I hesitated for a while before I published this post, after all I’ve always been told to avoid starting any discussions on politics or religion (Although I think my Father was talking about the Pub). In the end and despite this blog being intended for small business, I just had to go ahead and put it out there.
Think about it, the Church (no matter the denomination) has provided a vehicle for human beings to engage with each other since our earliest days. That’s what social media is about isn’t it? A collection of tools to help human beings communicate and engage with each other?
I should state the fact that I have no affiliation to any particular religion, however as a marketer you need to adapt to your client and develop a strategy no matter what their objectives. So with that in mind here are my ideas should the Church (and other denominations) wish to utilise social media and help to improve its engagement with its followers.
Given the size of the social media platform, Facebook is the more obvious tool for the Church to engage with its followers. Setting up a Facebook page for the local Church allows its members to ‘Like’ the page and be kept up to date with social events, readings and provide the ability for members to chat with each other and more.
Facebook advertising also presents a great opportunity. The local Church can advertise for new members, targeting people within the local area and in particular targeting friends of people whom already ‘Like’ the page.
People are looking for inspiration every day, whether it be through their loved ones, their work colleagues or even their favourite sports stars. For those affiliated with their Church, I am sure they would love to receive the same inspiration. Perhaps, the Pastor or Priest at the local Church Tweets his Verse of the day to followers on Twitter and inspiration is drawn from this. If you think it’s far-fetched then please check out @revrunwisdom - He has more than 2.1 million people following his Tweets and is one of the most Retweeted individuals on the planet.
You may even provide a service where Twitter followers can Direct Message the local Pastor or Priest which, thanks to the online environment and the increase in smartphones can be done from anywhere and anytime.
Foursquare
This is the one that may seem a bit out there but by the same token, the one that really excited me about writing this post. Of course Foursquare is all about Checking-In to a venue. The beauty about ‘Checking-In’ is you have the ability to share your check-in with your friends, not only your Foursquare friends but also those on Facebook and your followers on Twitter.
In my very basic experience, religious people take pride in going to Church and almost feel a guilt for not going. I think this would be the perfect opportunity for people to tell all their friends that they went. Imagine, Joe Smith checks-in to Church and shares it with his friends, particularly those that didn’t make it, and this encourages them to attend the following week. It is engaging and maybe, just maybe it will encourage stronger attendance. It also gives valuable exposure to the network of friends, particularly to those who are not already members of the Church.
Another aspect of Foursquare that I love for this situation is managing specials. So the local Church claims its venue and starts introducing ‘Check-In to receive God’s Message of the Day’ or alternatively reward people for milestone check-ins such as ‘You’ve just checked-in for the 50th time - Receive (Insert your own idea here)’.
I love social media for the business opportunities it opens up, particularly for small business. However, in this case I believe it provides a really strong opportunity for the Church (or any other denomination) to better engage its members and efficiently look for new members.
I would love to know what everyone thinks so please feel free to let me know what you think.