How to create social media content for your church
I've been helping to create and post content on my church's social media sites for a few months, and I've noticed that a lot of churches struggle with this. I've visited various churches' Facebook and Twitter pages only to find them updated infrequently or not at all.
To be honest, this is a bigger problem than churches realize for a number of reasons. But rather than go into all that with this post, I will direct you to this book I recently reviewed: The Social Church. It delves into some of the deeper information on why this is a big deal and how to gear up to do it the right way. You can also check out this previous post, "Why churches should be leading in social media," for more on what I believe about this.
For this post though, I want to share some tips and ideas for easily creating content that will keep your social media looking fresh. Fresh content sends the message that you care, you're in touch, and it helps visitors and attenders see what you've got going on. Plus, I personally am passionate about using social media to reach people in my community with truth. If the church isn't doing that, who will?
1. Use your weekly service(s) to help generate content. Your weekly service is a content goldmine. You can use multiple elements from it to generate content that will carry you through the week. Most of my following tips will flesh this out. You'll never be at a loss for what to post if you use your service time correctly. (This is also key for smaller operations. If there's only one person managing your social media, he/she will need to maximize time and opportunities.)
2. Take notes you can use. Maybe it's the newspaper reporter in me, but I take lots of notes during the service, paying attention to key direct quotes and Scripture references. I use my notes throughout the week to help create unique, original content for our social media sites. A lot of times I will turn a quote or verse from the sermon into a graphic which can then be posted on each of our social media platforms.
3. Snap a few photos. Use the service to help generate some photographs you can share. You can photograph your pastor preaching, the worship team leading music, or a special guest sharing their story. Photos can be shared as-is or made into a background for a graphic.
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4. Share a verse. Snap a photo of a particular verse in your Bible (underline it first for added emphasis), design your own graphic, or if it's a longer verse, share the text in a post (this last option is best on Facebook). Verses are an easy, effective way to encourage your followers and help them carry the message of the service with them throughout the week.
5. Share relevant videos. If your church creates a video recording of each service, share the video or a link to it on Facebook and/or Twitter. Our church also makes a separate video of each Sunday's announcement time and uploads it to Facebook. This is a great service for anyone who may have been unable to attend that Sunday. If your church doesn't record the service, consider sharing a music video of a key worship song that was featured during the service.
6. Share podcasts and audio clips. This can be an alternative to the service video if your church does audio-only recordings. You can also periodically share links to podcasts produced by other Christian leaders that align with your church's statement of faith. I recommend doing this sparingly though, because at the core, you want people to know about your church.
7. Give a preview of a new series or the upcoming service. This is a great way to invite people to your weekly service(s) while showing them what to expect. You can tell them who is preaching, what the sermon topic is, and even get a quote from your pastor explaining it. If you want to do a little more, shoot a brief video clip of your pastor talking about the sermon or service and inviting viewers to attend.
8. Pay attention to your audience. Track the posts that generate the most responses from your followers and make sure to keep them regular. Don't be afraid of testing something new, social media is about trial-and-error. If something isn't working, scrap it and give something new a shot. Also, it's okay to do a little internet stalking to see what other churches and organizations are doing that is working.
A note on platforms: Each social media platform is unique and should be used in the way it was designed. This will maximize your church's effectiveness on the platform. You can post the same photos and similar content on each platform, but each post should be done individually and catered to fit the platform. For more on this, check out this post about using Twitter, and this one about using Instagram.
There are definitely more things you can do to create content for your social media platforms. This is just something to get you started! If you have tips to share, please leave them in the comments for the rest of us! We'd love to hear what you're doing!
Coming up next: I'll be sharing my favorite apps for designing all of the graphics I've featured in this post. Yes, it is not only possible but very easy to create graphics for your church on your smartphone!
To be honest, this is a bigger problem than churches realize for a number of reasons. But rather than go into all that with this post, I will direct you to this book I recently reviewed: The Social Church. It delves into some of the deeper information on why this is a big deal and how to gear up to do it the right way. You can also check out this previous post, "Why churches should be leading in social media," for more on what I believe about this.
For this post though, I want to share some tips and ideas for easily creating content that will keep your social media looking fresh. Fresh content sends the message that you care, you're in touch, and it helps visitors and attenders see what you've got going on. Plus, I personally am passionate about using social media to reach people in my community with truth. If the church isn't doing that, who will?
1. Use your weekly service(s) to help generate content. Your weekly service is a content goldmine. You can use multiple elements from it to generate content that will carry you through the week. Most of my following tips will flesh this out. You'll never be at a loss for what to post if you use your service time correctly. (This is also key for smaller operations. If there's only one person managing your social media, he/she will need to maximize time and opportunities.)
2. Take notes you can use. Maybe it's the newspaper reporter in me, but I take lots of notes during the service, paying attention to key direct quotes and Scripture references. I use my notes throughout the week to help create unique, original content for our social media sites. A lot of times I will turn a quote or verse from the sermon into a graphic which can then be posted on each of our social media platforms.
3. Snap a few photos. Use the service to help generate some photographs you can share. You can photograph your pastor preaching, the worship team leading music, or a special guest sharing their story. Photos can be shared as-is or made into a background for a graphic.
4. Share a verse. Snap a photo of a particular verse in your Bible (underline it first for added emphasis), design your own graphic, or if it's a longer verse, share the text in a post (this last option is best on Facebook). Verses are an easy, effective way to encourage your followers and help them carry the message of the service with them throughout the week.
5. Share relevant videos. If your church creates a video recording of each service, share the video or a link to it on Facebook and/or Twitter. Our church also makes a separate video of each Sunday's announcement time and uploads it to Facebook. This is a great service for anyone who may have been unable to attend that Sunday. If your church doesn't record the service, consider sharing a music video of a key worship song that was featured during the service.
6. Share podcasts and audio clips. This can be an alternative to the service video if your church does audio-only recordings. You can also periodically share links to podcasts produced by other Christian leaders that align with your church's statement of faith. I recommend doing this sparingly though, because at the core, you want people to know about your church.
7. Give a preview of a new series or the upcoming service. This is a great way to invite people to your weekly service(s) while showing them what to expect. You can tell them who is preaching, what the sermon topic is, and even get a quote from your pastor explaining it. If you want to do a little more, shoot a brief video clip of your pastor talking about the sermon or service and inviting viewers to attend.
8. Pay attention to your audience. Track the posts that generate the most responses from your followers and make sure to keep them regular. Don't be afraid of testing something new, social media is about trial-and-error. If something isn't working, scrap it and give something new a shot. Also, it's okay to do a little internet stalking to see what other churches and organizations are doing that is working.
A note on platforms: Each social media platform is unique and should be used in the way it was designed. This will maximize your church's effectiveness on the platform. You can post the same photos and similar content on each platform, but each post should be done individually and catered to fit the platform. For more on this, check out this post about using Twitter, and this one about using Instagram.
There are definitely more things you can do to create content for your social media platforms. This is just something to get you started! If you have tips to share, please leave them in the comments for the rest of us! We'd love to hear what you're doing!
Coming up next: I'll be sharing my favorite apps for designing all of the graphics I've featured in this post. Yes, it is not only possible but very easy to create graphics for your church on your smartphone!
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