One of the best ways to increase the scope of your church’s ministry as well as its voice in your community is to have a stellar marketing plan!
All of your church’s social media marketing messages must be harmonious. Whether it is on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, your church’s website, your church’s app, or anywhere else, it all needs to be speaking the same message. Follow the simple tips listed below to maximize your church’s social media presence!
Pro Tip: Empower your congregation to invite others to like your church’s Facebook page so that it can grow!
Nine tips for maximizing your church’s Facebook page:
- Post Consistently: The first step to maximizing your church’s Facebook page and increase visitors is to post consistently. In fact, whatever social media platform your church uses, always post consistently!
Pro Tip: Post lots of pictures! Facebook, and social media in general, is a visual median, and you are competing for attention. Post pictures of the church facility, congregation, or even just a photo you find on Google that may be related to your latest sermon or event.
- Facebook Events: Facebook events are am excellent resource you should be utilizing! They do not cost you a dime, you can choose to make them public, and you can add as much information related to the event as you desire!
- Sermon Replays: Post video recordings of the latest sermons on your church’s Facebook page. From the pulpit you can encourage your congregation to watch the replays so they can comment or revisit an important message. This is about creating conversation, and it will lead to more people seeing what is going on at your church. As people stumble upon your church’s Facebook page and see people interacting, they will see that there is something positive happening at your church and will want to go!
Pro Tip: Share your church’s volunteer needs! Sharing your volunteer needs is a simple way to get help! You will find that there are people are willing to help, especially if they are planning to attend your church’s event. They just need to know what is needed!
Remember: You have to plan! Planning is the first step to having a solid Facebook strategy. The Branning Group offers a free calendar in our toolkit that will allow you to plan your social media postings for the month! To find out more, check out our “Take Action” section at the end of this blog.
- Get Involved: Find out what is going on in your community (Clean up days, Food/Toy Drives, Blood Drives, etc.) and share it on your social media so people can see your church is invested and involved in the local community.
Pro Tip: Whatever the heart beat is of your church, make that evident on your social media; for example: Feeding the homeless, foster care and adoption, world missions, etc.
- Custom Hashtags: Hashtags (#) are incredibly useful! (#iHeartAV, #LovingtheHomeless, etc.) It is about creating a conversation that is bigger than your church. Something that is positive and far-reaching.
- Email Newsletters: Newsletters often have a bit of a bad reputation nowadays, but they still have a tremendous amount of value to them. They are a great way to stay engaged to your congregation and your audience, and people can easily forward them to others.
- Volunteer Appreciation: Highlight and personally thank some of your church’s stellar volunteers on your Facebook (and other social media platforms), your website, and in the email newsletter. Highlighting a few people who are the backbone of your church makes these people feel like they are appreciated, wanted, and it will encourage them to keep volunteering in the future. It will also encourage others to volunteer to do the same!
Remember: Perceived indifference is a huge cause for people to stop volunteering. So always remember to show appreciation to your volunteers!
- Send Out Cards: Creates a post card you can send out to everyone on your mailing list about a specific event, like an Easter Event. Send Out Cards will mail the cards for your church!
- Videos: Videos are a great way for people to see what is going on at your church. Besides sermon videos, record videos of portions of other church services, such as the children’s ministry doing fun things, home small groups or bible studies. Videos show your church’s culture. If visitors see videos of your congregation having fun and enjoying one another’s company, they will be more likely to visit because they will think it is a place they can also have a positive experience.
Pro Tip: Give people a video tour of the church campus! This will help encourage new people to visit your church, and reduce confusion on where to go when they arrive.
Remember: Remember to encourage your congregation to record and post their own videos on your church’s social media. For example, sharing their favorite Christmas Memories. It is fun, which is what social media is all about!
TAKE ACTION:
If your church would like the Branning Group to help with its marketing, fill out the form below or call us at (661) 946-0888
