I know what you’re thinking.
You know how many follow ChurchMag and you think you’re about to get the greatest social media strategy insight of all time.
You’re right, but, I think it may surprise you.
First, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Be Fluid
If you’ve read enough about “social media strategy,” you’re sure to run into multiple contradictions on when to message, who to message, how to message, how much to message, what to message, etc … The truth is, they’re all correct. Everyone has their own social media strategy. There are as many different social media strategies as there are different ministries, churches, brands and personalities; and the only way to insure you’re successful is to stay fluid.
Don’t get set too deep in a strategy. I believe you should be patient and let things play-out, but don’t get tunnel vision. Even when you find what works for you and your organization, don’t set everything on autopilot. Eventually the social landscape will change and you’ll be left with a butt load of Friends and Followers in your Circles who are inactive and tuning you out.
Be Active
If you’re not engaging your social media zone at least once a day, you’re dead in the water. You need to be active!
But, how active?
Depends. You’re fluid, remember? Some say Facebook should only be one a day, some say three. Some say a tweet lasts 30min, while others say never more than six times per day. Seriously? There’s no magic number. If you’re strategy involves a magic number, then you’re going to end up forcing your communication, and that will only lead to EPIC lameness.
Be True
Be true to your brand, be true to your creation, be true to your community. The web is full of haters, if you don’t believe me, go read through the comments on YouTube. You’re going to get your whiners and complainers. Just because one person (or a handful, depending on your following) complains about how often you share links or conduct polls, don’t bend.
Stay true.
#kthanksbai
Be Integrated
Create some synergy with your social media. Tweet about Facebook polls, blog about Twitter question replies, and share videos only available on Google+. You get the idea. Cross these over.
You should also keep your audience in mind and try to get multiple users on multiple platforms. Meaning, get one person to engage on all the social media platforms. Share different links, content, and conduct different polls and questions across all your social networks. Right now, Google+ is more geek, Facebook is more pop culture, so keep your audience type in mind and feed your content accordingly. Of course, this will change over time, but you’re fluid, right?
Be Encouraged
Remember, ChurchMag already holds a lot of weight, so that gives it a huge advantage that most don’t have. One bit of wisdom I would like to pass on to you, something that I’ve learned by growing other social networks other than ChurchMag, is the concept I call, critical mass.
This is when your social network hits its own sweet spot. Maybe it’s 300 Twitter followers or 500 Facebook Likes, but whenever you hit that number, that sweet spot, you don’t have to work as hard as you do in the beginning. As long as your providing valuable content and interaction, the natural attrition and growth will work out in your favor, so your following will grow naturally on its own.
Finally, The Big Life Changing Insight
Now, here’s the big, life changing insight I’ve applied to ChurchMag’s social media strategy:
Work hard.
Yeah. That’s right. It takes hard work. If anyone tells you otherwise, they’re lying.
With hard work in mind, remember this is going to take some time. There are stories of overnight success, but they are few and far between. If you want a solid, surefire strategy, this is it.
[Images via Andreas Levers, Josiah Mackenzie, ejbSF, ralphbijker, vividBreeze & Rowen Atkinson]
Dustin W. Stout says
Well done Eric. I think I’ll bookmark this one for safe keeping. 😉
Eric Dye says
HA!