Social Media

Churches are increasingly investing more time into social media.  It can be a great way to connect with members, regular attenders and new folks in a place where people are already hanging out.  Whether you’re just getting started in social media or have been at it for awhile, here are three tips for avoiding a few common mistakes.

Don’t set it and forget it.  Launching a Facebook page or setting up a Twitter account is the easy part.  The challenge comes in keeping it up to date.  If...

In the church world, there are lots of things we do for the sake of communicating with first-time visitors.  We add snazzy “I’m New Here” buttons to our website.  We create slick brochures as part of a welcome packet.  Now there’s one more thing to add to the list: Facebook Timeline.

If your church has a Facebook page, you probably know about Timeline. It lets your page act more like a website home page.  You can add a big cover image to the top.  You can create milestones that talk about...

It was rumored for some time, but now it’s a reality.  Facebook has launched the Timeline feature for brand pages.  That includes your church’s page.  And whether it’s a change you like or not, Facebook will make the feature live and mandatory on March 30.  Leading up to that deadline, you can try things out without publically launching it until you’re ready.  And you can launch early; Church Juice has. So as you work on your timeline—even if you’ve already activated it—here are some of the...

Veteran Facebook users still log into Facebook, but they post less. 

That’s one of the findings from a study done by the digital consultant agency Beyond as they look to predict how people will use social media in the future.  And for me, it’s a great insight to why I, like some of you, have been feeling Facebook fatigue.

This idea also jibes with my personal experience lately.  While I don’t see friends posting as often, I do see them interact with the things I’m sharing.  So they’re not...

Yesterday, we looked at the basics of how to use Pinterest.  At the end of 2011, it sprung into the top ten social media sites based on usage and it seems poised to see continued growth this year.  The format is simple.  You share the things (pictures and videos) you think are cool by pinning them to a virtual bulletin board.  And since organizations and businesses are a part of people’s lives, brands are already starting to embrace Pinterest.   

OPEN Forum recently wrote about how...

Social media newbie Pinterest ended 2011 strong.  Rapid growth pushed it into the top 10 social media sites based on usage. And now, like anything popular the business and non-profit world is trying to figure out how to use Pinterest as a marketing tool.  Since Pinterest wants to connect people based on their similar interests, brands and organizations, who are interesting to a lot of people, want to be in the fold.

If you’re not familiar with Pinterest, here’s a basic rundown.  The idea is...

As we jump in to 2012, it can be a time to look ahead at some big picture things we can do during the upcoming calendar year.  And for me there are a few ideas that are really stuck in my head of ways churches can become stronger communicators in 2012. 

Narrow your communication stream and simplify your message.    Too often, church communication is scattered and uncoordinated. Instead of using a medium that makes sense for a congregation, churches try to use everything.  That leads to...

For the first time in my life, I’m down on Facebook.  I’ve always been a fan and staunch supporter.  I believe it has helped me better stay connected with friends than I ever would have without it.  I didn’t get upset over the various changes, privacy and layout, over the years.  I just liked Facebook.

That was until recently.  It seems like less and less of my closer friends are as active as they used to be.  Some are more involved, but it seems for me that Facebook isn’t providing me with...

As promised, Google has finally made an official way for businesses and organizations to sign up for their own Google+ page.  If I’m to be completely honest, I’m still not the biggest fan of G+.  My experience, based on my personal account, is that a lot of people signed up, realized it (generally) wasn’t much different than Facebook and have been inactive ever since.  Right now, Facebook is still king. 

That said, it may be something you’re interested in using for your church.  Like any...

There’s still plenty of debate in churches around the question of, “Is social media really relational?”  It’s probably a fair conversation to have as long as it’s not just an excuse to quickly dismiss using social media because it’s new or too hard to do.  But I’d like to layout my reasoning that social media is indeed relational.

In a recent interview with Christianity Today, Claire Diaz Ortiz, leader for social innovation at Twitter, talked about how social media makes perfect sense for...