Congregational UCC Church: Facebook Kate Kauffman Social Media Consultant

What is Facebook? Social networking site that allows users to connect and share information. Facebook is made up of networks, allowing groups to easily connect and personally interact Digital word of mouth

Who are users connecting with? Friends and Family Networks, groups, and organizations People who share similar interests People who want to explore new interests and activities

Why Facebook? Forms a virtual community, deepens fellowship, creates/continues dialogue Ability to connect with younger members and potential members More direct and meaningful than other mediums (direct mail, , website, etc.) Reaches members and supporters not able to regularly attend service People spend at least 20 minutes a day on Facebook, 3-4 times/week Over 1 billion users Eight out of the 20 most engaging Facebook pages are religious including #1 (Jesus Daily) FREE

Church Uses Keep up to date on trends Generate awareness and possibly raise money Connect with new members Build a network of contacts Viral abilities help to quickly spread messages and alerts to a wide audience beyond immediate members Members/supporters can promote and fundraise on organization’s behalf

Strategy Keep content fresh, active, upbeat, and engaging Number of “likes” is good base measure, but actual engagement yields better results Maintain relationships and seek new contacts Network with like minded and affiliated organizations Use visuals as much as possible Encourage and respond regularly to comments/questions Keep posts short, simple, casual, direct

Concerns Privacy Appropriate Use Negativity Workflow Monitoring

Content ideas Share stories about members making a difference in the community Get to know members, staff, and volunteers Post photos and videos from church activities or events like VBS, outdoor worship, youth group activities and outreach events. Ask members to post to your page's wall photos they’ve taken during church activities or events. Go a step further and create a Facebook album with their contributed photos, making sure to give photo credit to the contributor. Post updates about activities and events to encourage participation. Include updates about the latest news involving the community (newsletter) Upcoming sermon topics

Getting Started Set up the page and add administrators Evaluate resources Develop a workflow Monitor and respond Create a content strategy plan and schedule

Questions? Kate Kauffman Social Media Consultant