Did you know that 7 out of 10 UK adults are active on Facebook?
The average UK social media user spends 1 hour 50 minutes every day on social media sites!
An amazing 24 million people have Instagram accounts in the UK.
13 million people use Twitter in the UK.
That's an awful lot of people!
This is the biggest shift in communication for 500 years
Is the Church going to miss this shift?
But how can you use social media effectively?
To make waves on social media you need to use it effectively.
Attention is all that matters on social media
Just being on social media isn't enough. You need to get their attention and keep it. You need to earn it. How do you do that?
Stop the Scroll
When people go on social media they scroll until they find something interesting to engage with. How do you stop the scroll?
Repeat equals defeat
It goes against everything we've previously learned about visual content - but consistent branding is one of the most detrimental things you can do on social media! It conditions people to ignore your posts because they all look the same!
What do I actually post?
Most churches use social media to redirect to their in person services - we've got a Sunday Service coming up, we've got a small group coming up, we've got a men's BBQ coming up...
At the very most 1 in 5 posts should be about promoting particular events.
What should we post on other days?
Day 1 A Countdown post
Use social media to provoke prayer. Find a topic and ask people to pray for it. Use social media as a ministry - e.g. pray for your children/spouse/parents/siblings/a friend (pick one).
Day 2 Promote reading the Bible
Take a bible quote and turn it into a post. Try re-wording it. Use innovative visual ways - like using a screenshot on a messages app with the post text and post it to a different social media. Use familiar design in an unfamiliar setting.
Post the unexpected! What's the opposite of what the Bible verse is saying? Write that as your headline with a strikethrough on it! Therefore stay at home and don't tell anyone anything about me. See what happened there? You're giving the unexpected and making people stop scrolling and read!
Day 3 The question post
Why did you start attending our church? How old were you when you first attended church.
Day 4 The list post
E.g. Did you know the world's most popular name comes from the Bible?
Did you know the world's longest name is from the Bible.
Three things Jesus never said: 1/ Your life will be without setbacks, 2/ I will answer every prayer exactly how you want me to, 3/ Following me will be easy.
Publish random facts, make it fun and engaging.
Day 5 The engagement booster
Which should you get rid of? Burgers, Sausages, Pies or Chicken Wings.
It's not about church you say! This post is not about that. It's about boosting your social media - pure and simple. If all you do is post spiritual stuff, engagement will spiral downwards. People are more likely to respond if you mix it up and post inconsequential things some of the time.
It's time for an Emoji Bible Story - try using Emoji's to tell a story and see the resulting comments.
If you were Noah would you rather build the ark or name the animals?
Day 6 Church Invitation post
Remind that church is coming tomorrow. Make this post different each week. Put effort into it - repeated wording means that Sunday is just another Sunday. Make it unique.
Breaking News alert. Select all the images with a church building (like a captcha). What is Church? See you tomorrow.
Be cheeky. Have fun. Provoke.
Day 7 Freestyle
A memorable quote from the sermon. Photo of people talking after the service. Photo of worship. Mix it up.