Do you remember how you heard about your home church? For some, it was through an advertisement for a family-friendly community-based event; for others, it was a personal invitation from a friend to accompany them to an Easter service. In recent years, more and more church attendees are finding their home churches on the internet or social media.
With so much information readily available online, individuals can get a sneak peek of a church’s leadership team, worship style, core beliefs, ministry opportunities, and more from a webpage or social media profile before ever setting foot inside the church. It’s becoming increasingly important for churches to take the time to establish and maintain a digital presence to show relevancy to future church members and appeal to younger congregants looking for a church home.
Without compromising the authenticity and integrity of in-person interactions, corporate worship, and face-to-face fellowship, here are a few ways your church can amplify your digital presence and the benefits it could yield:
- Found on Facebook – Of all the social media platforms, Facebook is the one platform your church should be active on. According to Lifeway Research, over 72.5% of churches have a Facebook page. With over 2.6 billion monthly users, this is where your posts can reach the highest number of individuals on an organic or paid level. If you haven’t yet, consider creating a Facebook page for your church. (Although they may seem interchangeable, it’s vital that you create a page and not an account – this will severely limit your public visibility).
If your church already has an active Facebook page, consider creating an Instagram account. Instagram is right behind Facebook, with 1 billion monthly users. Both platforms are very user-friendly and make it easy for people to share content. You can even link your church’s Instagram account to the Facebook page, making cross-platform postings quick and easy. - The Power of Pictures – It’s a game of quality over quantity on social media. You can post daily, but if the content isn’t visually intriguing, it will be scrolled past in seconds. Timelines filled with stock photos, graphics packed with words, and text posts don’t perform nearly as well as organic pictures on social media. Photos capture real, authentic moments and help social media users visualize what their future experiences could be at your church.
Whether it’s a small group selfie, a photo of the congregation worshiping, or a simple picture of the outside of the church building on a sunny Sunday morning, there are photo opportunities all around just waiting to be captured and posted. In addition to giving future members a look into your church, current members are likely to repost photos of themselves, amplifying the content and reaching even more individuals organically and interactively on social media. - Video Clips – Consider further diversifying your digital reach by integrating video content into your timeline. The easiest video content your church can capture and post is sermon content. The most impactful method is recording and uploading the whole sermon to YouTube and pulling 1–3-minute clips from the complete sermon video to post throughout the week. This gives viewers an anecdotal view of the full sermon and can encourage them to watch the entire sermon online and attend the next service in person.
- Plan it Out – Although there is great stress on organic, feel-good photos on social media, there’s a lot of informational, educational, and uplifting content churches can throw into the mix to maintain a well-rounded presence on social media. Here are a few general ideas: scripture quotes, mini devotionals, Christian book recommendations, testimonials from members, special event promos, ministry or leader spotlights, and sermon quotes, to name a few ideas. Most post ideas can be created and scheduled within Facebook’s Business Suite, keeping your page fresh without forcing you to be diligent about a posting schedule in real-time. Facebook’s Business Suite can also give you great analytics and information on your digital demographics and page performance.
With all this information and ideas, we hope your church grows and flourishes digitally, not replacing the all-important in-person worship and fellowship but appealing to potential new members who may not have discovered your church otherwise.
If your church has experienced noteworthy growth due to an enhanced social presence, please reach out and share the news with us! We would love to hear more about your church’s digital sucess story or even a testimony from a new member of your parish who found your church online.