What are the best social media platforms for churches in 2023?
Social media has become an essential tool for churches of all sizes. It's a way to connect with people in your community, share your message, and build relationships. But with so many different social media platforms out there, it can be tough to know where to start.
In this blog post, we'll take a look at the best social media platforms for churches in 2023. We'll discuss the benefits of each platform, as well as tips for using them effectively.
Facebook is still the largest social media platform, with over 2.9 billion active users. That means there's a good chance that your congregation, and many of your neighbors, are already on Facebook.
Facebook is a great platform for sharing your message with a wide audience. You can use it to post updates about your church, share photos and videos, and connect with people in your community.
When it comes to building online community, Facebook Groups are probably the best thing out there. Though many have turned to sites like Discord or slack channels as a modern day replacement for message boards, nothing quite compares to the power of Facebook Groups. If you go on Facebook now, your feed will probably be 40% groups, 40% ads, and the rest a mixture of reels and a handful of posts from your friends. In 2023, we’re seeing Facebook pushing groups you may not even be a part of but they think you’d be interested in.
If your church plans to run local ads, Facebook is probably the best social platform for that, as you can target by location and push traffic to your page for information for visiting your physical church or online church website.
Instagram is another popular social media platform, with over 1 billion active users. Instagram is a great platform for sharing photos and videos. You can use it to show people what's happening at your church, share your message in a visual way, and connect with people who are interested in faith and spirituality.
Instagram has made a huge pivot to Reels over the last few years, and it’s one of the things that spurred this site to launch. So many churches are still just posting a static image on instagram and calling it good, despite getting barely any engagement on those images. The Instagram algorithm is prioritizing reels, and we want to help churches save time and energy in having reels to publish.
If you want to see growth in audience and engagement on Instagram, you need to plan to post a reel multiple times a week, consistently. That’s a lot for a church leader to do, but we want to help make it easier. Look for future guides to be linked here, and for future resources to be available in a future link here.
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing platform, with over 2 billion active users. YouTube is a great platform for sharing sermons, Bible studies, and other videos about your faith. Whether its long form video, stories like testimonies, or even using YouTube shorts, there is a whole audience on YouTube you can connect with who are interested in the same topics as you.
YouTube also offers a number of features that can help you reach your target audience. For example, you can create playlists of your favorite videos, and you can use YouTube Analytics to track your viewership.
TikTok
TikTok is a social media platform that allows users to create and share short videos. TikTok is a great platform for sharing short, engaging videos about your faith. The way that the TikTok algorithm works makes it easy for you to connect with people who are interested in the same topics as you, and it does a really great job of getting your content in front of a wide array of people that might be interested in it.
TikTok is also growing as a search engine - many will opt to search on TikTok before they turn to YouTube or Google for just about anything you might search. Want to get better at social media for your church? Try searching that on TikTok and you’re more than likely to get great results.
Which social media platform is right for you?
The best social media platform for your church will depend on your target audience and your goals. If you're not sure which platform to choose, start by considering the following:
Your current audience: Who makes up your church and who are you trying to reach with your social media content? If you're targeting young people, you might want to focus on Instagram or TikTok. If you're targeting older people, you might want to focus on Facebook.
Your goals: What do you hope to achieve with your social media presence? If you want to increase awareness for your church and build an online community, you might want to focus on Facebook groups or Instagram. If you want to drive traffic to your website, you might want to focus on YouTube.
Once you've considered your target audience and your goals, you can start to experiment with different social media platforms. See what works best for you and your church.
Tips for using social media effectively
No matter which social media platform you choose, there are a few things you can do to use it effectively:
Be consistent: Post regularly on your chosen platform. Try to post at least once a day, but more often if you can.
Be engaging: Use visuals, ask questions, and interact with your followers.
Be authentic: Be yourself and share your unique perspective.
Be patient: It takes time to build a following on social media. Don't expect to see results overnight.
Social media can be a great way to connect with people in your community and share your message. By using the right platforms and following the tips above, you can use social media to reach your target audience and grow your church.
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