This document discusses how social media can be used to create online communities and foster face-to-face connections. It provides statistics on social media usage and examples of how commentary on blogs and articles have sparked discussions. The document advocates that synagogues should have a social media presence to share life events, news, and engage in conversations in order to build virtual relationships that can augment or start in-person ones. It outlines a three phase process for synagogues to exist, engage, and interact on social media and connect with other local and national groups.

1. CREATING FACE TO
FACEBOOK
COMMUNITY
Meredith
Lewis
April 2, 2014
METNY Spring Leadership Conference
#METNYLeadership

2. “Yet, in the era of Facebook, people crave face-
to-face community.” Ron Wolfson
Or do they?

3. Pervasiveness of Social Media
As of September 2013:
 71% of online adults use Facebook
 18% of online adults use Twitter
 17% use Instagram
 21% use Pinterest
 22% use LinkedIn
Pew Internet Research Study
http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/

4.  Facebook commenting has created
conversation between bloggers and readers
 Technology posts comments both to our site
and to a readers profile/friends’ feeds

5.  You’re A Good Mama
 http://www.kveller.com/blog/parenting/tell-a-friend-
you-are-a-good-mama/
 244 Comments
 Hashtag still in use
 Can A Christian Mother Raise a Jewish Child?
Yes, but it’s complicated
 http://www.kveller.com/blog/parenting/can-a-christian-
mother-raise-a-jewish-child-yes-but-its-complicated/
 Author interaction. Learned her full story

6.  Mi Sheberakh
 http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Liturgy_an
d_Prayers/Siddur_Prayer_Book/Torah_Service/Pr
ayer_for_the_Sick.shtml
 145 comments
 Individuals prayers for friends/families
 Looking for a connection

7.  Gluten-Free Challah
 http://www.myjewishlearning.com/blog/food/2013/
07/23/the-ultimate-gluten-free-challah-recipe
 37 comments
 Filled a need
 Food as a means of connection

8. Other places to check out
 Sharsheret
 http://www.sharsheret.org/
 Chat
 Reaches women for whom
confidentiality, communal pressures make in-
person support impossible
 OurJewishCommunity
 http://ourjewishcommunity.org/
 Online services and streaming that keep viewer in
mind
 Welcoming at the end of Rosh Hashanah services

9. Why Do You Use Social Media?
 Stay in touch with family and friends
 Photos, videos, life updates
 To learn
 News stories, articles, viral content
 Get advice
 Crowdsource
 Support
 Happy birthday, new baby, get well

10. Why should synagogues use social
media?
 Stay in touch with family and friends
 Share “life events” of synagogue
 To learn
 News stories, articles, viral content
 Get advice
 Crowdsource
 Support
 Happy birthday, new baby, get well

11. Virtual Jewish Communities
 Social in social media.
 Virtual relationships can be real.
 They can augment in-person
 They can be the start of relationship
 They may exist in of itself.

12. Phase 1: Exist
 Have a page with correct
name, address, website
 List events for sharing
 Include pretty pictures and cover picture
 Authentic but not ugly
 Think of this as introduction

13. Phase 2: Engage
 Have rabbis, clergy and other key individuals
have a presence
 Create a personality for the page
 Doesn’t have to be the audience
 Share articles and local news
 Think of this as taking someone out to coffee

14. Phase 3: Interact
 Invite others to post or share their posts
 Ask questions and show that the answers
make a difference
 Interacting with other pages
 Other local Jewish and non-Jewish orgs.
 National causes and issues
 Think of this as the start of a friendship

15.  Facebook decreasing its organic reach
 Future uncertain
 Applicable to other networks and uses
 Twitter chats in Hebrew school
 Skyping with Israel
 Lunch and Learn for people unable to be present

16. If you think of “social media” your mind automatically
goes to producing content for customers to
consume, or perhaps soliciting their input. But, once
firms recognize that consumers want to connect to
each other, they can develop social strategies that
do exactly that under the umbrella of their brand.
 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski, Harvard Business School professor and author of the book A Social
Strategy: How We Profit from Social Media
 http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2014/03/17/social-media-and-branding-a-one-on-
one-with-a-harvard-business-professor/

17. More Resources
 Connected Congregations from Darim Online
 http://www.slideshare.net/darimonline/connected-
communications
 http://connectedcongregations.org/resources/