Ministry 2.0, Social Media
October 10th, 2009 by Matt Haff
Managing the Total Social Media Plan; Developing a Social Content Schedule
Use an index card with a topic to draw your attention to that topic. Your life is full of triggers to connect with, it’s just a matter of you noticing it. Example: When you buy a car, you’ll notice that car on the road more often. You don’t need to know what exactly is being said, just talk about the topic.
Video is really good to use, a good method is just to take video of yourself with an iPhone or Flip and just post it to YouTube. You don’t need really high quality stuff as long as it’s friendly and personal.
Huge difference between content and channels.
Encourage civil debate instead of getting rid of any and all criticism. If you’re having stuff accessible, it is possible that people will post negative comments. People don’t always have to agree but at least they had an engaging conversation about the Bible. If you always take away the negative stuff then you’re missing out on standing up for what you said and letting your community defend you. You’re encouraging critical thinking in a positive and healthy way.
If you’re doing a social media strategy, it’s good to have a community guideline for people to follow. If you delete a negative post, come back and connect with that person and let them know that you are up to the challenge but it should be worded in a more appropriate way that doesn’t demean people but instead facilitates a good mature conversation.
By deleting all critical posts you block all critical conversations and also cause people to feel that their voice isn’t heard there. By taking something down, people notice it even more.
When you post something crazy, apologize and be honest that you were upset when you posted it.
Ministry 2.0, Social Media
October 10th, 2009 by Matt Haff
Practical Application of Social Media
- Don’t keep your twitter, facebook open all the time, just because something is immediate doesn’t mean that it’s important or urgent.
- Don’t answer email or twitter when you’re not in a good mood. Think before you speak.
- Categorize emails between important, not important, etc.
- When wondering “how would I do this” Google it and YouTube* it… chances are, it’s already been done.
- Use twitter search example “pray for” and you’ll see what people are asking for.
- Use nearby to see who is around you at church and is on twitter, etc.
- SitePoint.com and SmashingMagazine.com > GREAT resources
- In a couple of years, mobile devices will be the primary device
- Don’t use flash, it just doesn’t work on all the different devices. It will also save a lot of money.
- Don’t under-estimate what social media can do, but never over-estimate its effectiveness
- Comparison is worthless, but modeling is valuable
- If there’s a paid version, there’s most likely a FREE version
- One of the most under-used resources of social media is PRAYER
*YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine after Google.
Ministry 2.0, Social Media
October 10th, 2009 by Matt Haff
Developing a Sustainable Social Media Strategy for Ministry
The goal isn’t balance, it’s tension. This method is not just for social media, but any kind of project no matter how big or small. A framework of thinking, a paradigm of thought.
Technology is last because it is always changing, while your standards rarely do.
P.O.S.T. Method
- People
~Who is using it?
~Who will be championing?
~Who will be executing?
~Who specifically won’t be participating?
Tension: Leadership
Myth: The people in leadership have to be the ones that execute.
- Objective
~What are you attempting to accomplish?
~Is your goal educating or informing?
~Is this an opportunity to energize or evaluate?
~Is our objective to provide metrics about our other properties
Tension: Culture
Myth: Guaranteed Success
- Steps
~Need a schedule & timeline with beginning & end dates
~Understand your budget
~Need to discuss the sustainability and management
~Define the decision making tree
Tension: Historical Context – be fully aware of the failures and fix/own them.
Myth: Historical context should limit you and can’t change.
- Technology
~Strategy is not a tool
~Think simple, start simple because you can always fix it.
~Due diligence is under-rated. People of God have NEVER been on the edge of technology.
~Technology is about relationships. Doesn’t matter how great the stuff is, you have to be real.
Tension: Technology
Myth: Technology is expensive. You need to use the “big ones”.
Ministry 2.0, Social Media
October 10th, 2009 by Matt Haff
7 Social Media Essentials
The social media mindset is to connect, not to convert.
- Talk, not shout
- Create, not copy – you don’t have to look and sound like other people, you have to believe that you have a voice and something worthy to say – does it encourage, inspire, engage, and outrage
- Bigger Pie, not smaller slices – when other churches and technologies come around, don’t think about how your slice just got smaller but rejoice in the fact that there are more ways to grab people.
- Give to, not take from – we’re here to contribute to them, not just another place that wants their money. Generosity begot generosity.
- Build trust, not bully compliance – invest in people and allow the Holy Spirit to work on their heart, instead of attempting to force them into converting.
- Long look, not quick fix – don’t think about how much you can get back and when. don’t be in a hurry, take your time and be intentional.
