When it comes to posting on social media, content matters.
Let’s look at four ways to filter your content:
Quality
You want every post, video, or image that you upload on your social channel to be quality in nature. Ask yourself, Is this going to add value? Does this represent our ministry or organization?
Variety
As you post to each social network, make sure they don’t all look or feel the same. Have different titles or different elements that are going to look and feel different and connect to people in different ways. In other words, don’t be too over consistent in what you’re posting.
Consistency
You want to make sure that you’re posting at least once a day on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. For YouTube, upload a video once a week, staying consistent in the number of times you’re posting. The idea is for people to hear from you on a regular basis.
Creativity
Be creative! Push the limits of each social network. The people who are finding success on Instagram are creatively finding new ways to post and edit images on a mobile device. Pushing the limits of creativity always does well in engaging a community on social media.
With these filters in mind, be sure to maintain balance in the content you post. Here are five specific types of posts to consider:
Inspiration
For ministries, a minimum of 50 percent of your content should be inspirational in nature. This could include Bible verses, quotes, devotionals, or any type of content that is going to inspire others and make them want to share it with their followers.
Information
A maximum of 25 percent of your content should be informational in nature. People need to know what’s coming up, a recap from a past event or current news relevant to your ministry. It’s not something that they are going to naturally like and share but it is information they need to know.
Connection
What you are posting needs to be relatable and personal to help you engage with your community in a meaningful way. This should be 10 percent of your content.
Starting a conversation, giving behind-the-scenes glimpses, or sharing personal experiences outside of “work” allows you to build stronger and more authentic connections with followers.
Conversation
In order to build community, you have to have a conversation. And the best way to start a conversation is by asking a question.
Ask simple, easy-to-answer questions to stir conversations and encourage people to comment. Avoid questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no” or questions that are too complex to answer in a comment section. And as they comment, make sure you’re responsive and engage in order to build the relationship through the conversation. This can account for 5 percent of your content.
Celebration
It’s important to celebrate the great things that God is doing in your organization! A minimum of 10 percent should of your content should do just that. Celebrate holidays, ministry highlights, and anything important to your community.
These simple tips will get your social channels up and running, help you build a larger community, and ultimately, (wait for it…) create more impact!
More Insights from Dunham+Company: “Social Media for Ministry“