Social Media Tips for Churches

Since we recently launched a service specifically focused on social media for churches, it only made sense to continue this topic on the blog. Last month we launched our Harbor services as well as a blog post explaining a little more about how the process worked. Earlier this month we followed it up by discussing church social media strategy. We broke down the broad sequence for developing such a strategy, which means that today we want to talk about some specific tips that we think might be helpful for churches looking to engage more on social media. 

1) Don’t Skip The Foundational Work

I know we wrote a whole blog post about developing a social media strategy, but I do feel the need to reiterate the importance of that foundational work. It seems easy enough to just hop on social media and post, but to make any progress and increase engagement, it’s vital to go through the steps of determining your audience, setting goals, and creating relevant content. So, don’t skip the crucial beginning stages in this social media journey. 

2) Focus on Schedule & Strategy

Strategy and scheduling go hand-in-hand. There are several different goals you could be trying to achieve through social media. You could be trying to increase awareness, improve engagement with your existing community, reach new people, drive website traffic, or a myriad of other things. Knowing what you want to accomplish determines your content and posting schedule. In the vein of strategy, just remember that the goal is to always be creating value with your posts. More is not always more; it’s about creating content that is useful and meaningful. 

As for a posting schedule, it will take some trial and error to find the times and days that produce the highest engagement. Just remember that consistency is key. 

3) Utilize All Different Types of Content

Part of that strategy should be to utilize all different types of content on your social media platforms. It’s recommended that you have a blend of high-quality content that is easily shareable. You can share everything from scripture quotes and short snippets of your service and sermon to things like testimonials from members and event information or even blog posts and resource recommendations. You’ll want your content to reflect your church’s tone and mission, but as for types of content, feel free to try out different things and have a tapestry of video, graphics, and photos. 

4) Don’t Underestimate Video

Of course, in the world of social media, short-form video should be at the cornerstone of your strategy. Short-form videos are the most popular type of content at this point in time, and it is the most likely way to expand your reach and increase engagement. Once again, the opportunities for types of videos are only limited by your creativity. You can have videos of sermon snippets, moments from worship, testimonials, sermon series promos, behind-the-scenes videos, event recaps, and more. As always, we recommend trying different things and seeing how they work.

5) Avoid Large Blocks of Text 

On a super practical front, try to avoid large blocks of text. Attention spans are short, and most people will not take the time to read large blocks of text. Photos and videos are a much more appealing type of post that will have a greater reach.  

6) Pick Your Accounts Wisely

This tip is probably geared a little more toward churches who are just starting out on social media or are just now becoming more serious about their strategy. However, sometimes it’s good to not immediately jump on all the platforms at once. When just starting out, maybe stick to the big three: YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Tackling those three will still take a lot of time and intentionality, but the amount of users on each make them worth your time. Our advice would be to work on finding your rhythm on those platforms before expanding to any of the others. 

7) Value Authenticity

I know that it’s hard to stand out on social media with the pure volume of accounts in existence. It’s also easy to fall into a persona online, but our advice to churches would be to prioritize authenticity on your social media. It goes a long way and is the best approach. 

8) Think Through Multiple Accounts

This is probably something that you don’t need to worry about immediately, but as you continue to post on social media, you might find that you have too much content and notifications that need to be shared. At that point, it might be a good idea to consider whether separate ministries need their own accounts. For instance, over time, you might find that your youth group or children’s ministry need their own Instagram or Facebook social media account. These sub-accounts can help relieve the main pages and keep you from overwhelming your audience with too much content on a daily basis. 

9) Don’t Ignore Analytics 

We have already harped on the importance of analytics in our previous blog post, but it’s worth mentioning briefly again. Analytics are your best friend when it comes to social media. This is how you find out what type of content is connecting with people and how you need to adjust your approach. Look at them every week and then look at them more intently at the end of every month. So, we’ll say it again: do not ignore your analytics, and use them to change your content schedule as needed. 

So, what social media tips would you share with churches? Comment and let us know.  

If you find yourself looking for ways to incorporate more content (and specifically more short-form video content), I encourage you to check out the details of our Harbor service here. The brochure is free to download and can be found at the bottom of the page.

We’ll be back next month to talk about some specific social media platforms.