So your church, ministry, or organization has finally decided to get on board with this whole social media thing.
Great!
But, in your excitement you go all out by creating accounts everywhere you can think of: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo, Tangle, and anywhere else that you’ve heard that people are hanging out.
If you’re really ambitious, then you may even consider setting up a blog on WordPress or Blogger. Then you start loading pictures, videos, and write some great stuff announcing your foray into this exciting world of social media.
Now it’s time to sit back and wait for the onslaught of traffic that you expect to generate by putting yourself out there, right? People are going to start rushing through your doors into your meetings and services! I mean if you built it, then they will come (a.k.a. The Field of Dreams syndrome)… right?
Wrong.
The Trap
This is exactly what so many churches and ministries do. The problem is that the one tweet you put out there will eventually get lost in the flurry of other tweets that people are trying to keep up with.
Go ahead, ask someone if they saw your tweet announcing the really hyper-cool outreach event that you’ve just poured your heart and soul into planning. Yup… they’ve probably never seen it.
If you’re really aggressive, then you’ll even use the various tools to cross-promote. You’ll put that video up on YouTube, and then share a link to it in Twitter and Facebook.
So if you put it out there like that, then why isn’t everyone talking about (and commenting on) your awesome video?
The Consequences
More people give up on social media for these very reasons. The lack of traffic can be very discouraging for a ministry that is putting themselves out there because they expect that what they are doing offline to change just as many lives online.
And when this doesn’t happen, they (or you) get frustrated and give up. After all, why should you put so much effort into something that isn’t paying any dividends?
The problem is that ministries in this position fail to recognize how people interact with these technologies in the first place. Too often we put things out there expecting that we ‘ll create this great new destination that people will flock to.
But the truth is that a single tweet (no matter how good or important it is) can easily get lost in the never-ending stream of tweets that your people are trying to keep up with. Your message may just be getting lost in the shuffle.
Engaging in Conversation
That’s why the most important thing that you can understand about social media is that it’s social in nature.
That means that you need to remember that it is a conversation, and not a destination. When you create a Twitter account, most people will not suddenly flock to http://twitter.com/(yourministryname) because it is the coolest place to hang out on the web.
They will be (hopefully) looking for your tweets in a stream of tweets from their Twitter homepage, a desktop feed tool like TweetDeck or Seesmic, or in a similar mobile tool on their smartphones.
While they are there (and this applies to other places like Facebook) they are not only reading, but responding to things that catch their attention.
What this means is that if you want to connect with them, then you must join the conversation. And in order to effectively do this, there are two things that you’ll need to do:
- Talk Regularly. This means that you need to appear in people’s social media streams enough for them to notice you. If you put one tweet (or other update) out there once per day, then you my not be getting the visibility that you need to stay at the top of people’s minds.
- Avoid Talking at Them. Nobody likes it when someone just talks about themselves all the time. The same thing is true in online conversations. Talk with them. Answer their questions. Respond to their comments. Establish conversational credibility, and then when you have things to share people will be more likely to listen.
The Payoff
Joining the conversation will not only help you gain the credibility that you’ll need, but it will also help you learn more about how you can fine-tune the strategy of your ministry.
In an authentic conversation people will share things with you that you may not have expected to hear. They will eventually trust and confide in you, and when that happens you’ll begin to experience the real power in using social media to extend the reach of your ministry.
As it is in the offline world, the key to your online ministry is still relationships.
benrwoodard says
Great article. What would be the best way to measure the success of social media for a church? # of Followers, # of fans, response to calls of action?
Dan King says
That’s a great question! In my opinion…
# of followers/fans is one way to do it. If what you are doing is resonating with people, then this should increase.
But in my work with highcallingblogs.com I like to see interactivity. I think that if you can get people talking with you, then you are probably being more successful. For example, Facebook fan pages have the Insights tool that will graphically show interactivity levels. When I see interactivity increasing, then I feel good about what I am doing.
Marcus Goodyear says
Good advice, Dan. The quantitative numbers are fun for analysis at HighCallingBlogs.com, but we really rely just as much on the qualitative results of specific emails, comments, and overall engagement.
Jim Gray says
where is the sign-up sheet for the Dan King aka @bibledude fan-club…
-great post…i was recently reminded about this from a friend after asking them to retweet something…
Dan King says
nice… thanks Jim! (details at bibledude.net 🙂
PaulSteinbrueck says
Good post, Dan. I think most ministries that jump into social media do so to promote/advertise their ministry and so they go in thinking about it like old-school advertising where the goal is to get the viewer to take the desired action. So, pointing out the differences (that social media is a conversation not a destination) is good.
But Ben’s question about which metrics to track has got my gears turning… Makes me think social media is more than just a conversation too… Need to think it it more.
Dan King says
Thanks Paul! I appreciate how you framed that idea of ‘old school advertising’. You are right.
Ben’s question is a good one, and I know that there are tools (many of which I’ve found through churchm.ag) that can help measure not only the level of conversation, but even the influence that you seem to have on your readers. It is a great question, and one that I’ll consider digging deeper into for a potential future post here.
Thanks!
camnio says
thanks for the post, I was getting a little worried about our social media and just thinking about hacking it altogether. Thanks again!
Dan King says
Thanks for sharing your stuggle! I’d love to hear more about how you adjust your strategy…
joanna says
I would also add that like any other form of social interaction, it has its own etiquette and vocabulary so learn it. It makes me cringe how many Christians and ministries mess things up and look silly when it comes to social media because while they can operate the software, they don’t know the social norms. Lots of ministries bound excitedly into the social media space but don’t take the time to learn the vocabulary people use (so sound like fools when they regularly misuse it), do things people think are annoying (auto DMs for example), and don’t pay attention to how people actually use the medium (eg. not using hashtags for things people would search for but for #rediculouslylongextrastatementsattheendoftheirtweet)
Nick Shoemaker says
I couldn’t agree more here!
Dan King says
I’m with Nick on this one. Great point! And I think that this could be a WHOLE post (or series of posts) on proper online social etiquette. Thank you for the thoughts!
Nick Shoemaker says
ChurchCrunch did series of posts entitled “The Executive Pastor’s Guide to Social Media”. In fact, it was 10 POSTS!
Here’s the link for the list:
https://churchm.ag/the-executive-pastors-guide-to-social-media-10-part-series-full-guide-list/
Dan King says
Sweet! Thanks Nick!
Nick Shoemaker says
Great post Dan!
I’ve seen way too many ministries sign-up and think just that- I’ve made, now come to me.
This is a great reminder of the SOCIAL part of social media. I think the biggest mistake organizations make is discounting the potential of social media. The saddest part about this mentality is that for them, they’ve already been passed by when they do wake up.
If an organization has dug the whole of being a black whole in social media, it will likely take them more effort over a longer time span to gain the credibility for people to engage again. I don’t say this to discourage anyone, but to make the reality known so that if anyone is in this position they know that they can get back- but it’s going to take real, consistent effort.
Great post Dan!
Dan King says
Great points Nick! I particularly appreciate that you point out that it isn’t impossible to dig yourself out, and that you recognize that it takes “real, consistent effort.” In fact, I think that “real, consistent effort” is true even when you start it on the right foot.
Thanks Nick!
Yohan Perera says
Brilliant! I never thought of these strategies until now…
Dan King says
Thanks Yohan! Glad I could help!
Scott Magdalein says
Twitter is fun, but I think you’ll find more meaningful connections with the people in your church through Facebook. Here’s why: (1) Facebook identity is closely tied to users’ real-world identity, (2) Twitter is becoming more of a one-way communication tool and conversations are becoming more difficult, and (3) way more people in your church are on Facebook.
A Twitter presence is necessary, but you won’t find the same value in Twitter that you’ll find in Facebook (if handled properly).
But good post!
Dan King says
Great point Scott! In fact, one could even argue that the reason Twitter has gotten that way is because people have forgotten the concept that I’m talking about here. I’ll have to admit that the traffic that I get via Twitter makes it easy to forget to just talk with people, but I do still see lots of people having meaningful conversation there.
With that said, I do think that I agree that a better quality conversation takes place on Facebook. It seems to be MUCH more personal…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Great stuff to think about when developing a social media strategy!
Jenn Hudson says
oh. great article. great writing skills too…
Dan King says
Aww shucks… I think you just made me blush! Thanks!
PaulSteinbrueck says
Dan, your post and and Ben’s comment/question got me thinking on the questions… Is social media a conversation? And if so, what should we measure?
Social Media – What’s the point?
http://blog.ourchurch.com/2010/02/23/social-media-whats-the-point/
Dan King says
I saw the post, and loved it! I’m glad that I was able to spark some great conversation and thinking! I definitely agree with where I think you ended up… that how you measure success totally depends on what you are trying to accompish.
Thanks Paul!
Kyle Reed says
Man, I wish all churches could read this or some way download it to their server so that before they go and create all those accounts this pops up.
Dan you hit the nail on the head.
I have been saying this a lot and it is nice to read someone elses thoughts that really put into words what I was thinking.
My local church here has a twitter and FB account and it is pointless, mainly because their is no interaction, just advertising. Not what social media is for.
Dan King says
Thanks Kyle! And it sounds like your church is EXACTLY the norm when it comes to dabbling in social media. I have to admit that my church is pretty much in the same boat. Too many church leaders just put it out there and ask stuff like, “how will they find us now?” My answer to questions like that is usually, “well, because you’ll be talking with them!” (which is usually followed by silence and a confused look).
Feel free to share a link to this post with your pastor… 😉
Thanks dude!
Andy Darnell says
Good Post Dan. I’m working on it. We often forget that we’re setting ourselves up for failure by failing to educate those around us, The whole post was a good reminder.
Dan King says
Thanks Andy!
Calum Henderson says
So true!
Longterm engagement is really required, and results may not be seen for months, but a long term strategy is needed for success.
Dan King says
Absolutely! I can appreciate what you say about the potential for results not being seen for months. I’m actually a fan of slowly building quality followers (or other results) as opposed to shortcutting the system to get more immediate impact that is not as good in quality (particularly of relationship).
Thanks!
Josh Miles says
I agree entirely with what you’ve said here, Dan.
Ministries launching into social media tend to do it with the same expectations that most people have when trying to lose weight. They want insane, commercial-grade results with little to no effort. There’s a reason why we’re one of the fattest nations…. 🙂
Dan King says
That is a great analogy Josh! I’m going to have to borrow that!
Joseph Zolman says
Nice post… I’m new to blogging and social networking. I just put up my new site for my portfolio, and I’m getting ready to social network a lot more.
Dan King says
Your blog looks great Joe! I’d love to connect and hear more from how you develop your social networking strategy and how it works for you.
Marcus Goodyear says
Also, I wanted to point people to the book Groundswell. I think Dan already knows about this book. He, LL Barkat, and I have talked about it before in relation to the high calling network.
That book talks about how companies can build strategies appropriate to their audience/customers. Nearly everything she shares could be easily applied to a church setting. (In fact, I’m using her ideas and surveys to guide my church as they create a specific social media strategy.)
Corey says
Good article Dan. The opposite of this can also be true; ministries can cash in “face time” with the community for online presence. It is totally important to engage online but there’s still no substitute for personal invitation / interaction, face-to-face.
@coreydrose
lara says
Great post! Thanks for the viewpoint, “It’s a conversation.”