Social Media for Ministry - Introduction & Facebook
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Week 1 of a four-week series I recently did on Social Media for Ministry at Wheaton Bible Church in West Chicago, Illinois.
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- 1. A DAY IN THE LIFE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
- 2. WHY USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR MINISTRY? CONNECT - Yes, we are in
ministry, but networking and communication are required! Connect
with volunteers, your people, and build new connections for
ministry! COST-EFFECTIVE - We have these incredible, free resources
at our disposal, for our use. ENGAGE - We have an opportunity to
join in a global conversation going on all around us every day, and
to engage in ministry every day. INFORM - Social Media is a great,
quick way to reach people with the added bonus of enabling people
to easily pass along invites and information to family &
friends. Increase awareness for your ministry. SOCIAL MEDIA HAS
TREMENDOUS POWER EVERYONE IS ALREADY THERE!
- 3. ALSO Jesus was masterful at communicating spiritual truths
in settings and with language that connected with his listeners.
Paul strived to be fluent in the language of his culture (1 Cor.
9:22). When used wisely, social media is a powerful tool for church
leaders serious about this rich legacy of contextualized
communication. This is the language of our listeners!
- 4. COMMON OBJECTIONS SECURITY (I dont want my life on display)
TIME CONSUMPTION (I dont have the time) FEAR (How do I manage a
team that is using social media what if I make a mistake?) ESCAPISM
(I would prefer to engage through person to person contact, not
through a virtual/digital connection)
- 5. ITS ALL IN HOW YOU USE THEMFacebook, Twitter, You Tube,
Blogging, Vimeo,Flickrand more!These can all be helpful ministry
toolsdepending on how theyre used, and how youfeel most comfortable
communicating.God will use whatever he needs to use toaccomplish
his purposes.
- 6. OVER THE NEXT 4 WEEKS1. Get to know The Big 3 (Facebook,
Twitter & Blogging)2. Learn how to use each one, what
demographics are on each network, and what is the best network for
you (personally) and your ministry (professionally)3. Well learn
how to sustain your social media reach.4. Well give opportunities
for growth5. Have fun!
- 7. THE BIG 3 - FACEBOOK
- 8. FACEBOOKIT ALL STARTS WITH A PROFILE1. Start with an email
address2. Create an account at http://www.facebook.com3. Set up
your profileProfiles are representative of INDIVIDUALS (as opposed
toorganizations, groups, families, etc.).Authentic Identity
Facebook requires users to use their realnames in order to proclaim
authentic identity. Its NOT a good ideato set up a Facebook account
in which your name is not a personsname (ex: Wheaton Bible) because
Facebook will permanentlydelete your profile & information if
discovered.
- 9. PROFILE SETTINGSSecurity Its important to ensure that your
security settings areappropriate. Visit
http://www.facebook.com/security for more details.Quick Tips Always
use https while using facebook Dont allow apps to access
information UNLESS its extremely important and you trust the
app.Passwords Make your password longer than 8 characters,include a
variety of numbers, letters, and symbols, and change
itregularly.
- 10. HIGH SECURITY PROFILE SETTINGSPseudonym Consider creating a
Facebook account with apseudonym that is used as a vehicle for
creating a Page (more infosoon). Turn off the ability for people to
comment. *The downside here is that someone could always link to
your site and say, Check out this blog from our missionaries in
China!Family-only posting Use your real name, but only post
aboutfamily-related items, never ministry.Passive reading Have a
Facebook account, turn off allcommenting, hid yourself from the
ability to be found by searchingand then read your friends and
familys Facebook content to yourhearts content. You will also be
able to create a Page or Group) Go to Facebook profile
- 11. FACEBOOK PAGESFacebook pages give a voice to any public
figure, organization (or WBCMINISTRY) to join the conversation with
their audience on Facebook.Page Administrators (there can be more
than one) can be private foradded security (*at WBC, Dave and Liz
must be co-admins with you!)People and other pages (churches, other
ministries, businesses, publicfigures) can connect to your page by
liking your page and becoming yourfan.Your pages content is
distributed virally when your audience responds toor shares it.Liz
says, I would work hard to form connections with logicalministry
partners, and network with influencers who might extend myministrys
reach
- 12. FACEBOOK PAGES Usernames easily communicate your facebook
pages location to your followers (wheatonbible becomes
facebook.com/wheatonbible) Share content with your fans! Links
Photos Videos Blog Posts Twitter updates Prayer requests News And
more! Expand the reach of your ministry through tagging
(@wheatonbible becomes a post on our wall) Take it a step further -
develop a conversational calendar, create weekly features,
etc.
- 13. FACEBOOK GROUPSFacebook Groups are a great resource for
private communication.1. Control who sees your group (3 levels of
security) Secret only members can see the group and what members
post. Closed anyone can see the group. Only members can see the
posts. Open (public) Anyone can see the group and what members
post.2. Share with the group Post updates, questions, photos &
more Chat with the group (You could have set office hours to
communicate with the members of your group) Create shared docs
Schedule group events3. Stay in the know 1. Get notified about new
posts so you never miss an update 2. Connect off Facebook using the
groups shared email address.
- 14. FACEBOOK NOTES Comes with all profiles and pages Allows you
to pull in an RSS feed from a blog (so that your fans or friends
will be notified automatically of a new blog entry) Can be used
alone as a way to write notes, share longer stories than can be
shared on a Facebook wall.
- 15. FACEBOOK EVENTS Comes with all profiles and pages A great
way to share prayer needs, upcoming events and more with
supporters. Upon creating an event, a News Feed story with event
info will post to your Page or Profile, and your audience can RSVP.
You can increase RSVPs by posting status updates leading up to the
Event, emailing lists, and linking from your website/blog. Be
careful about creating an event and people thinking that an RSVP
there is good enough if you want them to RSVP online. Liz says, I
would creatively promote my next event with more than a simple
announcement.
- 16. HELPFUL HINTS TOPICS TO POST ABOUT:1. Ask open-ended
spiritual questions (Whats your favorite Bible verse? Where have
you seen God at work in your life this week?)2. Share an
interesting article or video & ask for comments.3. Encourage
people to share prayer requests or stories of answered prayers.4.
Post written or video testimonies from people in the church.5. Ask
people to share something about themselves (What was your vaorite
vacation? What are you doing for Thanksgiving? What made you laugh
the hardest this week?)6. Use facebook/twitter to ask questions or
generate conversation around sermon topics.7. Ask people to share a
photo.8. Post content from the Sunday service. Try to add comments
that will stimulate discussion.9. Remember dont just start the
conversation and run. Engaging with people means respond to
comments.
- 17. BE LIKE GOLDILOCKS Start with what you can, and STAY
ACTIVE! Make Social Media a part of your daily or weekly routine,
just as you check emails, do weekly chores. The best time to post
on Facebook is ( ) Remember not to start the conversation and walk
away! Sign up for Hootsuite and pre- program them all!
- 18. SEE YOU NEXT WEEK FOR Twitter!