You ARE using Facebook for your church, right? I have created a list of 10 things that we and should be doing as churches to get the most out of Facebook. It truly is a fantastic tool to communicate with our church family and reach those in our surrounding communities.
Why should you be using social media for your parish? What good is it? Is it just a waste of time?
We’re not talking about you spending hours perusing folks feeds and liking photos of babies, etc. But what we are talking about is a few main reasons that your parish should be using Facebook to more easily communicate and uplift your parishioners.
Discovery (helping people find what they are looking for). Assuming you want to be very accessible for folks to find your parish, what time your services are at, what other ministries you offer and due to the fact that a majority of the population is on Facebook - having information and being active on the platform will continue to be important.
First Impressions - Facebook is fantastic opportunity to show the local community who you are and what you stand for. When you don’t put effort into your online channels, being totally honest here, it gives them an impression that not much is going on at the parish.
Reach Local Community. By creating content that engages with your parishioners and hopefully even your local community - you are able to reach into the community in ways you maybe couldn’t do traditionally. Additionally, with things like events, Facebook is a fantastic tool to target (with only a small amount of budget) people right where they are at in the community.
Facebook is a great way to build a relationship with your parishioners. Facebook groups are a fantastic way to build an online community where your parishioners can have conversations, discuss homilies, etc and really give you as the church the ability to engage with your people outside of mass. Folks love seeing behind the scenes, and even being a part of the conversation with Q&A’s and more.
Want to learn more about how to use Facebook and other social media for your church? Let's Chat