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Dos and Don’ts of Social Media

Dos and Don’ts of Social Media

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When a church decides to have a social media presence, it is important to know how best to manage the social media outlets. Having a social media presence is important, but how you manage social media is even more important. If you find yourself in charge of your church’s social media, follow these do’s and don’ts to help create a quality social media presence!

Do:

Proofread. Make sure what is posted is spelled correctly and uses proper grammar. Nothing can derail social media reputation than sloppy editing or missed errors.

Lift others up. Use social media to highlight key volunteers and leaders in your church and lift others up. Post a picture of the Youth Ministry volunteers and let them know how awesome they are or post a picture of the Hospitality Team and let them know how well they did last Sunday.

Respond to comments. Good or bad, it is best to respond. If you’re responding to a negative comment, it is always a good idea to have another person check your response. It is likely that a simple “Thank you for your feedback” will suffice, too, if the comment is negative, but contains actionable information. People who care enough to comment might be open to a meaningful and helpful conversation.

Promote events. Social media is a great marketing tool, so use it! Promote church events on your social media through viral marketing, too. Produce events that are easily shared with all appropriate information for outsider who might see the event because someone else shared the event.

Celebrate. Use social media to celebrate what is going on in your church! Celebrate the baptism, the new staff member, the record high attendance, the winner of the chili cook-off, the anniversary of the church, etc. Celebrate with others what is going on in your church!

Be consistent. Make social media a priority and be sure that your posts are consistent every week. Make a content calendar and follow it! Social media should be used at least 3 times per week.

Don’t:

Post negatively. Keep the posts and shared content positive. Remember that social media is a platform with watching eyes and listening ears. Conversations are not private if they are on someone’s wall.

Overuse hashtags. There is a time and place for hashtags. Be sure to search a hashtag before you use it and only use a hashtag if it has a purpose! #Hashtags #can #get #distracting #quickly.

Put just anyone in charge. Make sure the person in charge can represent the church well in every social media post. They must have high emotional and social intelligence. Social media does not give a second chance at explanation.

Use stock photos every time. If you plan on using a stock photo, be sure to use a high quality image. Whenever possible, use an actual photo from your church. This makes your church more personable.

Post at the same time. Be sure to have a variety of posting times. There are many resources you can find that give insight into the best times and days to post on each social media platform. Be sure your posting time relates to the content. For example, you wouldn’t post a “#MondayMorningMessage” later than 9am on Monday morning. People often check social media consistently by their own schedule, but not everyone’s schedule is the same.

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