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You have to go where your congregation already is and in 2019, that’s definitely social media.

However, social media doesn’t have to be complicated at all! With a great, simple social media management tool, you can be successful.

In this article, we’re going to show you everything you need to reach your congregation where it counts:

On their social media feeds.

Why Churches Have to Be on Social Media

Times have never been tougher. And having a calming voice of a minister present in our daily lives can go a long way towards giving us more hope in these volatile times.

But after the sentimental value of your voice on social media, there is also competition.

There are a lot of churches and ministries reaching out to people and connecting with them through social media.

If you’re not doing the same, you could risk your existing congregation flocking to another church that may seem more modern to them.

Additionally, many people originally find churches they join on social media.

This is what makes it such a great tool for communication not only with your existing congregation, but with people who may see your church is the right community for them.

This claim is backed by statistics, as well: over 46% of church planters state that social media is their most effective outreach tool for growing their congregation.

Another way social media contributes to your community is by churchgoers inviting their friends to attend service with them.

When your parishioners engage with your content on social media by liking or sharing it, their friends will automatically see it.

And when they click through, they’ll see your church’s social media profile – thriving and inviting.

Finally, if you create social media profiles for your church, you can help your existing congregation bond.

They can talk about the things they’re interested in via Facebook groups, or share great moments from community events on Instagram and Twitter.

Your church will be where your parishioners need it: wherever they are.

A Simple Social Media Strategy for Your Church and Social Media Management

Social media has become so natural that billions of people around the world use it in different ways.

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Your presence on the networks will be more than welcome.

However, it’s important to shape your social media strategy before you get started.

Step 1. Know Where Your Congregation Is on Social Media

There are so many social networks. It’s easy to get lost.

That’s why you should ask your churchgoers which social networks they use.

Since you want to reach more like-minded people, being present on the networks that your existing congregation uses is the best option.

For example, your churchgoers could use Facebook and Instagram. In this case, you wouldn’t have to use Twitter.

Conversely, if they only use Twitter, there’s no reason for you to use anything else at the moment.

However, sometimes you may need to use multiple social networks.

This is where a social media management tool like DrumUp can help you amplify your voice without making you spend a lot of time posting to social media manually.

Step 2. What to Post on Church Social Media

Next up: you have to decide what you’ll post.

As a rule of thumb, it’s always good to post:

• Posts, images and videos about your church (events, images of churchgoers who have given their consent, updates and information)
• Announcements
• Questions (for example, questions related to recent sermons)
• Images and videos of your church, your congregation, and the town
• Inspirational quotes and Bible verses

You can also share other people’s content.

This is called content curation, and it can be a great way to make your church’s social media profiles lively without having to create all the posts yourself.

DrumUp, a social media management tool, allows you to select your interests and then it displays relevant content.

For example, you could mark you’re interested in religious subjects, and you’d get suggestions on what to share.

Step 3. Talk to Your Congregation

Engagement helps a lot with the social media success of your church.

While you should talk about your church, you should talk about and with your parishioners even more.

When you ask questions, make sure you respond to your community’s comments. You can even comment on their posts.

A lot of churches also use Facebook groups to help parishioners bond over similar interests.

Just remember to be yourself and avoid changing your tone of voice just because you’re on social media.

People use it so much because it offers them real interaction with the people they care about, and you are one of them.

Save time managing your social media accounts

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So if you normally joke around with your congregation, be tasteful but do it.

Additionally, when you engage your congregation, you’ll also learn more about them:

• What makes them happy?
• What worries them?
• What do they want to do?

It can be a good way of knowing what to include in your next sermon to create an even deeper connection with the people who find joy in your church.

Step 4. Manage Your Time with Social Media Management Tools

Now, social media is incredibly beneficial and a lot of fun.

However, posting manually all the time can be tiresome when you could focus on interacting with your congregation and people who are yet to join the community.

This is why you can opt for a social media management tool like DrumUp.

It’s a social media management tools that comes with affordable plans, and it allows you to schedule posts for multiple social media accounts.

And when you’ve prepared the things you’ll post, you simply add them to DrumUp and decide when you want them posted.

Step 5. Rejoice!

In time, you’ll see that social media is actually a lot of fun.

Your congregation will post images of birthdays, weddings, events, their family and friends.

There’s plenty of joy to go around, and it’s beautiful that they want to share it with you.

So take the opportunity to become a part of their virtual family.

It’s the most important thing that social media can offer.

Image Source: Unsplash