4 Common Social Media Mistakes Churches Make

Before we get started, let me ask you a question: How do you know if the social media strategy for your church is working?

All the tweets you’re sending out, the fan page updates, the emails, the asks, the texts…how do you know if they’re doing what you want them to?

If the answer is “We don’t,” or “I’m not sure,” or even, “What strategy?” Don’t worry—that’s completely normal.

In my work with dozens of church leaders, I find many struggle with the question above. Having a ministry background myself, I understand the frustration of wanting to build a better social media presence for your church or ministry but simply not having enough time, energy, or resources to do so.

Why? Because you're busy doing what you do:

• Leading people
• Administrative details
• Attending meetings
• Discipling church members
• Delivering on your promises

At the end of the day, there’s only so much time left. Social media, as important as it is, tends to get shuffled down the priority totem pile. What’s often left is a lukewarm social strategy that generates ho-hum results.

However, there’s good news! I find the majority of church-related social media pains can be eased by fixing these four common mistakes:

1. Not assigning an owner to every church-related social network.
   
   You need a person to own the network in question. Whether it's a fan page, a Twitter account, a YouTube channel—whatever. If someone doesn't own it, it'll be shuffled around and eventually neglected like the stuff in your junk drawer. Who's ultimately responsible?
   
   If you can’t find a person to own the channel, you don’t need it. If there’s not enough buy-in for ownership, it’ll fail. You’ll be tempted to think, “Oh, someone will update this eventually.” They won’t. Find an owner, or kill it off.
    
2. Not determining the purpose for every church-related social network.
   
   You need a purpose for the network. The person who owns the network should be responsible for leading the charge on purpose. What do you want to accomplish with this network? What's the finish line?
   
   Do you want to build community on your Facebook page? Give church members a place to ask FAQs during the week? Build an app that facilitates online giving? Great. Now name it.
   
   In short, what's the purpose? How are you going to measure whether it’s effective or not?
    
3. Failing to build a content plan for each channel.
   
   You need a plan for creating consistent content. This is the hardest part in the process. If you don't have a plan, the network will turn into a ghost town. How often will you update? How often will you interact? Both elements need to be accounted for. What is your content posting rhythm?
   
   The old adage is true, “If you fail to plan, you’ll plan to fail.” Get a basic editorial calendar in place and you’ll automatically be in the top tier of churches. No one does this step, and it shows. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results, right? Change your social media effectiveness by building a plan.
    
4. Not measuring your the performance of your social networks.
   
   Lastly, you need to measure the performance of every social network. Look at your plan and the goals you set. Do you want more purchases, donations, followers, clicks? Are you achieving them? How do you know? If you aren't, why not?
   
   Answer these questions and, judging by the responses, change the first three steps if need be. What gets measured gets managed. How are you measuring the effectiveness of your social networks? Take what you learn from the data, and make decisions based on that, not how you feel or what the loudest member on your team wants.

Wrapping Up

I know this much: The people, churches, and organizations who fix these four common mistakes are the ones who succeed online. Period.

Can you be successful without addressing each mistake? I suppose. There are always exceptions.

But I've worked with dozens of churches, studied the social media pros, taught university-level electronic communications classes, and been on a church staff for seven years and have met ZERO churches who have sustained success by accident.

Keep this in mind: this is only a start. There are three other huge social media mistakes you’ll kick yourself for not knowing. They’re costing your church clicks, community engagement, and credibility.