Below is an article I found on collidemagazine.com's website. As I have previously mentioned, Collide has been around for some time helping churches and ministries with the creative side of things. The Article below is by Scott McClellan, the Senior Editor of COLLIDE. Hope you enjoy...
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A few months ago, I was asked to give a presentation on social media strategy to a group of folks in the publishing industry. As I prepared, I came to understand that what the group was looking for was a basic framework, a starting point, for wading into the wild world of social media. That's what prompted me to create this list of five ways for an organization to use social media. Each section is a verb, something you or your organization can do, and my hope is that they help you uncover the best fit for social media within the mission and needs of your church, ministry, non-profit, or breakdancing club. Whatever you're a part of, there are five things I think you can (and should) do with social media: Listen, Converse, Share, Tell Stories, and Invite.
Listen
Sure, public speaking is a common fear, but the Web seems to mitigate that fear for most. Social media is public and it's speaking in some sense of the word, but the medium offers an empowering distance. And social media is a powerful tool for talking (in whatever format), as well as a powerful tool for listening.
Sure, public speaking is a common fear, but the Web seems to mitigate that fear for most. Social media is public and it's speaking in some sense of the word, but the medium offers an empowering distance. And social media is a powerful tool for talking (in whatever format), as well as a powerful tool for listening.
Scan social media for arguments, conversations, ReTweets, Likes, trending topics, heavily-searched terms, and memes. Find out what people like, love, hate, fear, want, and hope for. Find out what people think, how they feel, what they dream about, and how they respond to different stimuli. Observe how they talk to one another and what they talk about. As a leader and a communicator, this information is invaluable to you.
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Use search.twitter.com to see people's thoughts and reactions in real time. Use Google Alerts to track blog posts by subject rather than just author. These tools are free and easy to use for those who are willing to listen.
This may go without saying, but I'll say it anyway (because that's what people do when they say, "this may go without saying ...") — use social media to follow thought leaders, culture influencers, the people within your organization, and the people you serve. You'll get more ideas and insights about your organization or ministry than you know what to do with, and that's a good thing. You'll also get a lot of garbage, but that's how it goes. Filter it out.
Converse
You don't have to stop at listening—you can use social media to converse. Social media can be used to establish a relationship, a two-way street, a dynamic exchange with other human beings. You can stop being a broadcaster and start being a facilitator.
You don't have to stop at listening—you can use social media to converse. Social media can be used to establish a relationship, a two-way street, a dynamic exchange with other human beings. You can stop being a broadcaster and start being a facilitator.
Using social media, you can ask questions and get answers, you can respond, and you can participate. You can make connections between your organization and your audience (whoever that might be in your context), you can connect individuals within your audience, and you can connect your audience to other organizations.
You can use social media to find new stories or shape and supplement existing stories. Do research. Solicit opinions, testimonials, best practices, case studies, tips, and critiques. Pay attention for angles you hadn't considered. My bet is that you'll be delighted by the perspectives and experiences you find within your audience, and you'll have a better feel for what people need and their response to the things your organization is doing.
On the practical side, I think it's a great idea to have individual and organizational presences in social media. Yes, be an organization—be official, established, and credible. But be an organization made up of people—people who are accessible, relatable, and follow-able. Humanize your organization while other organizations, churches, and ministries give into the temptation to de-humanize their online presences. There are a lot of churches and companies that strike a great balance between official and personal, so do some research and see what styles and approaches appeal to you.
A word of warning: conversation can be difficult. It takes effort and intentionality. It can lead to gaffes, mistakes, fights, and other embarrassing moments, but it's worth it. Something special happens when we go from one-way to two-way communication.
Share
If you haven't already, read Linchpin by Seth Godin. Then, read it again. Godin's book is about being indispensable to others — a quality worth pursuing. Are these "tough economic times" revealing who's indispensable when it comes to volunteerism and financial giving and who's not? Maybe so. Godin's premise is that linchpins — indispensable individuals and organizations—do two things: create art and share it generously. We'll talk more about creating art in a bit, so let's talking about sharing generously.
If you haven't already, read Linchpin by Seth Godin. Then, read it again. Godin's book is about being indispensable to others — a quality worth pursuing. Are these "tough economic times" revealing who's indispensable when it comes to volunteerism and financial giving and who's not? Maybe so. Godin's premise is that linchpins — indispensable individuals and organizations—do two things: create art and share it generously. We'll talk more about creating art in a bit, so let's talking about sharing generously.
Social media is a phenomenal tool for sharing. Share insight, share resources, share tools, share tips, share news, share knowledge, share experience, share talent, share opportunities to get involved. Share, share, share.
If you're thinking, What will we get in return for all our sharing? you're missing it. Sharing is about giving, not getting. Inform people, enlighten people, help them do their jobs and live their lives, teach them, entertain them, engage them. These are the things that linchpins do, and these things make them indispensable to their audience.
Use YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, your blog, live chats, Flickr, etc. to share everything you can share. In that process, you'll likely find your voice and a "tribe" (another Seth Godin term worth knowing).
Tell Stories
Many individuals, when left to their own devices, will use social media to tell people about their cats. We can be more intentional; we can use social media to tell compelling stories. Author Donald Miller says that stories — heard, lived, and experienced — are how God changes us. And if you haven't read his book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, you should.
Use social media to tell (and share) stories that are interesting, important, unique, relevant, and worth spreading. Thanks to social media, we get to go beyond words on a page. We can use social media to create a multimedia tapestry; we can leverage text, images, audio, and video in a variety of channels and formats. As a result, we have the opportunity to tell stories that are rich and engaging and experiential. As communicators, that's a huge win.
Many individuals, when left to their own devices, will use social media to tell people about their cats. We can be more intentional; we can use social media to tell compelling stories. Author Donald Miller says that stories — heard, lived, and experienced — are how God changes us. And if you haven't read his book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, you should.
Use social media to tell (and share) stories that are interesting, important, unique, relevant, and worth spreading. Thanks to social media, we get to go beyond words on a page. We can use social media to create a multimedia tapestry; we can leverage text, images, audio, and video in a variety of channels and formats. As a result, we have the opportunity to tell stories that are rich and engaging and experiential. As communicators, that's a huge win.
You may've heard about the story of Carlos Whittaker's "Single Ladies Devastation" video on YouTube. Yes, we wrote about it, but it was also featured on network morning shows and hugely popular blogs. As the video racked up millions of views, people noticed that Whittaker's son didn't look anything him. The media exposure gave the Whittakers the opportunity to share a small piece of the story of adopting their son from Korea. The video was certainly entertaining, but the story behind it was downright compelling.
Whenever possible, tell a story.
Invite
The next win for us, as communicators, is that social media allow our stories to spread. We have our audiences, but our audience has their audiences, their friends, their colleagues, their family, and their networks. That means they have the power to take our stories farther than we ever could. Our job is to invite and empower them to do so.
The next win for us, as communicators, is that social media allow our stories to spread. We have our audiences, but our audience has their audiences, their friends, their colleagues, their family, and their networks. That means they have the power to take our stories farther than we ever could. Our job is to invite and empower them to do so.
Of course, this means the onus is on us to create content worth sharing. Not all content is created equal, and not all content spreads equally. Just ask a band that only recorded one hit single or a comedy troupe that only produced one video that went viral.
The new law of the Internet is that if we give people great content and opportunities to share it, they'll do our marketing for us. Doesn't that sound like a great system? It does to people and organizations committed to relationships and storytelling. Does this really work? According to Google Analytics, COLLIDE gets more traffic from Twitter (our account plus readers' accounts) than any other referring site, so I'd say it's working pretty well.
Or consider the story of Jon Acuff. He told us recently that he let 100 people know about the launch of his blog Stuff Christians Like. On the eighth or ninth day, about 4,300 readers showed up. Two years later, more than a million readers have stopped by the site. That's the power of creating content worth sharing.
It sounds easy, right? Just five little verbs that consitute some semblance of a social media strategy. Use them and see how they work for you. Hopefully, words like “engagement” and “connection” will begin to describe the fruit of your social media efforts rather than #FAIL or #FTL. (If you aren't familiar with those terms, you aren't using enough social media.) Go ahead. Jump in.
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