What’s the least interesting thing to take a picture of? I’m not sure what that answer is, but my favorite Instagram account tackles uninteresting subjects in a beautiful way. The New York Public Library (@nypl) takes pictures of old card catalog cards (who remembers those?!), books, old reference desk questions, sometimes actual people holding books, and not much else. Their account isn’t perfect, and they seem to have slowed down for the summer, but they are one of the best on Instagram right now, in my opinion, anyhow.
They’ve taken something very un-photogenic––words on paper––and built a story around it. Their hashtag, #bookfacefriday, shows lots of examples of people enjoying books. They share classic book reviews of books that are now famous, and they’ve generally figured out how to celebrate the written word using pictures and social media.
Social media is the technological equivalent of word-of-mouth. We’ve assembled several tips for you here, but the main idea is to wrap your idea, thought, or picture up in a story “nugget” that is interesting and easy to share. A retweet or a Facebook “like” is this generation’s fifteen minutes of fame, and it can spread like wildfire––if you let it.
As a church, you have the power to spread your message with each of the things you do. Your congregates can invite others to become a part of your community, and your church website has the opportunity to become a central powerhouse for serving your members. But social media has the added benefit of personalization that only comes from a human sending a message to the other humans that they know. As a pastor, one of the keys of gaining traction in social media is showing your personality.
Like the New York Public Library, you’re not really “selling” anything, but you want to put the ideas you’re “promoting” in front of the people you’re trying to reach. Below are four things to remember as you craft your message for social media.
You don’t have to go “viral” to be successful on social media. The first step to reaching people who actually care about your message is to understand where your congregation is online. What social media platforms do they use? How would they like to engage with you? What channels are already successful for your church?
Your church communicators (most likely) already know this information. They understand your following, and are consistently working to increase your engagement and reach more people. They will be able to help you ask your followers, “Where would you like to see pastoral messages?” or “How can the pastor best communicate with you on social media?” By encouraging your church communicator to have a seat at the table and a voice in this conversation, you can truly see your staff as an asset in using social media daily. After all, your staff communicators will know industry trends and best practices.
Social media isn’t just a set-it-and-forget-it tool. To really engage with your members where they are, you’ll have to spend mindful time focusing on the channels that will reach the most people. By having a set strategy for each channel you’ll use (or creating flexible messages that can work on multiple platforms), you’ll save valuable time. Using photos, video, and personalization (like a custom hashtag or a personal signature) can make your messages more eye-catching and interesting. Especially when promoting sermons, you have a specific topic and value for your reader––so be sure to get that across in your posts. It may take extra time, but it’s effort that will pay off in multiple channels.
Because social media is constantly evolving, keeping up with industry trends can be difficult for people who have other ministry responsibilities. Learning from other businesses––even secular ones––can be a great way to see what’s working and what’s not for other organizations of your size using different channels. Your church communicator may be the right person to keep you updated on what other people and congregations are doing.
Companies like Mashable and YouTube are always finding new ways to engage with their large followings, but there are innovative things they are doing that you can do, too, even with a much smaller audience. Simple practices like using hashtags and embedding video can all reach your congregation members in their daily lives––with messages and daily updates on how to learn from your past and latest sermons.
While managing social media accounts may seem like an intimidating responsibility, or just another thing to keep track of, there's no reason you can't be genuinely involved in the process as a pastor. Your congregation wants to hear from you! Your personality and leadership skills can make waves in your social media following––even if you’re not the one posting every single day. Hopefully, you have at least a loose idea of the pulse of your church’s social media (practices, analytics, feedback). But by using these platforms to promote your sermons online, your blog, or even just a brief personal message to your active members, you can show your personality here. Even if your attempts at social media are clumsy, your congregation will appreciate your vulnerability and honesty.
There are other ways to develop a personal ministry online. By listening to responses from your followers, you can talk with them in a more casual setting than Sunday service. By staying aware of social media, you can tie it into your whole sermon series. An attention-grabbing hashtag can power your message past the weekend, through the week, and into your members’ daily routines as a reminder of your previous message.
When a moment in your life actually embodies the topics you’re preaching about, show that to your followers. Start something like #firstbapathome or #LFFinreallife. These are fake hashtags, but the idea is to take something impersonal like a sermon, and turn it into something personal, like a family snapshot.
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If you’re sending a personal message from the official church account, sign your own name/initials. Develop a system so people know when you’re taking the time to show that you care. Signing your posts signals to your followers that there is something special about this message, as it’s coming straight from their pastor. |
While you might already have personal accounts on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, use your church’s official accounts when acting on behalf of church leadership. This is especially true if these accounts have more followers than your personal ones. Speak to your church by representing the church.