The Use of Social Media by Your Church

TikTok recently surpassed YouTube in terms of the number of time users spend on the app. The majority of pastors I personally know have rolled their eyes and said, "I'm just not up to the task." There is so much to do on a daily basis with church ministry and balancing other things in life that adding another thing makes no sense. 

However, I believe there is a way for you to lessen the stress when you think about your church's social media presence and whether or not you should create one. This post will help you decide when your church should start a social media account based on a three-step framework.

Locate your target audience

Many churches spend a lot of time predicting the future. A majority of this effort is dedicated to determining where their people will be. Which trends do we see? What are the proper methods for reaching the next generation? Where and how can the Gospel be preached to digital natives? These are valid questions. As it pertains to social media, if you focus your attention primarily on where your followers will be, you will miss out on where they already are. The temptation to make an account and spend time on TikTok with the hope of attracting the next generation could be strong if you believe your church's next generation will be on TikTok. It would be better for you to spend most of the time creating content for Facebook if the majority of your congregation uses the platform. 

Why? It's crucial to get feedback and early wins if you're trying to establish a social media presence for the first time. You will easily get frustrated and feel defeated if you are totally focused on the future. To remain consistent in social media, you will need momentum.  

Find volunteers to manage the day-to-day operations

The social media efforts of your Church shouldn't be handled by you alone. Keep track of it, but bringing in volunteers will help you stay on top of content creation and interaction with your audience. The majority of churches go astray here. A church will find an appropriate volunteer to take care of social media, but when this volunteer becomes overburdened, they quit, leaving the social media of the church unattended.

A team of volunteers can help to avoid this. Teamwork is crucial in this regard. Social media is a 24/7 operation, which is why it is a team effort. A volunteer cannot be available 24/7, so work will have to be distributed to a number of volunteers. A team of volunteers is needed to monitor and create social media content, just like the church is not staffed with one greeter on Sundays.

Determine your social media budget

There weren't any fees associated with social media for the first ten years. However, social media rules have changed in the last five years. We are no longer able to post our ministry events to social media and assume people will see them. We live in a time when we must spend money to have our content seen.

Churches typically hesitate to spend money on social media. However, I believe these efforts should not be ignored. Churches will need to find ways to keep their content in front of people as more and more people use mobile devices and spend the majority of their time on social media.

You can also target an audience in a way that will not be possible with any other form of media if you use social media wisely. As for creating social media ads, I won't get into the details, but when done correctly, they far outweigh the costs.

Final Thoughts

Now you might be a little more aware of why social media is a must for your Church. IT is not an optional thing in today’s times. In a summary, identify your audience, volunteer opportunities, and budget. You can avoid major social media headaches in the future by doing those three things now. Get started with your Church’s social media presence today!

If you are looking for Non-denominational Churches in Wichita KS, your search ends here with Restoration Church. In January 2012, we were founded with the dream of establishing a global impact. People can live the life God has intended for them when they are restored to a loving relationship with Christ. That is what our mission is. 

Are you interested in learning more about the Restoration Church, where you can serve, or how to contact us? If you would like to start a conversation before or after a service, you can do so at the Welcome Center. It would be our pleasure to meet you. You can also reach us on our website.