In case you missed the first ever SocialEcclesia Conference earlier this month, we wanted to share notes from Tony Morgan’s session to help you get unstuck in the area of social media.
Here are some of the highlights:
Social media isn’t a starting point for attracting people or leading them in discipleship. It’s a tool. And like any other tool, it only accomplishes great things when it is employed correctly and creatively towards a desired outcome.
Without understanding how social media helps you advance your vision, posting updates on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are about as effective as a giant inflatable blue monkey on top of your building for drawing people towards next steps with Christ. (And probably about as strategic, too.)
When we talk about communicating better and using the tools available to us, we have to keep our ultimate goals front and center. In the church, our goal should be to see more people find life in Christ and take their next steps in following Him. With that goal as a reference point, the number of likes, shares or retweets isn’t a suitable measuring stick for a social media program.
You need to answer these questions with conviction before you start using social media:
-
Have you clearly defined the next steps in your church?
-
Are those next steps being clearly communicated?
Talking up our events, Bible studies, volunteer opportunities, special services, etc. without a clear understanding of what we are trying to do and how we will measure success can actually clutter our message and inhibit people from taking their next steps. This principle applies to social media as well as to any other communication channels.
Here are some strategies for reducing the communication noise in your church and helping you figure out where social media can enhance or reinforce the messages you want to instill, rather than competing for attention.
Strategies to Reduce the Noise
1. Clarify the mission, vision and values
2. Develop a focused discipleship strategy
3. Bring consistency to your communications across all channels
4. Prioritize the most important messages
5. Eliminate competing messages
You can download the full notes from Tony’s session at TonyMorganLive.com.
Need help drilling down on a specific social media plan to integrate into your church’s communications strategy? Drop us a note.
