, you risk looking arrogant and only confirm in a public forum that you don’t understand the genuine nature and power of social networks.

5. Yes, it really is this easy. The enemy doesn’t want Christians—especially pastors—online. The communication channel is too powerful. If we do get online, he hopes we will misuse our time there. So keep it simple, pastor. Choose a few tools and roll—but please, roll. Choosing a few tools like Tweetdeck, Twuffer.com, Twitter lists, and social mobile apps, can keep you in touch with thousands of people a day! The last thing we want is for you to have another “thing” taking up your time. We just want you to connect briefly. It will cost you about an hour or two a week.

6. You can encourage thousands weekly. We need you and you need us. We need you to pray for us and come up beside us in life, and we are eager to do the same for you. We struggle and often we post those struggles on our Facebook walls or in our blogs. Please, meet us where we are.

7. Do what you can do—but do something. We will not hold you to a digital standard or get our feelings hurt if you don’t respond or regularly connect with us online. We get it. We don’t want our pastor living online (in fact, please don’t).

8. We’re sharing our lives in a 140 characters. Despite the rumors, we aren’t having affairs and wasting all our time online (at least not everyone is). There’s great conversation, prayer, edification, ideas, news, and wisdom exchanged every day online. There’s also grieving, praying, and spiritual dilemmas raised. We’d love for you to add your insight and fellowship to the mix from time to time.

9. A higher standard is needed. The conduct bar is all over the place for non-Christians as well as Christians online. The value line moves on a whim and the accountability is slim. Your presence would help keep the conversation bar high. Your words and the way you handle situations online provide critical discipleship. So, please show up and we can work on this together—as the body of Christ.

10. Jesus is tweeting, so why not you? The Holy Spirit is everywhere you click. Miracles are happening and lives are being transformed. It makes sense for Pastors to be where the action is—and where your influence is critical.

Why Ministries Should Utilize Social Media...

I was teaching at the North American Division of the Seventh Day Adventists Church Media Summit. After my session, I was pulled to the side and asked to give a quick statement about why ministries should utilize social media, this was my answer.

Facebook and Spirituality

I was reading Allfacebook.com and found this great article at http://www.allfacebook.com/8-reasons-why-facebook-brings-out-spirituality-2011-04, this is a great article by Ruth Manuel-Logan on Facebook and Spirituality.  The reason is that I have heard Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Agnostics, Catholics and a variety of other groups refer to Facebook as a negative or positive aspect of their spirituality.  Now in my opinion, Facebook is exactly what you make it to be, if you want it to be the best evangelizing tool ever created, then it is that.  If you feel Facebook is the devil, then that is exactly what it is.  Facebook is simply whatever you want it to be.

I use Facebook to express my spirituality as well as help ministries further their mission to proclaim the gospel.  They attract people that want to support this mission and thus Facebook is a way to reach millions all over the world.  If I wanted Facebook to be something else and I started to use it as such, then it would become that.  So overall, in my opinion, Facebook is nothing more then a website that has the capability to become something great, a great way to accomplish great things, or a great way to engage in bad things, but either way, Facebook is something great. Here is the article.

8 Reasons Why Facebook Brings Out Spirituality

There are an increasing number of ministries, religious nonprofits, houses of worship, clergy and small-group ministries that now routinely maintain accounts on Facebook.

Some even claim that their interpersonal relationship with their deity of choice has even deepened via this social network and are touting it, not only as a way to gain new followers but to maintain an open line of constant communication with a higher power.

Below are eight reasons why Facebook can bring out spirituality.

1. Get Well Postings - When loved ones are stricken with an illness, it’s comforting to receive transmitted prayer concerns rapidly via Facebook.

2. Heralding The Good Word - It’s been said that nothing can replace the joy and lasting value of sharing your spiritual journey with the open ears and hearts of other users.

3. Discussions Of Scriptures - Many people have found that participating in an online community provides them with a safe place to freely express themselves religiously.

4. Open Exchange Of Doctrines - Social networks also possess the ability to affirm your belief system by commingling with like minds in a non-judgemental zone.

5. Goal Setting - Your online persona can be an inspirational reflection and Facebook can act as a kind of stepping stone towards becoming the person you’d like to be.

6. Food For The Soul - Although social networking is a kind of mediated experience, you can feed your spiritual soul amid the floods of biblical passages, spiritual quotes or evites to upcoming religious events.

7. Accept Other Belief Systems - Facebook allows you to also migrate into other forms of spiritual consciousness that is ideologically different than yours.

8. Start Self Reflecting - Researchers have stated that social media can lead you to become more more inward looking which enhances spiritual progression.

Facebook Profile, Business or Fan Page - Part 1

Today I was having a conversation with a colleague of mine who was trying to explain to me the difference between a Facebook fan page and a Facebook business page. I proceeded to explain to her that a business page was simply a category for a fan page, just as it could be a nonprofit page, product page and so on but she was adamant in her explanation that there was a difference.

So it dawned on me right then that there may be other people that have this misconception about Facebook fan pages, business pages, profiles and other things that people find confusing about Facebook. Therefore, I felt the need to explain the difference between them as well as how to create a Facebook fan page.

First things first, what's the difference between a Facebook profile page and a fan page. The bottom line is profiles are now only for individuals and pages are for business. Profiles and pages have different features.

• Profile pages have a limitation of 5000 friends
• Profile pages have distinct privacy features and are only accessed if the profile owner "adds you as a friend".
• Profile pages have all the features of Facebook such as updating statuses, photos, links, videos, applications, groups, wall posts and other interactive elements.
• Profile pages do not have customizable tabs similar to fan pages.
• Profile pages are much more common on Facebook and are easily created from the Facebook.com homepage by filling out a few boxes to get started.

On the other hand fan pages (which are also known as business pages)

• Businesses are only allowed to open pages NOT profiles. A business which opens a profile page is in direct violation of TOS.
• Business pages allow other users to become fans, but access to the individual profile pages are limited.
• Business pages do not allow the ability to invite friends – in fact business pages cannot maintain a friends list – they can only maintain a fan list.
• Business pages do allow updating your status (which gets shared with your fans)
• Business pages allow: pictures, videos, discussion board, application, wall posts, groups and other interactive elements.
• Business pages allow customization of tabs to promote interactivity

Here is a quote from Facebook on their official policy (on difference between profile and pages):

Facebook profiles are meant to represent a single individual. Organizations of any type are not permitted to maintain an account under the name of their organization. We have created Facebook Pages to allow organizations to have a presence on Facebook. These Pages are distinct presences, separate from user profiles, and optimized for an organization's needs to communicate, distribute information/content, engage their fans, and capture new audiences virally through their fan's recommendations to their friends. Facebook Pages are designed to be a media rich, valuable presence for any artist, business or brand.

If you create a profile for your business, your account may be disabled for violating our Terms of Use. If you have questions about how to best leverage your Facebook Page, please check out our Insider's Guide or FAQ.

But of course there is always a way out. If you have previously created a Facebook profile page for your business or organization, you can convert it to a fan page with these easy steps.

1. Login to the profile page that you want to convert to a fan page.
2. Once you have logged in, go to this page https://www.facebook.com/help/?page=18918.
   
3. Once you get to that page click on the second option which says "How do I convert my profile to a Page?"
4. The dropdown information will reveal this option, "If you would like to convert your profile to a Page, click here"
5. Once you click on that you will get the Facebook Fan Page create page where you can choose which type of fan page you want to convert your profile page to. From here you follow the steps to create a fan page, which we will discuss in part 2 of this post.

Welcome to iChurch

Welcome to the iChurch blog. Here we will provide ministries with the tools and information to advance their ministries online. This blog is based on the book "iChurch: The New Internet Church" by Jason Caston. Oh, and for the record, I am Jason Caston.

Now let's answer the main question that everyone is asking, what is iChurch. Well if you Google "ichurch" you get a variety of results that range from a social network for Christian singles, an interactive viewing module for people to watch live services, to a few blogs talking about how the church is integrating technology into it's overall outreach. Most often, when a church says that they have an ichurch, it's the interactive viewer where you can watch live (and archived) services, donate, chat, take notes and read the online bible, all from one page. Now this is a great feature but it's limiting if that's all they consider an "iChurch experience".

I decided to write this book and start learning about the integration of technology and ministry because I had the great opportunity to work with some amazing mega churches and I started to see how they were lacking in terms of technology. But it wasn't just the implementation of technology (websites, ecommerce, computers) into the business of ministry, it was a general misunderstanding of how technology could be used to advance the kingdom and take the gospel worldwide.

Therefore, I decided to not only learn and stay updated on ALL new technologies that ministries can use to advance the gospel online, but I started to develop a methodology that ministries could follow to create a full online presence. This approach, which breaks down the iChurch method into 7 areas or building blocks, gives ministries a road-map to developing a full internet church presence. These seven areas, websites, multimedia, ecommerce, social media, mobile, elearning and virtual office, are the foundation of "iChurch: The New Internet Church" and this blog.

Welcome