Ep. 011 | Jacob Shipley: Building a Social Media Strategy for Your Church

Do you know where to begin regarding Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and more? Social media can feel like a never-ending learning course. With changes and new features, it can be hard to pinpoint when to begin creating a strategy for your church’s social media channels. In this week’s episode, we discussed all things social media with Jacob Shipley to help you simplify, strategize, and start building your social media platforms for Kingdom impact.

Creating an Effective Social Media Strategy

How do you view your social media channels? Some churches use social media as a way to share information, others as a way to entertain, and mostly all churches use it as a way to engage with their audience. There is no right or wrong way to use social media. Still, when creating an effective social media strategy, it’s essential to consider how you are using social media and what you are using it for. Social media is constantly changing, and to keep up with the platforms and technology, we also need to change. 

One way to do this is to shift your perspective. Start by viewing social media as a tool to promote the ministry and as an arm of the ministry. Begin by considering the purpose of the tool, what you want to do with it, and how you can best use it to stay relevant and impact others.

Social media isn’t meant to be just a bulletin board of information but a way to share your ministry beyond your church walls. It is a tool to reach people wherever they may be, to share what God is doing in and through your church, and further your mission. Using relevant content opens up your social media to new audiences and allows you to meet them right where they are with the content they need most.

Social media can be used to both equip and encourage those within your church and as a ministry tool to reach a new wider audience within your community.

Plan Social Media with Care

Are you ready to take the next step of investing in your social media strategy? Here are a few things to consider:

1. Pay attention to the content you already have. The church is a natural content engine; you may already have a mountain of content you can pull from.
2. Repurpose your content. Use your weekend sermons, articles, and podcast to create social media content.
3. Package the content as the algorithm wants to receive it – create reels, graphics, social media carousels, and more.

Work effectively and efficiently by paying attention to the content you already have and the people around you. Not all churches can hire people who specialize in social media, but every church may have eager and passionate volunteers who desire to help make an impact through social media. Seek out those with the knowledge and background to help you make your social media channels effective and purposeful to bless others.

Remember, no one is in more of a position to reach your city than your church. Create content that is relevant and relatable to them. Use your social media channels as tools to engage, encourage, and equip those within your community.

Steps to Repurpose Your Sermon:

1. Identify short clips within your sermon that have strong points
2. Edit the short clip vertically to fit the dimensions for each channel
3. Add closed captions that feel authentic to the platform
4. Post the video on unique channels – Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok.

By taking an asset, you already have and strategically using it on social media, you can reach and impact even more people.

Defining Success in Social Media

The algorithm can feel like a big word when it comes to social media. But it really is simple. An algorithm is a tool used to get relevant content in front of the most people as possible. Each platform’s algorithm goal is to keep people on their platform for as long as possible to scroll, engage, and stay connected.

So how do you beat the algorithm? First, use it to help build your strategy. As a creator, it’s essential to create relevant content that will help others engage and stay on the platform longer.

Consider asking yourself these questions:

• Are people engaging with my content?
• Are people watching my videos?
• Are people sharing my social posts? 

Answering these questions will help gauge how your social media content is doing and understand what is performing well and what is not. By learning from these insights, you can make changes to help your strategy be even better as you continue to take steps on social media.

Although insights are essential, they aren’t everything. Numbers only matter because people count. Try not to be too concerned about numbers for the sake of numbers but consider that on the other side of every screen is a person. With every social post, you have the opportunity to use your content to bless and encourage others and leave a lasting impression.

As the church, we have the opportunity to define success differently. Over time, you will be able to see the trends in how your content is performing. This review will help you make changes and see what is working and what isn’t. But remember, you may never know the accurate measure of every social media post. Still, you can be intentional to create purposeful content that leaves a Kingdom impact and blesses others.

Practical Ways to Keep Up When Social Media Changes

A general rule of thumb for keeping up with the ever-changing world of social media is to invest in whatever platform is launching that season. Every channel will prioritize and feature the accounts that use what they are investing in. Stay innovative and look for ways to try new things within each social media platform to see what works best for your church.

Three Ways to Be Consistent on Social Media Without Adding More Work:

1. Find a volunteer: find someone who is passionate and excited about social media. Equip them with what they need and give them ownership to help with your social media channels.
2. Use AI Tools: use these tools to help you bridge the gap and create quality content. Use tools like Chat GPT to help with copywriting, inspire content ideas, and assist you with captions.
3. Repurpose your content: post consistently for a period of time and see what content your audience is connecting with. Then, don’t be afraid to place that content back into the rotation and repost it every 90 days.

Final Five:

Book: MetaChurch by Dave Adamson
Last Thing You Listened To: Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters
Favorite Technology: Motion – Calendar App
Quote/Advice: “Hard work changes things.”
One Thing for Church Leaders: Try not to be overwhelmed by social media or digital marketing. Just do your best to bless people and let God take care of the rest.

Quotes: