Social media & the church

Social media’s rapid growth offers great opportunities — and challenges — for churches. Abby Hillmer, creative director at Blu Wave Social, joins Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee to discuss how your church can improve its social media presence and engagement.

0:53 Abby talks about what she does at Blu Wave Social.

1:57 Abby shares how a church’s social media presence led her to decide to follow Jesus.

2:36 Lee asks Abby about the three biggest mistakes she sees churches in using social media.

2:50 The first mistake she sees is churches not using social media.

3:25 Abby discusses social graphics.

5:06 Churches miss out when they don’t respond to comments and messages.

6:49 Abby says churches need a different strategy for each social platform.

8:29 Danny talks about the value of authenticity on social media.

9:06 Lee asks Abby how churches can create greater engagement on Instagram and Facebook.

9:36 She says churches shouldn’t post more than one announcement a week.

10:48 Abby talks about the best times and days to post on social media.

11:39 She discusses the benefits of resharing posts on Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories.

12:12 Abby recommends using videos and photos of people in your church to bring a human element to your social presence.

12:45 Lee asks Abby: How many times a day and week should churches post on social media? When does it get to be too much? When is it not enough to create engagement?

14:15 Danny asks Abby if it’s OK for planters and pastors to hand off social media responsibilities to a volunteer.

16:29 Abby talks about how to plan out and schedule your social media content.