I’m getting emails with headlines like “The Inside Scoop on Meta’s Threads.” I’m also seeing blogs and posts popping up with headlines like “Meta Threads, is it Just Hype, and Should Your Church Join?” With Threads being so new, you will find headlines that say, “What is Threads?”
In case you haven’t heard, Threads is a new text-based social media platform launched by Meta, owners of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It is Meta’s attempt to replace Twitter. It looks much like Twitter because Meta recruited all the former Twitter folks that Elon Musk let go. They are the ones helping build and create Threads. Threads, for now at least, operates as an extension of Instagram. You need an Instagram account to utilize Threads. What is causing all the buzz, excitement, and even questions from Christian leaders about using Threads is that Threads started out adding about a million new users daily. Threads is the fastest app to reach 100 million users ever.
So, should your church utilize Threads? It's hard to turn your back on the potential reach of over 100 million people, but the first question is whether your church should be on social media. Recently I read James Emery White’s Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church in a Post-Christian Digital Age. He has a section entitled “The Importance of Social Media” with these statistics:
- The World Economic Forum revealed that shopping through social media has increased by 30%.
- They also found that 64% of Gen Z and 62% of Millennials use social channels for product research or that social channels influence their purchasing.
- The rise of visually driven media has resulted in 95% of all teens watching it saying they can’t live without it. It’s also the primary place they get their news. 1.
White points out that the Internet is now the church's front door. With so much now being driven through and by social media, shouldn’t your church be there too? I believe the answer is yes. The question is how to be effective using social media. Since social media’s takeoff, I have successfully utilized this tool to drive awareness and financial gifts for large and small churches. Some of the most successful social media campaigns I saw were run by a small, country UMC church. Using social media is relatively free, so anyone with some creativity can make their church look huge in impact.
In that time, we have learned a few lessons. We have learned what doesn’t work and what practices do work.
First, let me counsel you to avoid these common mistakes churches make using social media.
1. Not utilizing it at all. If you want to reach your neighborhood, you will find them on social media.
2. Setting it up and then leaving it. Posts that are weeks or months old show a lack of interest.
3. Making it all about the church. Don't use social media to replace your newsletter or bulletin.
4. Lack of strategy. Don't just show up on social media. Have a strategy. What is your goal?
5. Lacking a plan to implement the strategy. Without a plan, you are planning to fail.
Here are some key pointers to help you make your sites more effective.
- Set it up! Use multiple social media platforms to get your message out. Multichannel is the new normal! Find out what platforms are used most predominantly by your members and guests. Don't try to be everywhere, be where your community is. Even with over 100 million followers on Threads, this doesn’t mean it fits your congregation well. Find the best platforms for you.
- Message it out! What are you attempting to communicate? Stay on point! Don't dilute your message.
- Plan it out! What are you trying to accomplish with each of your social media platforms? Write it down and work it! Link your social media posts with the calendar and flow of your church. Be creative!
- Determine the right number of posts. While never posting anything is wrong, so is continually posting stuff to the point that it is annoying. At a minimum, consider a daily post.
- Drive people to your platform. Then make your social media pages worth visiting! Make sure that in all your communications, you provide easy links to your social media pages.
- Engage with people. Social media strategies are different from web page strategies.
- Show and tell! Social media lets you show missions and ministry in action. Post lots of pictures! Make sure you have proper clearance for all persons used in your posts.
- Who owns it? Make sure someone owns the plan. The best-laid plans are worthless unless someone owns them.
- Review it! Assess what works and what doesn't. Good social media strategies are works in progress.
- Make the ask! Show life change and periodically invite people to support that with a generous gift by providing a URL link to your giving page.
Should your church be on social media? I think the answer is yes, if you want to be where the people are.
Finally, as The Stewardship Coach who is always thinking, “How can I increase giving and givers,” social media is an untapped gold mine! When it comes to increasing giving, we use social media to:
Raise Awareness of what your church is doing and will be doing. We start telling the story of what we are attempting to raise funds for weeks in advance. We post pictures of the ministry or mission endeavor that the donations will support. We are helping your people become aware of the need for which you will ask for donations. What do you want your donors to know that might touch their hearts?
Call to Action in support of what your church is doing. We encourage posting pictures with captions like, "Your generous gift now will enable us to __________. Please donate at…" We then put the link to their Online Giving donation page, making it easy for them to give immediately. What can your donors do to help make a difference in people's lives right now?
Give Appreciation for the impact their gift made to the Kingdom of God. Take the time to report back on how the generosity of your members allowed you to meet the need of the appeal. We will try to have pictures of the result of the appeal. A simple text attached to those pictures that say, in essence, "Thanks to your generosity, ___________. Thank you, church!" Thanking your donors and showing them the results of their gift with pictures helps you set the stage for the next appeal.
Here is a recent post where we share more about how to utilize social media, https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/boost-mission-trips-with-social-media
The strategies I list above work best with the robust, OnlineGiving.org platform. Our systems and tools will work with your social media accounts to help you make social media a successful tool for your church. I find out more about how we can do this; schedule a free demonstration at (615) 206-4000 or email us at support@onlinegiving.org.
The Stewardship Coach
Should Your Church Use Social Media? We think the answer is yes. With the recent release of Threads, let us share some applicable lessons learned along the way.https://t.co/kuwgtu2qNz pic.twitter.com/ehRLHSxbkb
— Online Giving (@onlinegivingorg) July 27, 2023
1. James Emery White. (2023) Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church in a Post-Christian, Digital Age. Zondervan.
