When a ministry is seeking to engage and encourage interaction between and among its congregation, you simply cannot leave out the interaction that takes place online. Increasingly, more and more of our lives are lived online. If you do not offer spaces for interaction other than services and special events, you are missing a great way to bolster community within your ministry, and attract and retain new visitors.
Here are a few helpful tips we’ve gained from both research and experience with clients:
Hashtags… no, really
If you encourage congregants to share posts, pictures and messages, using relevant hashtags is a great way for people to follow the conversation. Perhaps you have an upcoming sermon series with a guest speaker. Use a hashtag with the guest speaker or series name with every post.
Quotables
It’s no secret that images, and videos, get seen and shared much more than straight content. Create your own image quotes from a recent sermon and post on your Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest and Instagram. Here is a good resource article with easy ways to create quote graphics.
Canva – Online Graphics Creator: https://about.canva.com/
Islands in the Stream
Some ministries are now recognizing that their communities appreciate having access to streaming church services at home. However, it’s important to take factors like equipment and audience into account to determine whether live streaming video, or audio would be the best fit. In some cases, having the spiritual leader offer a separate facebook live broadcast could be just as beneficial.