In today’s tech-savvy world, social media has become a big deal for churches. It’s a great way to connect with your congregation, reach out to new folks, and share your faith message. But let’s be real — a lot of church leaders are super busy and can’t spend all day on social media. So, how can you make it work for your church when time is tight? We’ve got some practical tips for you.
1. Figure Out What You Want to Achieve with Social Media
First things first, what’s your goal with social media? Do you want more people to engage with your church online, share uplifting stuff, or simply get the word out about your activities? Knowing your goal helps you focus on what matters. Another possible starting goal could be to have a digital presence so people can find you online and then attend your physical meetings. A simple goal like this is enough in the beginning. It will help you feel less overwhelmed and empower you to stick to certain online activities that allign to your goal.
2. Plan Your Posts
Ever heard of a content calendar? It’s just a fancy term for planning your social media posts. Plan your posts in advance so you don’t have to scramble every day.
Practically, think about important church events, holidays, and other key dates. Create posts for these in that you can schedule in advance and then forget about it. There are tools like Hootsuite or Buffer that publish your posts at optimal times, even when you're busy.
If you want to post more often and need to figure out content, a recurring theme can help. For example, Mondays could be motivational quotes, Wednesdays could be Bible study teasers, and Fridays could be volunteer spotlights.
3. Get Help from Your Church Congregation with Social Media
Your church family can be a big help. Ask them to share their stories and experiences related to the church. When they post stuff, share it on your church’s social media pages. It makes your online presence more personal and gives your congregation a sense of belonging.
To keep it light, you can ask them to tag the church's social media profile in their posts, or if you happen to see a post that the church isn't tagged in, you can reshare that post on the church's profile.
4. Let Others Pitch In
If you have volunteers or staff who like social media, let them help out. They can create and find cool stuff to post, reply to comments, and manage your social media accounts. Have a good discussion with them regarding what your goals are and how much freedom they have to post online.
5. Recycle Content
You don’t have to create new stuff all the time. Take your sermons, articles, or videos and reuse them in smaller bits for your social media. It’s like having a library of posts ready to go. A short quote from the sermon, posted on an image as background, can easily double as your weekly Sermon recap and reminder post.
6. Use Tools to Make Life Easier
There are tools out there that can save you time. Look into social media management tools — they let you schedule posts and see how well you’re doing. And you can use chatbots to answer common questions without you having to do it all. Facebook and Instagram let you set up an auto-response to messages received. You can use this to answer the most common questions and then buy yourself some time to get back to them personally.
7. Don’t Spread Yourself Thin
You don’t need to be on every social media platform. Pick one or two where your audience hangs out the most. Focus on making awesome posts on those platforms rather than trying to be everywhere at once.
8. Talk to Your Followers
Engaging with your followers is a big deal. Set aside a little time each day to reply to comments and messages. Personalized responses make your church feel more welcoming. If you are not on social media the whole day, you can get your social media message notifications sent to your email inbox. This gives you a chance to get to them every day without it being another thing you must remember to do. Both Instagram and Facebook have this functionality.
9. Check How You’re Doing
If engagement or growing your social media following, is one of your goals, then you should keep an eye on how your posts are doing.
How many impressions or views your post received
How many comments or likes per post.
You can see what’s working and what’s not from the answers above. Use this info to make your social media game even better.
If having a digital presence is your goal, then engagement isn't your priority right now.
10. Get Some Expert Help
If you’re strapped for time, think about hiring someone or getting a social media agency to handle things for you. They’re the pros, and it frees you up to focus on your main church duties.
So, there you have it! Even if you’re crazy busy, you can still manage your church’s social media presence. Set your goals, ask for help, plan your posts, and use tools to make things easier.
Remember, it’s about doing what matters, not trying to do everything.
If you found this article helpful, please like it and share it with a friend!
Or if you have suggestions for an article, or how to improve this one - pop us a message!
Comments