1. Understand the difference between a profile (which is for people) and a page (which is for brands, organizations, celebrities, etc.).
2. Use your personal Facebook profile to connect with new people in your community, people who get in touch about your plant, etc.
3. Maximize your church Facebook page’s features such as the cover image, avatar, events and “about” section, which should include a url to your website so no one has to dig for it.
4. Build one single page. When it reaches critical mass, then start “sub”pages, such as pages for your kids’ ministry or small groups.
5. Assign as few “admins” as possible. It’s better to have people interacting with your page than as your page.
6. Use events, but don’t be obnoxious. Create the event and post links to it. It’s sharable by nature. Don’t blast invitations to all of your friends randomly.
7. Be sure to use a verifiable address so that your page is also a place. If people “check in” and there is a separate “page” that exists for your location, you can and should merge them together.
8. Write often. At least daily. We shoot for three times per day, but rarely do quite that much.
9. Link out to other websites only when absolutely necessary. Facebook wants to keep people inside of Facebook, so your post won’t go nearly as far if you add a link to it.
10. Converse. Answer messages, reply to comments and be helpful to those with questions.
Use Other Tools Appropriately
I like Twitter more than Facebook, personally, but I see Facebook as the more important tool in church planting. That doesn’t mean, however, that other tools aren’t helpful. They just have more specific uses.
1. Use Instagram to capture moments and experiences—pictures and videos of kids having fun, volunteers serving, etc.
2. Use Tumblr to curate everything in one spot as a mobile bulletin.
3. Use Twitter to connect with community leaders, leaders in the press, etc.