Developing engaging social media content can be one of the most challenging elements going into any major event such as Easter, Christmas, or that looming new series.
At West Ridge, our social media strategy includes a balance of three types of posts:
Engage ? Promote ? Encourage?
Engage:?Building community and conversation
Example: Humor, Pictures, Asking Questions, Stories,?Prayer Requests, Replies, Retweets, Comments?
Promote:?Keeping followers in the loop on what?s happening?in the life of West Ridge
Example: Events, Next Steps, Teaching Series,?Serving Opportunities
Encourage:?Encourage and provide resources for our community
Example: sermons, scripture, resources, inspiring quotes, challenge for the day.?
A few months ago, our team at West Ridge came up with a few practical ideas for each one of our strategies that churches can use for Easter. Check out some of these social media ideas and see if they might be useful for you this year.
Engage
- Do a #TBT (throwback Thursday) post from a previous Easter service.
- Ask your followers how your staff can pray for them?(be prepared to respond).
- Share some tips for a first-time guests.
- Share a?video story from Easter last year (guest experience, baptism, salvation, etc.).
- Shoot a short video with your pastor inviting your community to your Easter service.
- Post a behind-the-scenes picture with hints to a new set change.
- Ask your audience a question like, ?What?s your favorite Easter tradition??
- Retweet a couple of mentions that your followers make about?your church’s Easter service.
- Shoot a couple of?photos or a short 15-second video of a?rehearsal.
- Respond to every comment/reply about?your Easter services.
- After each Easter service, ask your audience on social media to share their experience with their friends and invite them to another service.
Promote
- Develop a mobile phone?screen background and include something like your Easter Artwork + service times, lyrics to a new song, or scripture and share it on social media.
- Share what the kids will experience on Easter in your kids ministry.
- Behind-the-scenes:
- Share what your volunteers do to prep for Easter.
- Share what some of your administration staff (they never get any love) do to prepare for Easter (IT, facilities, or finance).
- Graphic progression:?Share the creative process from the initial idea to the final comp. It?d be great to show some sketches.
- Ask your designer to record a?screen capture and compress that footage to a 15 second share-able video.
- Develop an infographic about how many volunteers it will take to execute Easter, and use it to recruit volunteers.
Encourage
- Share a link (audio or video) to your Easter?sermon.
- Share two or three key verses from your?Easter service.
- Retweet/repost your pastor when they talk about your Easter service on social media.
- Share powerful quotes that point back to Jesus??death, burial, and?resurrection.
- Share your Easter artwork, and challenge your following to invite their friends/followers to join them.
- Develop a ?cover picture? with your Easter artwork, and ask your followers to use it as their cover photo.
- Share an Easter YouVersion reading plan as a resource.
- On Easter, prepare a few posts that will highlight a few of the day?s highlights.
- Share a photo album of the Easter experience day on Facebook and tag people.
