Social Media

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...

You may not notice any visible changes with your church Facebook Page right now.  But the way your updates appear to your fans has already changed.  And soon, the appearance of your page will likely get a makeover, too.

First, let’s start by talking about how you share information with your fans.  The goal traditionally has been to get someone to Like your Page.  Once they hit that button, you were golden.  Updates appeared in their feed and life was good.  But when Facebook recently...

Recently, Facebook launched a pretty big new feature called Subscribe.  Here’s how Facebook describes it:

You've always been subscribed to friends. Now you can keep up with journalists, celebrities, political figures and other people you’re interested in too. You can get their public updates in your News Feed by going to their profile and clicking on the Subscribe button.

In essence it’s like an RSS feed that shows up in your Facebook feed and it changes how public figures can use...

Good conferences like Echo can leave you with a little bit of information overload.  While I shared some notes from most of the sessions I went to, I want to share some of my personal takeaways.  Consider it a tasty tidbit from each presentation.

• What is your social media mission?  When we start using a tool, we need to ask why we’re doing this and what we hope will come of it.  Get more focused than just a digital extension of your organizational statement.  If we don’t know where we’re...

(Scott McClellan helps put the Echo Conference together and is the former editor of Collide Magazine.)

Anyone can set up a social media profile.  People set up accounts acting like cats. But can we have a strategy?

Two basics ways to grow social media (you can use a mix of both):

• Connected first.  When Oprah joined Twitter she had a millions followers fast.  She’s already established.  It’s not Lady Gaga’s content that got her 8 million followers.  You can leverage your connections...