Saturday, October 5, 2013

Social Media in Ministry

(This is a post I originally published on SocialU, a blog I use for my university class, but it seems more appropriate here.)
 
Social Media in Ministry 
Nov. 4, 2011 
Gathering and Convention, Diocese of West Missouri
(powerpoint on slideshare)

A Social Media Strategy for Beginners:

1. Know Who You Are
  • If you had to summarize your message into one or two sentences, what would it be? 
  • What is your goal as a church in joining social media?  
2. Listen to What Others are Saying
  • Listen to what others are talking about
  •  How does your message relate to their concerns?
3. Stay Focused
  • Don't try to be all things to all people. 
  • Pick one or two channels to start with  
4. Share the Joy/We All Have Gifts
  • You don't have to do it all by yourself 
  • Divide and conquer 
  • When in doubt, ask a young person 
5. Make a Plan 
  • Failure to plan is a plan for failure 
  • Divide the task by church year 
  • What messages will be coming up that you want to share 
  • Create a calendar of social media messages 
  • Update regularly  
6. Read, Learn, Immerse
  • Take some time to understand a bit about social media before jumping in. 
  • Use the free resources that are available and don't be afraid to try different tools. 
  • Read Mashable.com 
  • Learn from others; steal ideas and make them your own (God will understand) 
Social Media:
Facebook
Twitter

YouTube

Blogger

Tweetdeck


Free Info/Tools/Links:
Making a plan:
Downloadable Social Media Strategy Plan

Mashable Guide - Building Your Brand

Listening:
Free Social Media Monitoring Tools

Social Media Listening Tools

Trends Map

Writing for social media:
10 foolproof steps to writing social media content

Writing tips for Twitter users
http://exciramedia.com/11-successful-writing-tips-for-twitter-users/

Top 200 Church Blogs


The Church and Social Media
Church Social Media Bad Practices

Church & Social Media

Why Should Your Church Invest In Social Media?

Top 10 tips for Church Blogging

AND
from the Episcopal Cafe
includes link to Office of Communication's white paper on social media.

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