Connection Over Content

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Social media manager, Jenny Williams, helps small churches dive into social media with 2 sets of questions to answer and the best free tools to get started.

For Small Churches: Your First Steps To Get Started In Social Media

I’ve been a social media manager for the past 4 years. And every single client has the same issues starting up! So, you are not alone! 

I find that if I ask these simple questions, their direction becomes a little more clear. Answer these for yourself to get started.

Two Sets Of Questions To Ask:

3 Questions To Ask Before You Get Started

1. Who Is Your Audience?

Your audience is who you are trying to reach:

• Church family
• New families
• Your community

2. Do You Have A Brand In Place?

Your brand represents your church!

• What is your mission statement?
• Does everything you do represent that accurately?

3. Are You Connecting In A Real & Honest Way?

Do your social media posts reach your audience with a raw authenticity that represents your church’s mission and goals?

(Don’t let marketing mistakes affect your attendance. Click for more practical tips: Marketing Ideas For Small Churches)

The Next Questions To Ask:

After you’ve answered that first set of questions, the next ones are sometimes terrifying!!

• What do I post on social media?
• When do I post it?
• What should I say?

Somebody help me!!!

My simple rule of thumb for social media posting is simple.

Super-duper simple:

Connection Over Content

There are tons of things you can post. Easy little, fun graphics that you can find almost anywhere. But do those graphics and cutesy cliches represent who you are? Who your church is? Do they follow the brand or standards that you want them to? Do they connect to your audience?

The easiest solution out there is to remember these 3 little words: connection over content.

Say it again: connection over content!

You want to connect to your audience and be consistent with who you are.

The raw and real you. Those fun games and engaging posts are great in moderation. But to grow and serve your people, you want to connect with them!! 

How do you do that?

2 Ways To Create Connections: Photos & Current Events

• I love to use photos of our church members! This is an easy way to connect because they can relate. And they can relate because, well, they are the ones in the pictures!
• I keep up to date with our community. School functions, church events, etc., are great things to use for your content.

How do you make these posts?

My Favorite Tools To Create Social Media Posts: Canva, WordSwag, & Unsplash

• Canva: a graphic design platform
• Unsplash: for freely usable images
• WordSwag: for text layout –– Click: WordSwag for Microsoft / WordSwag for Apple

These are all apps or websites with free options and content. They are free to use on social media without any copyright issues. Also, they are amazingly user-friendly!

You can import your own pictures or use theirs. They have amazing fonts and layouts. You can easily customize them to represent your church’s brand!

For more, check out Social Media In Small Churches: What You Might Be Missing.

Getting Started With Social Media In Small Churches

Answering those two sets of questions and focusing on connection over content will get you started and help move your social media presence to the next level!

Start by choosing one platform. I always recommend starting with Facebook. Next, decide how often you will post. Whether you post once a week or once a day, consistency is key.

Feel free to post your questions below or show us some things you’ve created! We would love to see them!!

Read More

Social Media & Small Churches: What You Might Be Missing