59% of the world's population uses social media and the average daily usage is 2 hours and 31 minutes. 1.
If you want your story heard, you need a social media presence. Social media has now become the front porch of America. The Church must embrace the reality that, like it or not, social media is here to stay in its various formats.
As a stewardship consultant for some of the largest churches in America, I have learned the value of social media and how it can integrate with your digital giving platform. With a good strategy, social media combined with Online Giving can help you raise the funds you need for this summer’s mission trips.
In a previous post, I shared my three-prong goal for social media. I use social media to,
Raise Awareness of what your church is doing and will be doing.
As a call to Action in support of what your church is doing.
To give Appreciation for the impact their gift made to the Kingdom of God.
In this post I want to share a strategy that I used for a church gearing up for their summer mission trip to Ukraine. Given the current war in Ukraine, this story has taken on a renewed importance.
With these three goals in mind, I helped the church develop a four part strategy to help assure their mission trip was a success. Here is a review of what we did to focus on the story of the mission and to get people to want to give in support of that mission.
1.) Pre-Event Tease Out
One month before the mission team left for Ukraine, we began trumpeting the call to prayer and support for the Ukraine mission through all their platforms. We started a blog site for the Senior Pastor. This allowed him, before the trip, to highlight what the mission trip hoped to accomplish. On the mission trip he would then post up to the minute reports on what was happening.
They started a hashtag for prayer for the Ukraine trip. These posts heightened awareness of the upcoming trip and allowed us to make an “ask” to support the trip. I recommend at least one social media post daily across all your platforms to build awareness and support for your summer mission initiatives.
This awareness not only led members to bathe the event in prayer, but it also gave opportunities for members to financially support the mission. Every post contained a link to their giving web page. This allowed the church missions offering to be 24/7, not simply a weekend opportunity.
2.) Live Reports During The Event
With today’s Internet, you can report back to your members and donors with live feeds or recaps. Each night after the day’s events, the pastor would blog a few paragraphs on the day’s actions. These posts contained pictures of ministry in action. It showed who they were impacting and also showed members at work in ministry.
This was a few years ago, but now you can easily do this with live reports through many Social Media platforms. Be creative! By posting events as they happen, you make the trip personal for your church and especially for those whose generosity made the trip possible.
3.) Post Event Report & Thank You
At the time of this trip, Facebook had just begun allowing short videos to be embedded into a page. I had counseled the church that thanking your donors was a key to gaining the next gift of support. The church taught Ukrainian youth in an English as a second language course. Members used their cell phones and took videos of Ukrainian students thanking the church for sending a mission team to their country. In short, thirty-second videos, they had the students share a thank you to the church.
I have found that showing people what their gift did and thanking them for that gift paves the way for the next gift. It also will help you recruit participants for the next trip.
4.) Show & Tell
Do you remember this from your grade school days? One way to increase giving is to use the same concept. Show and tell people what you are doing, and they will give you money to support that cause. With people averaging 151 minutes a day on social media, is there a more effective, free way to get your story in front of people? Get started today using social media to tell your amazing story of life change this summer!
Do you need help crafting a social media or summer giving plan? At OnlineGiving.org we provide our clients with all the tools they need to utilize our robust digital giving platform effectively. We would love to show you how our systems can help you increase giving and increase the effectiveness of your ministry. Contact us today to schedule your free demonstration at (615) 206-4000 or email us at support@onlinegiving.org.
The Stewardship Coach
Is your church gearing up for Mission Trips? With this four-part strategy and our tools, you can Boost Mission Trips with Social Media. https://t.co/Sy5jHqcjQL pic.twitter.com/iaIGZEQia1
— Online Giving (@onlinegivingorg) April 24, 2023
