There is no such thing as a social media expert.
I say this not to be overly critical of anyone who says they are, but more as an encouragement to you in the daily work you do.
The truth is, even the people you turn to for advice have their struggles with social media. Our friend Josh Burns from Park Community Church released a nice ebook about this topic called “3 Ways I Almost Killed My Church’s Social Media Presence.” Even someone with the social media savvy of Josh makes mistakes. You know what? I do too.
Here’s an example. The Church Juice Facebook page engagement and reach has fallen off a cliff. Yes, Facebook and its ever changing, money-making algorithm are to blame for some of the decrease. But I let my own personal frustrations with Facebook accelerate the problem.
A key piece of raising Facebook engagement is being consistent in posting. Yet as reach fell and my frustrations rose, I posted less. That’s a mistake. And recovering from it is tough.
Any communication tool, including Facebook, takes a lot of work. Engaging content has to be high quality. Keeping up that pace, not only on Facebook, but also in every other communications avenue is tough.
So here are a few ideas I’m trying to be more intentional about following. Hopefully they are helpful to you, too.
- Set realistic expectations. It’s easy to try and take on too much or believe that one specific communications avenue is going to solve all your problems. Pick which pieces you can do well, understand what best reaches your audience and be realistic in what to expect in terms of response.
- Find a schedule and commit to it. This is all about rhythm. Schedule your time to attack specific communications pieces throughout the week. Mix in social media posts during the week as well. When you’re regularly posting, users come to expect new content from you. You move from being an afterthought to a regular part of people’s routine.
- Don’t let yourself get in the way. Even if you dislike Facebook personally, you have to realize its potential in reaching your audience. That means committing to learning and implementing best practices.
