3 Key Elements to Effective Social Media Use

The outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2019 and the devastation that followed forced us to use technology and the online space more than we'd like to. With many offices, businesses, and stores closed and group gatherings restricted or banned, we relied on technology and social media to keep us connected with each other. These restrictions did not exclude churches or essential businesses. So, in our attempt to be resourceful to maintain some sanity in our lives, we all quickly discovered that social media is not that bad after all.

Churches scrambled to learn how to stream weekly sermons online so they could still bring the Word of God to their congregations, businesses moved their offices into their homes, retails stores started selling their goods online. Restaurants served food as take-out only. Board meetings went online. Zoom, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook quickly adapted to meet the changing demands of its users, and it is then that we realized how essential social media is, after all.

Social media is not just an online space to socialize, meet new people, and share personal videos and pictures, but it is an essential medium for e-commerce. While this realization is exciting, there remains the important fact that the majority of churches and businesses don't know how to use social media for business or church growth effectively. We are in unprecedented times, and with almost 4 billion people in the world online, there's no limit to what you can achieve. So, let's explore how to effectively use social media if you want to grow your church or business.

UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE

Whether they are your customers or your congregation, understanding the people you want to reach is critical for multiple reasons.

It helps you to select the most appropriate platform to communicate with them.

With the wide variety of platforms available and limited resources to start, you must choose to focus on the most valuable ones. Trying to use all platforms may seem like the smarter strategy, but in most cases, it is not. If you have an older audience that favors community over entertainment, Facebook and Zoom would be better platforms to maximize. If you want to deliver long-form audio-visual messages (sermons), platforms that offer live streaming are ideal. If your ideal audience is younger, you'll want to focus on Snapchat and TikTok. If you are trying to reach younger people on Facebook, you'll get crickets on your posts.

Many things distinguish the platforms, but the one that will be relevant to you is the one that will get your audience's attention. So, know the likes and dislikes of the people you want to reach and speak to them through the most appropriate social media platform.

It helps you to tailor your delivery

The key to effective social media usage is intentionality and focus. If you have a mixed audience and therefore need to be on multiple platforms, there is a strategic way to do that. By diversifying the delivery of your content, you can create the same kind of interest. For example, going live on Instagram to discuss the highlights of a sermon already on YouTube and having a follow-up Bible study in a Facebook group or via Zoom on the same topic is an excellent way for churches to reach more people. In the same way, businesses can incorporate influencer marketing on Tik-Tok, show images of the product/service on Instagram, generate conversation on Quora, and do a live Q&A on Facebook. The mode of delivery will depend on the interests of the people you are trying to reach.

CREATE INTERESTING CONTENT

Understanding your platform of choice will help you decide on the best content to use. It used to be the case that inspirational quotes and random photographs by themselves could generate meaningful engagement. But those days are over. Purposeless content will not yield many results. Whether you want to entertain your audience, inspire, shock, or educate them, having a game plan makes things a lot easier and allows you to create exciting and valuable content. Here are some general tips for generating great content.

Have a good headline:

Your headline is often the first point of engagement with your viewer. Social media users should tell from a glance whether or not they are interested in what you have to share.

Focus on the intro:

There is a 5-second window within which users decide whether or not they are interested in your content. If the first 5-10 seconds of a video you share is engaging to your viewers, the likelihood of them staying to watch the rest of the video increases. A solid introduction sets the tone for the full experience that your content has to offer.

Deliver quality:

Poor quality in any form is difficult for the user to consume, and it makes the experience uncomfortable. If you're watching a video, but the audio is too low, or the video itself is too grainy or pixelated, then you're not likely to stay on that post for an extended period. The same applies to still images as well. If there are words on your post that are too difficult to read, users are more likely to keep scrolling than to pause and struggle to read your content. Delivering quality also includes adding value. It's a recurring point in social media conversations because it works. If you aim to convert viewers into customers or members of your church, you must deliver quality, value-adding content consistently.

Tell stories:

Story telling is an age-old method of sharing information. You can tell a story in various ways online. For example, you can share behind-the-scenes videos that go more in-depth into making the finished product that your customers love or show the behind-the-scenes preparation for a speaking engagement. Have pre-speech jitters? Capture it on camera. Had a coffee spill? Capture that in a video as well. These behind-the-scenes moments make you more relatable to your audience, and it tells a story with a beginning and middle, as opposed to the final result, which ends up on social media. Sharing your experiences, life lessons, and meaningful advice is also helpful. By making your organization more human, viewers will be more interested in engaging with you. Tell your origin story, share your monthly goals, whatever you share, include your audience in the process. Including your audience in the process leads to a feeling of importance and inclusivity that often translates to loyalty.

DELEGATE

Ecclesiastes 4:6 says: "Better is a handful of rest than two handfuls of hard work and chasing after the wind."

Social Media Management is an art. Not only is it an art, but it is also constantly evolving and changing. It is the responsibility of the leaders of both churches and businesses to use their resources in the most practical ways. Lean into your most talented church or staff members or the most qualified employee to handle your social media.

The reality is that being on social media is not a magic pill for growth. You can be online with no results if you do not understand what you're doing. Take the advice that Moses received from his father-in-law in Exodus 18:18, "You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone."

And what will this do for you?

Benefits of Using Social Media for Church and Business Growth

Social media has helped businesses and churches grow and expand due to the awareness of your brand that it creates. Some of the benefits that come with the use of social media platforms are:

Helps to increase traffic:

For a church that wants to get noticed, using any social media platform to increase traffic to their website is a no-brainer.

Monitor competitors:

You are not the only one doing what you are doing. There are always competitors around. With social media, you can get an idea of what a competitor is doing or offering. Most businesses use different platforms to keep an eye on their competitors, which is actually a wise growth strategy.

Increase conversations:

The world is changing. For a church keen on evangelism, social media is a new & different way of carrying out conversations. Social media has made it possible to begin discussions with random people and convert them to Christian life, which is the goal.

Create recognition:

One of the best benefits of using a social media platform is to create recognition. Recognized churches in the digital space result in more people fellowshipping with the church. Likewise, when a business is well known, most people would feel confident working for them or doing business with them.

CONCLUSION

For the most part, social media is free to use and can reach billions worldwide. Your physical influence is limited, but your digital impact will transcend time and space. Everything uploaded on the internet lives on forever and can be viewed multiple times with very few restrictions. Even deleted digital materials are never really deleted.

The fact that your presence lives on forever in a digital world is great news for businesses and churches alike. The effective use of social media guarantees growth in numbers, reach, and influence. That's definitely worth the investment.