There’s no getting around it, social media is now a part of our everyday lives. It’s where the conversations continue, where news is broken, where messages are shared, and people are reached.

If a ministry wants to stay relevant, and attract and retain new visitors, the social media marketing strategy should be an ongoing conversation.

Who’s Your Audience?

This may seem like an easy question– your audience is your congregation. Sure, but just like with a business, your social media goal should be to ultimately reach new people all the time. Who is in your community, are there any like-minded groups in the area? This is important information when you’re getting started– following such groups and community pages is an easy way to fill up your feed, and build an audience.

Create Compelling Content

As a Unity Ministry, compelling content is more than a hook– it’s your message. In many cases, it’s a message that needs to reach someone online. But people also want to see joy and laughter, and experience the personality of your congregation. Post and share sermon videos, but balance those out with choir performances, welcome videos, and videos of ministry activities.

Where Should You Be?

There are numerous social media avenues, and knowing your audience is a great first step in deciding which routes you want to take. Facebook should be considered a definite for every ministry. But beyond that, there are factors to consider with each channel. Pintrest is great for quote graphics and inspirational images, but not the best place for sharing videos, for example. Instagram allows for short videos and is a fantastic platform for image and pic sharing. If you have a young congregation, Instagram is the place for you.