When it comes to Facebook, it’s important to portray an accurate picture of what an organization is really like. The goal is to entice new people to become followers and customers. In the case of the church, things can get a little tricky. While there is a business structure and a lot of organized facets in the church, the church is, first and foremost, a family
A church is supposed to be a place of refuge and solace, so describing it as a business is inaccurate. After logging into Facebook, if a user wants to find out more about a church, there are tons of churches who maintain Facebook business pages. However, those business pages recognize the churches as religious organizations. If you would like to encourage more people to attend, you can use Facebook to achieve that goal. Here are some ways Facebook can help your church.
Recommendations
Reach out to current church members and find out if they’re active on Facebook. Ask them if they’d be willing to leave recommendations or reviews on the church’s Facebook page. Once they create the recommendation, you can also ask them to share it on their pages. While it might feel a little weird to review a church, in this case, recommendations replaced reviews for local businesses. Make sure that you reach out to members who are involved in the church and regularly attend.
Live Streaming
Many churches use Facebook Live to bring the church to the people if they cannot attend. This is an easy way to display the church in action. Whether it’s the church service, a prayer meeting session or a young adult worship concert, it’s a great idea to broadcast what’s happening. When it pertains to children, it’s best to avoid sharing their photos online. Unless you have parental consent, you don’t want to get the church in trouble with any potential lawsuits. If the church has a strong audio/visual ministry, they should be able to do a live broadcast with their in-house technology. If you don’t have an audio/visual ministry, don’t fret. You can use a DSLR camera, a tripod and a Wi-Fi connection to broadcast the church services on Facebook Live. If push comes to shove, a smartphone can do the trick as well – just make sure to get a tripod.
Online Ministry Facet
Even though the church is a religious organization, it’s still possible to benefit from having a Facebook business page with Facebook Ads. If you’d like people to learn more about your church and come to an upcoming event, launch a Facebook Ad campaign to get the word out. It’s also a wise idea to start an online ministry facet of the Facebook business page.
Create a program that’s been recorded exclusively for the online audience. Since so many people love video content, it’s a great way to regularly produce content that people will consume. Prepare the talking points in advance, and ask the audience for questions they’d like answers for. As you receive the questions, you can create videos that provide the answers. The videos for an online ministry don’t have to be long; in fact, the videos can be three to five minutes.
Takeaways
When so many people are constantly receiving information at a rapid pace, it can be difficult to keep up with what’s happening. This is why it’s wise to maintain a Facebook business page for your church. If they really enjoy the content, they may eventually attend in person. And if you’re looking to learn more, be sure to check out our podcast!
