by Maggie Richter
Is there a place that Twitter and church can both be used effectively? Has your church found itself on Twitter yet? If so, congratulations! If not, please take this as a subtle hint that it might be time to get started. I promise it’s not as daunting as it seems, and social media can be a useful tool to boost your church’s attendance and communication.
Twitter has a plethora of resources that are both easy to use and effective for any type of organization, your church included. Whether you want to increase your following, reach potential attendees, or simply spread the word about the awesome work your church does, Twitter can help.
If you are a church leader seeking for some serious social media guidance, look no further.
Here are five millennial-approved Twitter “hacks” for your church:
1. Follow Buttons
Having more followers on Twitter means there are more opportunities to extend your reach and share information about your church and its activities. Assuming your church has a website, putting a Follow Button on your webpages is a fantastic way to easily drive visitors from a webpage to your Twitter account.
Provided by Twitter, the Follow Button encourages your website visitors to follow you on Twitter. When someone clicks this button on your webpage, they will instantly connect to your church on Twitter and begin to receive all of the updates you post. Simple as that.
A Follow Button looks like this:
For more information on Follow Buttons and how to implement your own, check out Twitter’s easy guide.
2. Tweet-Able Content
Does your church website post weekly sermons, event updates or maintain a blog? If so, a great way to share this content is by using a Share Button that gives readers the option to tweet out your content directly from the page. When the Share Button is clicked, a tweet will auto-generate for the user with a link to the original post.
While this may seem only like a small change, it makes a huge difference. You’d be surprised how often your content would be shared if you just made it easy to do!
A Share Button looks like this:
To get started making Share Buttons on your website, click here.
3. Website Cards
Website Cards on twitter are new and very effective. It is said that tweets with rich media get +313 percent engagement compared to a simple text body alone. Simply speaking, tweets with pictures generate a lot of activity. Website Cards provide this rich media and also add a call-to-action for the viewer, directing them to click through to your church’s website.
Website Cards can be used for event awareness, advertisements or even sharing some big news your church has. They can generate interest in your church’s Twitter account and website, and they are completely free to create and share. It’s a small step that results in a big impact!
A Twitter Card will look something like this on your Twitter feed, and you can always “pin” effective tweets to the top of your Twitter feed to gain more visibility:
Learn more about Website Cards here.
4. Tweet Campaigns
Twitter provides the opportunity for users to promote their tweets to a tailored audience in the form of a “Campaign.” Just as any advertisement, this one “hack” does cost money, but it will charge only as it also generates activity to your page.
Campaigns are useful for churches looking to extend awareness to a certain audience, demographic or even location through tweets or website cards. For example, if you wanted to broadcast your new church plant to potential attendees in that area, you could create promotional tweets and specifically target them to users in your area. Twitter also provides an analytics option that will track your Campaign’s progress as it runs.
Get started on a Twitter Campaign here.
5. 140 Characters of Runway
I’ve saved the easiest for last. The simplest function of Twitter is just being able to tweet, so start by doing exactly that! If nothing else, you will instantly increase awareness of your church by tweeting frequently to your pre-existing followers. Use those 140 characters, include pictures and have fun!
Whether it is event updates, church news, Bible verses or inspiring messages, any type of consistent activity on Twitter will benefit your followers.
Which Twitter tips or tools have you found to be the most effective for your church?
