What content connects with your audience?
If your target audience is the unchurched and all your content is heavily theological then you are unlikely to really connect with them.
The same goes for if your target audience is your current Christian congregation then memes and click-bait content is unlikely to serve them.
Asking this question "What content will connect with my target audience" is a really impactful one when it comes to your digital presence.
Facebook has announced that in the next 12 months 40% of the content you see on your Facebook feed will be from people and pages you don't follow.
This is a big opportunity for your church. Facebook algorithm will be showing the best performing content from pages such as your church to people who aren't necessarily Christian.
In other words, people who aren't connected to your church are more likely to see the content that you are posting.
TikTok is no longer a teen fad, it is maturing to become a ‘serious’ social media platform. Your church might not be on it yet, but we highly recommendation you download it and watch content so you can understand it as an ecosystem. That way when your church does jump on TikTok (because it will…essentially), you’ll be ready to take advantage of the opportunities it provides for the gospel.
Is Facebook outdated?
Facebook is growing among the over the 50s, and they still need to know about Jesus.
We all want to attract young families and young people, but we have an ageing population and so it's important for the Church to still consider that older demographic. Facebook is a great tool for continuing to reach them.
New to Instagram: Target 'Followers' with ads -> News: Meta now allows you to target Ads at your Instagram followers. But hasn't this always been the case? No, up until now you've only been able to target IG engagement. Tips: Use this new functionality to re-engage your audience and following on Instagram. -> Want to get the latest news and top tips on digital and church comms? Sign up to receive The Informer every Wednesday morning, for free - Link in bio.
How should your church actually use Facebook Ads? -> We have developed a simple formula to help you encourage people to take the action you want from them. The Strategy Circle: 1️⃣Gain awareness 2️⃣Gather an audience 3️⃣Generate a transition 4️⃣Encourage relationship...and repeat!You should be gaining awareness primarily through social media. You should be gathering an audience primarily through social media. Facebook ads are then really good for generating a transaction; getting your audience through the front door of your church, and pointing them toward the next step (after they have been listening to your talks online, for example). This is a repeat formula to follow when planning how you're going to promote your alpha course that's starting in the new year! -> This clip was taken from Digital Church Toolkit Academy's live weekly training session.
Social Media is getting less social and more media -> News: Increasingly, what we see on our social media is defined by algorithms that want us to be entertained rather than kept up-to-date with friends. TikTok is more similar to a media company distributing content than a social channel, and its success is being replicated by Instagram and Facebook (with Reels), and Snapchat (with Spotlight). -> TIPS: Social media is no longer being driven by who you know, but more and more by what’s driving overall engagement. By churches playing the game of the algorithms and producing useful, engaging, informative content that adds value to people’s lives, social media algorithms will show your church content to more people. A classic example, seen in our latest blog post, is how the sermon can be the best at doing this - engaging people and adding value. -> Want to get the latest news and top tips on digital and church comms? Sign up to receive The Informer every Wednesday morning, for free - Link in bio.
How do you convert digital engagement into a meaningful interaction with your Church? Simple, Facebook Ads. Facebook Ads are still one of the most valuable tools available to you. You have spent the last two years, through the lockdowns, producing more content to put online than you have ever before, and as a result, you have had more online interactions than ever before. Facebook Ads allow you to directly target those who have interacted with your content and take them onto their next faith step, for example signing up for your next Alpha Course. —> This clip was taken from Digital Church Toolkit Academy's live weekly training session.
<50% identify as Christian in the UK —> Is this bad news? In the latest UK census, it was stated that for the first time in history the UK has less than 50% of the population self-identifying as Christian. But what the census did tell us was that over 31,000,000 people in the UK say they are a Christian. In the midst of a post-Christian culture, one which is often hostile to faith. When the nation has experienced the trauma of a pandemic and a Church which doesn't always take the teachings of Jesus seriously. In the midst of that, millions, upon millions, of people are still confessing to be Christian - we think that is good news. Now we are not the majority, the challenge for those involved in Church comms in the UK, is that we need to work on how we present the timeless message of the Gospel to a post-Christian culture and what methods we should use to do it in a digital age. —> This clip was taken from Digital Church Toolkit Academy's live weekly training session.
Facebook Removes ‘Religious Views’ —> FACTS: Facebook is removing parts of your profile; “As part of our efforts to make Facebook easier to navigate and use, we’re removing a handful of profile fields: Interested In, Religious Views, Political Views, and Address.” —> TIPS: Facebook made clear that this change doesn’t affect anyone’s ability to share information related to these removed fields elsewhere on Facebook. So, we can all keep talking about Jesus. All good. —> Want to get the latest news and top tips on digital and church comms? Sign up to receive The Informer every Wednesday morning for free at www.digitalchurchtoolkit.com
With 45 million people giving their attention every day to the platforms that you are on, opportunity to reach those in your community with the gospel is enormous.
Anarchy in Facebook Groups with New Settings Option
FACTS: Facebook has added an option in Groups to allow members to make themselves moderators.
TIPS: Don't turn on this setting. If you need moderators then choose them from members you know and trust. This seems like a very bizarre option from Facebook.
//IT’S TOMORROW 🎉// The Digital Church Summit → There are 45 million people regularly using social media in the UK, making it the nation’s largest mission field. The Summit will help you and your Church maximise this opportunity for the Gospel through a fruitful digital presence. —> Register today and join with hundreds of other leaders and believers from across the UK to learn how you and your church can advance the Gospel in the digital age. Our desire is that at the Digital Church Summit you’ll learn effective strategies for spreading the Good News in 2022 and beyond. —> Register today at www.digitalchurchtoolkit.com/summit
Whether it’s practical advice from the coalface of church comms or top-level insights into the future trends in the Church, this event will be packed full of fresh inspiration, strategies and ideas for you to take back to your Church. —> Register today and join with hundreds of other leaders and believers from across the UK to learn how you and your church can advance the Gospel in the digital age. Our desire is that at the Digital Church Summit you’ll learn effective strategies for spreading the Good News in 2022 and beyond. —> Register today at www.digitalchurchtoolkit.com
We have brought together nationally and internationally recognised speakers and leaders, who all have a unique perspective on the digital age, church comms and the UK church, so you can learn from their skills and experience. —> Register today and join with hundreds of other leaders and believers from across the UK to learn how you and your church can advance the Gospel in the digital age. Our desire is that at the Digital Church Summit you’ll learn effective strategies for spreading the Good News in 2022 and beyond. —> Register today at www.digitalchurchtoolkit.com/summit
As a church comms manager you have LOTS of stuff on your plate. How can you possibly begin to do it all? Learn to delegate. Find someone who can help you with those Sunday slides. Suddenly with them off your plate, you can focus on other things.Want more tips like this? —> The Digital Church Summit, on November 24th, will be packed full of new ideas and helpful tips for your church comms. Join hundreds of leaders and believers from across the UK to learn how you and your church can advance the Gospel in the digital age. —> Register Today at www.digitalchurchtoolkit.com/summit #churchcommunications #socialmedia #simple
Social media is like a beast that needs feeding with content. How can your church keep feeding the beast? The sermon. People outside the church are looking for things that give them life. And the likelihood is that the sermon (hopefully) will bring it to them. By having a plan, your sermon becomes content for social media. Through video clips, you are able to consistently feed the beast with content that help your audience find and follow Jesus. —> Want more tips like this? The Digital Church Summit will be packed full of new ideas and helpful tips for your church comms. —> Join hundreds of leaders and believers from across the UK to learn how you and your church can advance the Gospel in the digital age. —> Register Today at www.digitalchurchtoolkit.com/summit #churchcommunications #socialmedia #simple
Here, Josh, co-founder of Digital Church Toolkit, shares info on using hashtags for your church's content. -> Want more tips like this? The Digital Church Summit will be packed full of new ideas and helpful tips for your church comms. -> Join hundreds of leaders and believers from across the UK to learn how you and your church can advance the Gospel in the digital age. -> Register Today at digitalchurchtoolkit.com/summit
It's October and it's likely you're in the midst of Christmas planning. It's important you define success and what your Church is wanting to achieve this year. —> Defining success allows you to set priorities, be focused, and evaluate how well you did afterwards. #christmas #churchcommunications #digitalchurch
// Register Free Today - Link in bio // —> Dave Adamson was one of the first online pastors in the world, growing and leading online communities of more than 80,000 people each week. We're excited that in less than 2 weeks we will be hearing him speak at Digital Church Summit. —> // Register Free Today - Link in bio // —> (Thanks Phil Cooke for this great interview with Dave Adamson)
