Study claims church social networking twice as effective as anything else #DigiLit

– October 8, 2012Posted in: DigiLit

Check the striking message of the pie chart in the infographic below, based on a study by Buzzplant. Admittedly, the polled sample of churches was relatively small, and only in one country.

But… see how they claim that social media was twice as effective as any other means of connecting to the wider community. OK, this raises questions as to how those churches are using social media, and what factors were used to measure the perceived effectiveness.

But I don’t find it surprising, because social networking is by definition relational and conversation-based, the very elements which are almost always integral to effective evangelism and relationship-building.

The 5 ‘ifs’

Christmas is coming!

Start planning your online Christmas strategy now
Free outsider-friendly Christmas articles to use
New free Christmas graphics available from the Free Bible Images team
Enter the Nativity Factor video competition
Share Natwivitytweets and Facebook posts
In December/January, consider also using redemptive parallels within movie releases Les Miserables and The Hobbit
And coming on 21 April 2013: Internet Evangelism Day

There are surely some ‘if’ conditions* to doing this effectively:

if the church has a social networking strategy that is outsider-focused, and is not just for internal communication to members
and if a majority of church members are using Facebook (or other social media) and ensuring many of their FB friends are not-yet Jesus-followers
and if most of their posts are not insider churchy stuff or off-putting opinions, and include areas of secular or local common interest
and if members understand why and how to be non-preachy, sensitive, and conversational
and if members’ Facebook posts, a church’s Facebook presence, and an outsider-friendly church website are all integrated in an agreed and widely understood strategy

… then in aggregate they could be engaging with the majority of the people in the community, as friends, or friends-of-friends.

This has never been possible before. Ever.

* in computer programming, a string of ‘and if’ conditions all need to be true, for an operation to work

Start now?

Churches, both through their official Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest pages, and through individual members’ social networking, can have a huge impact using social networking. Start planning now how to do this effectively! Consider adding Pinterest to the social networking mix – increasing numbers of churches are finding this effective.

Understand also how different areas of church communication should integrate, as this graphic ▶
and the related article from OurChurch.com explain.

Your say – tell your story

Please share in our comment section your church’s experience of using social networking effectively. What are the problems? How do you plan a strategy? Communicate it to the fellowship? Have you appointed a digital advocate or coordinator? What would help you do these things more effectively?