By Jonathan Howe
For much of the past 14 months, I’ve encouraged churches to engage members and prospective guests online. Whether through Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, your church can reach, inform, and inspire more people when you use social media wisely and effectively.
But that’s not where the social media influence should stop. Truly effective social media campaigns don’t end with the originator of the message. They motivate those who see the posts to share with their friends and beyond.
So how can your church encourage your members to share your content with their friends? Here are five practices that we’ve seen work for churches who get their members to share and engage more often.
- Encourage it from the platform. Whether in a specific announcement or as a blanket statement, churches that talk from the platform about sharing on social media have members who share more than those who don’t.
- Include social media icons and usernames on printed items. Bulletins, invite cards, letterhead, and any other major printed items distributed by the church should at least have social media icons on them. It is even better if you can include the church’s specific username or handle with the icon.
- Create sharable content. When you start a new sermon series, create a sharable graphic and encourage members to share it on their profiles. When you have a major event coming up, provide members with promotional graphics to post online. If you provide the content to members directly via email or your social channels, they’re more likely to share.
- Feature sharable content in your email newsletter. I’ve previously written about the advantages of email newsletters for churches. One component you can include in the email is a sharable post. Make it as easy as possible to share by linking to content that’s already online. In as little as two clicks, members can share about your church.
- Make the ask. Don’t hesitate to ask people to share your posts online within the content of the post. I wouldn’t use this much, but if the post or content rises to a certain level of importance, then just make the ask for those who see it to share.
Have you found other effective ways for members to share your church’s content on social media? Have you tried any of these?
I have tried for nearly a year to try to get our members to share things on their timeline. They just will not. They are more stalkers on social media than actually posting & sharing post. How would you address that issue?
Just keep drilling the point , continue to press the issue. Maybe they don’t know how to share things. Ask them if they know how. Teach them how. A lot of elderly people are more private and some really just don’t know how… Ask them??
Thanks for the encouragement to keep trying.
I have Grown Up in the Church. I have gone All of My Life. I have been Very Blessed over My Life. I am 68 this Year, Still Working after 52 years. Been Married for 44 Years. We Just have to Work at Things to Make Them Work, with God in our Life. I enjoy Helping Many Small Churches, Survive, Well!, Many Men’s Groups, and Many Outreach Projects. The Knowledge and the Connections are there to Make This Work, for Others. What is Missing is “The Vehicle”. I have Run My Own Wholesaling Company for Over 52 Years. That is “The Vehicle”, with “Mentoring In” to make it Work. If You have any Questions, Just, Ask. It Will Work! God’s Assurance, Doug