Social Media 101

I have seen the following as a growing trend in ministry (and some corporate clients) – don’t let it happen to you!

Churches (and a lot of companies) get caught up in the hype of social media without thinking through a long-term plan. Usually happens like this… Someone on staff will get excited, get a Twitter account or start a Facebook fan page, and then after a while – it gets neglected. Once the hype of getting the first followers wears off, the newly created social media accounts become dormant & neglected communication channels.

In another example, you’ll find an ambitious staff member who has taken the initiative for their church. They have started generating content on multiple social networks and are getting a great response. What happens next is usually someone higher up on the food chain will find out about it and want to control it. Or shut it down. Or turn it into an info dump, clogged with redundant church advertisements and announcements. Once that happens, social media fails to serve it’s purpose and be social.

The organizations/ministries who use social media the best are the ones who are responsive. They pay attention to search.twitter.com. They have Google alerts set up. They take that information and use it to interact with the people who go to their church or are interested in their organization.

Bottom line – make sure you have a plan and understand what exactly social media can do for you and take the time to properly use it.You can take 10 minutes a day and schedule out your social media update for the week. Use tools like Tweetdeck to search for terms related to your church and interact for five minutes a day with people. Start a fan page and comment for 30 minutes to the people who take the time to post.