THE SOCIAL MEDIA GOSPEL SMALL GROUP CONVERSATION

Transcription

1 From Broadcast to Engagement THE SOCIAL MEDIA GOSPEL SMALL GROUP CONVERSATION How would you describe your congregation s social media savvy? What kinds of social media do your members use? How does your church use social media to engage members? Non-members? 1

2 SOCIAL MEDIA DEFINITIONS & JARGON Social media are web-based tools for interaction that, in addition to conversation, allow users to share content such as photos, videos, and links to resources. Short Version: Version Social media are digital tools for sharing conversation and content. Jargon Web-based = online AND digital Tools = platforms AND digital technologies Interaction = engagement Tagging, hashtags (#), cloud technologies, apps, etc. Digital ministry FRAMEWORKS FOR UNDERSTANDING Theological Age (Generation) Personality (E/I) Learning Styles Community 2

3 RADICAL POWER OF COMMUNICATION In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God John 1:1 JESUS AS COMMUNICATOR Conversation Storytelling Inquiry Debate Dialogue Truth-telling Preached all over Commissioned followers to spread the good news Go & make disciples! Challenged notions about God, faith, ethics, relationships, and religious business-as-usual. 3

4 HOLY GREAT EPECTATIONS! When used wisely and well, social media can help your church: Build Christian community within and beyond the building; Deliver time-sensitive news/info; Educate newcomers about your church; Gather feedback from congregants; Minister to the homebound or others unable to attend; Organize, publicize, and invite people to events; Preach the Gospel, model Gospel values and Christian love Provide a safe, secure place to gather for fellowship; and Share stories to deepen faith and inspire action. THOUGHTS FOR CHURCHES Mission NOT brand identity. Requires a plan. SM is NOT a digital billboard it s a living, breathing connection people have to your church. It s the new greeter for your church. Social churches speak the language of the culture. Think theologically about social media: Know what you believe about God Know what you believe about God s ongoing, eternal communication with us Know how Moravians interpret & articulate Christian doctrine 4

5 GENERATIONS & COMMUNICATION Generation Preferences Silent Generation ( ) Practical, patient, dedicated, will delay gratification, prefer direct communication via traditional media Baby Boomers ( ) Optimistic, driven, competitive, committed to personal growth, prefer inperson, reading online/print Generation ( ) Skeptical, committed to diversity, selfreliant, globally aware, prefer direct, immediate, interactive communication using online tools Millennials ( ) Confident, ambitious, civic-minded, collaborative, committed to diversity & inclusivity, prefer social media/texting GENERATIONS & SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS Silent Generation Baby Boomers Generation Blogs Facebook Instagram/ Pinterest Twitter YouTube/Vimeo Millennials (Digital Natives) Thinking generationally will help you choose social media tools more strategically. 5

6 ETRAVERTS INTROVERTS Prefer face-to-face interactions Energized by groups Worry that social media might become a replacement for existing relationships Prefer solitude over crowds Written exchanges to verbal interactions Social media makes it easier to sustain relationships Lets them connect with people in a way that s not draining Can sort friends/followers into lists so not so overwhelming Might prefer social media to actual church events PERSONALITY INTROVERSION V ETROVERSION LEARNING STYLES & SM TOOLS Visual (seeing/ reading) Blogs Facebook Instagram/ Pinterest Twitter YouTube/ Vimeo Auditory (listening/ speaking Kinesthetic (touching/ doing) 6

7 VIRTUAL COMMUNITY IS REAL Another way for seeing and being seen, for knowing and being known, for being in and belonging to community. (Meredith Gould) We invest time and energy into any community of people who share interests and concerns. Life cycle of online community moves at a rate at least three times faster than physical community. Same process just faster: form, develop leaders, grow, form cliques, new leaders, conflict, decline, renewal, death... All real. 7

8 FOR PONDERING What do we need to know and understand about community and Christian community in particular before using social media? What do we know and understand about the age composition of our church community? How might we choose and use social media tools that accommodate certain personality types? Are we clear about how our own learning styles might impede our comfort with digital technology? What becomes possible once we accept the principle that virtual community is real community? GETTING STARTED Understand what you want to accomplish with social media. Each platform engages users differently and appeals to different audiences. Think strategically and make strategic choices. Social media in and of itself is NOT A STRATEGY. It s a tool to be selected and used with intention and forethought. You MUST know who you are as an organization before diving in. 8

9 ASK YOURSELF: What do we want to happen as a result of using these tools? (clearly define behaviors/actions you want to emerge) Who do we most want to reach? (in what order? And what do we know about their preferences?) How will we know we ve succeeded? (allow some time) Tips: Start with yourself create personal accounts first. Create detailed, written plan - have someone with experience review it. Get buy-in from leadership before moving forward. 9

10 TWO KINDS OF CONTENT GENERATORS Content Creators: Develop and post original material Content Curators: Find and share existing material GENERATING QUALITY CONTENT Resist constant promotion. (return to your goal!) Ditch what doesn t work. Quality content should generate interaction in form of comments, likes, re-tweets, re-pins, shares. Quality content will enhance your audience s knowledge, strengthen their faith, stimulate conversation, and build community. We need to create and curate content in the joyful hope of sharing the Gospel, ministering to others, and developing community. 10

11 SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS 11

12 CHOOSING SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS Blog Facebook Pinterest Instagrm Twitter Announcements Planning Events Commemorating Events Time-Sensitive Info Conversations Stories You Tube Resources Programming 12

13 FOR EAMPLE... 13

14 socm-chat

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16 lendar OTHER HELPFUL TOOLS Pocket, Evernote, Storify Group.Me (group texting) Instagram Madmimi or icontact Hootsuite, Buffer, etc. Doodle, SurveyMonkey Wordpress, Blogger, Tumblr YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, Shutterfly Nextdoor (neighborhood) Bit.ly Google Hangout, Skype, video conferencing 16

17 DIGITAL BUT NOT NECESSARILY SOCIAL E-newsletters blasts Listservs (nearly obsolete) SMS/Texting Event registration system Pay Attention to how these tools play into your communications strategy. Make sure you include: Branded buttons/links for social media accounts Invitation to join ongoing conversations on social media Working links!! DIGITAL MINISTRY SKILLS Computer literate (how it works; what to do when it doesn t) Editorial skills Graphic skills (for online content) Writing skills OR resourcing Delegation & outsourcing Comfortable with rapid change Willing to learn How to formulate a communications strategy How to integrate online tools that include social media Organizational and project management skills You do NOT need to know: HTML or computer code 17

18 BCM ONLINE PRESENCE Facebook Pages: MoravianBCM, MoravianRootsandWings, MoravianLeadershipNetwork Pinterest: Pinterest: MoravianBCM YouTube Channel: Board of Cooperative Ministries Website/Blog: Website/Blog MAKING IT ALL WORK Integrate social media to preserve your identity (consistent, same message and look). Manage posting on multiple platforms using tools like Hootsuite. Take advantage of crossposting between platforms. Figure out when is best time to schedule posts. Policies are important. Content should be brief. Blog posts: wds; E-newsletter items: wds; words (23 syllables); short sentences (14 words max); paragraphs (2 sentences), etc. 18

19 NOTES ABOUT MOBILE TECHNOLOGY 91% of American adults have a cell phone 55% of American adults have a smartphone 32% of American adults own an e-reader 42% of American adults own a tablet computer 63% of adult cell owners use their phones to go online. 34% of cell internet users go online mostly using their phones, phones and not using some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer. January 2014, Pew Research Internet Project A FEW LAST GUIDELINES Program planning should include digital ministry person. Fully integrate social media into other church communications plans. Develop a social media policy that everyone (staff, volunteers) understands and commits to using. Properly credit all images and 3rd-party content. Authorize at least two people to administer each social media account. Create an editorial calendar. Balance content with conversation. Establish a review & approval process for posts. Respond to all comments in near real-time. 19

20 RESOURCES: Churchmarketingsucks.com Facebook Group: Social Media for Churches rches/ Facebook Group: Moravian Online Ministries ( 62/) Bruce Reyes-Chow: Meredith Gould: Center for Church Communication: #ChSocM (Twitter Chat about using social media) CHRIST HAS NO ONLINE PRESENCE BUT YOURS Christ has no online presence but yours, No blog, no Facebook page but yours, Yours are the tweets through which love touches this world, Yours are the posts through which the Gospel is shared, Yours are the updates through which hope is revealed, Christ has no online presence but yours, No blog, no Facebook page but yours. -Meredith Gould 20

21 SMALL GROUP CONVERSATION What one goal do you want to work on now? What will you do once you ve left Trinity to engage members and others online? 21