How to Use Social Media for Your Church: Part 3

I have talked about why, where and how to use Social Media.

You can Read Part One here, and Part Two here.

This week I am going to talk about what and when to Use Social Media. I am going to share with you a ton of different posts you can do.

As with many other things in life, the main key to Social Media is consistency.

Consistency – The easiest way to do this is to schedule posts.

Facebook now has a pretty easy way to schedule posts.

1. Make a post as you normally would.

2. Then next to the publish button is a schedule button.

3. You can schedule posts in advance.

Easy as that!

You can also use Buffer and Hootsuite, that I mentioned last week.

If you are not posting at all, or just starting to, I would suggest to just start with posting once a day. Then when you get a handle on that move up to twice a day.

I would also suggest to just start with one social media platform. Start out using Facebook, then move to Twitter, and Instagram.

When I first started to use social media for our church, I would spend hours everyday coming up with stuff to post. It does not have to be like that.

I have made a simple Infographic that has different post ideas, it is posted at the end of this blog. I made it on canva, which I talked about last week.

Different things you can post:

Service times

Put this on as many posts as you can. The more often people can see the service times the better.

A quote that pastor said last Sunday

Use a graphic making site, like Canva or WordSwag to make nice looking images with quotes from the Pastor.

Events

Make a Facebook Event for any special events you have going on. I have seen churches make an event for every Sunday Morning service, but that just seems like a lot of unnecessary work to me. But, if you have something special going on, like a special speaker, or a baby dedication, then make an event for that.

(This is a great way for the new parents to invite their families)

Also, use Canva to make a specific sized image for the Facebook Event. Make sure to post on the event any fun special details of the event.

What your kids are doing in church.

– Got a new special toy in your preschool class? Post it!
– Have a silly collection of props to use this Sunday? Post it!
– Have a new song you are going to do for Praise and Worship? Post it!
– Post what you are teaching on every week.
– Are you buying $200 worth of candy for Halloween? Post a picture of all of it!
– You can post questions that parents can ask that will provoke thinking and remembering what was taught on Sunday. Each of our Super Church 2.0 and Kinder Church 2.0 contains a take home devotional. So you can post the actual devotion, or post some questions.
– Post about the Bible story
– Post about the different volunteers you have.

If you are taking pictures of kids it is important to get a signature of the parents. I would suggest doing this on the first Sunday when they come. Also, post a sign next to where they sign in stating that their picture will be taken.

Talk about who is preaching this Sunday.

– Post one of the Bible verses that Pastor is using this coming Sunday as a teaser. You can use Canva, or just post a plain text post.
– If the associate pastor is preaching, post a little bit about what his sermon will be about.

Behind the scenes

– Post a picture of printing out all the bulletins.
– Post a picture of your Target run, getting all of the random props you need for Sunday.

Videos

Right now, Facebook is really trying to push videos.

Different videos you can do:

– A video for new visitors – where to park, drop off kids, etc.
– A short teaser clip of pastor’s message
– Short clip of worship team practicing.
– If you have a special event going on, post a video of the set-up.
– Facebook Live.

These videos do not have to perfect. I repeat they do not have to be perfect!

These can all be done on your phone, and it doesn’t have to be fancy.

Question posts

People love to talk about themselves. Have fun and be creative with these.

– Favorite Bible Verse
– Favorite Holiday tradition
– Favorite Halloween Candy

Blog Posts

Does your Pastor Blog? If yes, then post that!

A couple of tips:

– On your first time guest form, have a spot for them to put their Facebook URL. This is an easy way to connect with new guests via Facebook.

– Have fun, or be serious. Your Facebook page should be a reflection of your churches culture. So, if your church makes jokes a lot. Your Facebook page should be full of meme’s. (If you do not know what a meme is ask a teenager, and yes there are Christian meme’s) If your culture is more buttoned up, then have a little bit more structure to your page.

– Something I just found today as I was writing this. You can now link your personal profile to a Facebook page profile. So, it will have in the info section, it will link to your personal account. I can see pro’s and con’s for linking and not linking. Pro: new people will be able to see the staff people and pastors. Con: privacy can be an issue. You can always