Digital Media and Ministry (Toronto Southeast Presbytery - The United Church of Canada, Feb. 13, 2016)
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A presentation on digital communications and ministry for The United Church of Canada's Toronto Southeast Presbytery, by Aaron Gallegos.
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Digital Media and Ministry (Toronto Southeast Presbytery - The United Church of Canada, Feb. 13, 2016)
- 1. Digital Media and Ministry • A Brief History of Church Communications • Social is the New Normal • Digital Media Tools • Best Practices • Toward a Social Media Strategy
- 5. “What has Silicon Valley to do with Jerusalem?” -David Lochhead
- 6. Social is the New Normal
- 7. Digital media is a culture in which to grow community.
- 8. It’s Organic
- 21. Hootsuite.com
- 23. MailChimp.com
- 24. Listening
- 25. Presence
- 29. Making a Plan
- 30. Goals
- 32. Capacity
- 34. What Is Our Story? Flickr: Rainforest Action Network
- 35. Who Is Our Audience?
- 36. Tools
- 37. Policies
- 38. Promotion Flickr: Basil & Tracy
- 42. Aaron Gallegos •Email: gallegos.aaron@gmail.com •Twitter: @AaronMcGallegos •Facebook: Aaron Gallegos
Editor's Notes
- Digital Communications has brought the church to a crossroad, as the timeless message of the gospel encounters the deep changes sparked by new technologies. This dramatic change is being felt across society, making institutions and traditions that once assumed respect to seem no longer relevant. Yet, people continue to search for spiritual meaning and substance in their lives, even though a connection with the church and the gospel can no longer be taken for granted. For many of these people, digital communications and social media is their only source of news about the wider world. If the church doesn’t participate in the discussions happening via Digital Communications, those conversations will take place without us, and an opportunity to connect with those seeking a spiritual perspective will be lost. So the time has come for change. And I would say it’s a welcome change and in many ways this challenge is an opportunity to let go of “Christendom” and reconnect to the relational roots of our faith. [Photo: Aaron Gallegos]
- Traditionally church communications has been found in two modes: one to one, and the one to the many. Historically, we’ve been great at telling our story, but perhaps less good at listening to the stories of others. As they say, “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold”, and in many ways the church - like other institutions and even wider society - is learning how to adjust to this massive change that we’ve seen in the past two decades or so. ART: “The Exhortation to the Apostles,” by James Tissot, 1886-1894. Public Domain. Brooklyn Museum.
- Instead of one way - broadcast - communications, digital media now offers communication that is one to one, one to the many, the many to the one, and the many to the many. In this style of social sharing a person no longer needs institutional backing to get their message out to millions of people which is great. But it also means communications from institutions are just another message in the mix. Even institutions like church can’t take their audience for granted. In the digital world, content producers have to earn your trust to have influence. And the only way to earn trust online is by building relationship. To share our life in the church with others online we need to first earn their trust as participants through relationship - just as we have to do in flesh-and-blood communities. For those in spiritual leadership, this means that rather than being seen as a “sage on the stage”, it’s important to be known as a “guide on the side.”
- The United Church has long been a leader among churches in digital communications. David Lochhead, who wrote the book, “Theology in a Digital World” in 1988, was a United Church leader in foreseeing the impact digital technologies would have on theology and the church early on. “What has Silicon Valley to do with Jerusalem?” “Whether Christians liked it or not, the dominant philosophies of ancient Greece shaped Christian belief over the ages. And not only Greek philosophy. In turn, Christian faith and practice was shaped by Greek Philosophy, Roman Law, the Feudal system of the Middle Ages, the print culture that emerged at the beginning of the modern era. Christ, culture, and the technologies of every age are never completely separable. “Today our world is being shaped by electronic technologies, particularly by the digital technology of the computer. The cultural and religious impact of the electronic technologies cannot be safely ignored.” David Lochhead Tribute page http://www.religion-research.org/irtc/newirtc1.htm
- Social is the new normal. And the ability to communicate through digital media will increasingly be the difference in whether the message of our church is heard or not. It’s not really an option any more.
- I participated in a recent United in Learning webinar with Verity Jones, founder of the New Media Project. She quotes from Elizabeth Drescher’s book, “Tweet If You [Heart] Jesus: Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation”, that “In the context of social media, the Internet is not merely a thing we use to get a message out to more people, but rather a place we enter to engage others. (It's not a tool, it's a community.) It is possible to see digital media in ways that connect more clearly to practice as Christians. “Rather than seeing digital media as technology that enables communication,” one can apply a biological metaphor to it, “seeing media or a medium in the way biologists do, as a culture in which to grow meaning.” The medium of digital media can be a site for growth and cross pollination, a place to grow community in the church Elizabeth Drescher, “Tweet If You [Heart] Jesus: Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation” http://www.amazon.com/Tweet-You-Heart-Jesus-Reformation/dp/0819224235 The New Media Project http://www.cpx.cts.edu/newmedia
- In other words, “don’t panic, it’s organic.” Digital media is “organic” in the sense that it takes on a life of its own. It can go “viral” which is an indication of life. For most of us, digital communications isn’t really about technology. It more closely mirrors the way actual humans communicate than traditional broadcast media has done. It’s personal and authentic, and spreads the word and builds community in an organic way, just as we do in our “real lives.”
- ...and this kind of personal sharing and storytelling is what Christians have always done. Being in relationship, offering presence, and creating community are what the church does at it’s best. ART: “The Exhortation to the Apostles,” by James Tissot, 1886-1894. Public Domain. Brooklyn Museum.
- So, the world has changed. Social is the new normal. And the church can rejoice. ...now, how can we best take advantage of this tremendous opportunity?
- Here are some of the most recognizable social media icons. I’m sure many of you are familiar with most of them. These are our new communication tools to help us connect with both those inside and outside of the church. So what are some of the social media tools available to churches for our ministries? Not surprisingly, they are the same tools people are using every day, including many of you here. I want to offer a quick overview of what I think are the most important social media tools …. And we will include some talk about best practices and strategy here. What are the differences between these digital communications platforms? And which are the best fit for you?
- What social media platforms are the most popular?
- Know your channels. Build them strategically. Social may move at lightening speed, but you don't have to. Quality wins over quantity because in the end, you're interrupting your customers' conversations, so make sure you have something important to say every single time, and you're not speaking in tongues to an empty room.
- Why use Facebook? Numbers: Facebook has more than 1.5 billion users worldwide. And it’s by far the platform of choice for the majority of our United Church constituency People are there, they are familiar with it, and it has the tools needed to reach our audience FB Profiles vs. Pages vs. Groups Difference between FB Profiles, Pages, and Groups What's best for your church? PAGES - followers interact primarily with you, not each other - anyone can "Like" (join) - engagement metrics ("Page Insights") - custom URLs (can set at #) - cover images - allows tab applications and calls to action - can boost posts*
- Facebook GROUPS - non-hierarchical discussion environment amongst followers - Groups can be public, closed, secret - followers have option of receiving notifications of posts - admin can mass message members - you can share documents with other group members - collaborative Groups are more like a private club or network. Pages are meant to promote a certain organization, service, or brand, etc.
- Facebook Insights: One of the most powerful tools a Facebook Page offers is analytics, or what they call Insights. These analytics will help you identify who your audience is and what is connecting with them in a detailed way. Facebook Insights also give you some basic demographic information about those who have followed your page. Perhaps surprising information about who follows the United Church Facebook page! 61% of the followers are over 45. 42% are over 55. 61% are women. Largest number of followers are Women over 55-64, who make up 16%. (In other words, those who are most likely to attend our churches.)
- Twitter It’s own beast Requires constant presence Works best in a conversational tone
- Word Cloud based on the interests of United Church’s Twitter followers.
- Instagram: More images and less words. App based.
- YouTube A younger friend described YouTube to me as everybody’s favourite website, and I think she’s right. I certainly know it’s popular with my 10-year old and his friends. It’s truly becoming more of a channel - something closer to what we would recognize from TV, expect that everybody can broadcast on it. You’ve probably heard, video has one of the biggest uptakes on social media, so it’s makes sense for churches to use it to give others a feeling of their faith community. There are other unique services, such as SnapChat and Periscope and other livestreaming services and apps… One of the best uses of video is to give people a personal taste of you, your faith life, and community. This is so much more engaging with folks who may be new to you than a livestream is. You may have seen #NotAlone, which the United Church’s “Lenten challenge” inviting people to share a moment when they realized they were #NotAlone. #NotAlone Video - Laura Fouhse in Saskatoon https://youtu.be/IC4NVF8aF0Y
- Social media managers like Hootsuite or TweetDeck allow organizations the ability to scale their social activity and make it possible to monitor and post on a number of different platforms in a more efficient way.
- Blogs: long form, can be a hub for your online presence with the right skill set.
- Don’t forget email! It’s still the best way to reach some of your constituency. Mass mail service providers make it more efficient to maintain lists and monitor response rates for your organization’s e-newsletters.
- Best Practices: Listening Perhaps the biggest opportunity Social Media offers the church is the chance to LISTEN. A primary obstacle to church involvement as reported by the 30-45 year olds that the United Church’s Emerging Spirit program studied is that they perceive the church to be exclusively a "telling" culture. They don't believe there is a church that would be interested in listening to what they have to say and in hearing the story of their own spiritual experience, inside and outside of the church. In order to have nurture authentic relationships with people, both on and off-line, we have to have strong listening skills. Thankfully, social media offers a of lots different ways we can do that.
- Best Practices: Presence Social Media is about people connecting with each other… Presence, accompaniment, the kind of ministry the church has been doing for thousands of years.
- Best Practices: Authenticity Social Media offers the church the opportunity to build authentic, lasting relationships with people in our communities or around the world. It offers an opportunity to model transparency and trust that perhaps we don’t have all the answers, but we are willing to engage the questions. Because it’s a peer-to-peer medium, Social Media offers the means to re-position traditional church leadership from being a “sage on the stage” to a “guide on the side.” It encourages us to let go of control, and in some sense authority – which is an appropriate posture in this post-Christiandom era. Photo: Eva Blue, Flickr (CC BY 2.0)]
- Best Practices: Community Social Media offers us the tools, audience, and opportunity to build community… it may not be the same community we experience face-to-face, but it’s community nevertheless.
- Best Practices: Images! Today social media is all about images! [Photo: Christopher Michel, Flickr (CC BY 2.0)]
- Social Media Strategy: Make a Plan
- Social Media Strategy: Goals
- Social Media Strategy: Ramp people up the engagement ladder People use Social Media in many different ways. This tool can help you identify your audience so you can strategize your approach and pick which social media tools are best to connect with them. (*This is included in the handouts, so people don’t have to write it all down.) Social Media tools can be used in combination or alone. You don’t have to use all tools, but focus on those which will best reach your audience. All are “Creators”? No, but everyone from the “Critics” to the “Spectators” are essential to make Social Media work.
- Social Media Strategy: Capacity The first thing to consider is if our church has the capacity. This is not just an assessment of technical skills, but also of budget and decision-making structure. What gifts do you have available in your congregation?
- Social Media Strategy: Know your own Identity To many, your church website is the face of your church. As you might realize by now, planning a church website -- like a lot of congregational work -- requires that you really wrestle with the question of your congregation’s identity. - Who are you? - What are your gifts? - What is your style? - What is God’s calling for your congregation? - What do you seek to be in the community in which you are located? (prioritize) There is nobody to go ask in order to get these answers about your congregation. It will take a group process to do it right. Difficult, but extremely valuable if you are to become the congregation God has called you to be. These questions are central to communicating who you are and what you have to offer. It is essential that the people running your website are “plugged in” to the core of what is happening in your church and what your communication priorities are. (i.e. Perhaps a volunteer isn’t enough?) It requires that your church’s web strategy operate in the core of your organization--not as an appendage. Church websites are not simply a one-off marketing brochure. They are the face of the congregation to many people and as such, are a place where your ministry happens.
- Social Media Strategy: What Is your Story We all have a story to share. What is ours?
- Social Media Strategy: Who Is Our Audience? You’ve also got to consider your audience - - are you trying to reach people outside the church, but your website is written for “insiders”? - are you presenting your church’s story using all the latest technological gizmos, but your primary audience basically really only uses email? - What “language” are you using on your church website? Is it geared for “insiders” or “outsiders”? - People scan on the web - so make content easy to read by breaking into short paragraphs, keeping line length short, high ratio of visuals. - What is the goal of your website? - What do people come to your website looking for? [What do the Search results say?]
- Social Media Strategy: Use the right tool Social Media offers you a variety of different tools and resources. You don’t have to use all of them (in fact, I don’t think that’s even possible any more.) But you can use more than one and link them to each other. Who you are trying to reach and what your goals are will help determine which Social Media tools you use.
- Social Media Strategy: Policies are key to scaling and maintaining an institutional social media presence
- Social Media Strategy: Promotion Don’t forget to promote your social media platforms.
- Social Media Strategy: Remember, Social Media is free, but it’s free like a free puppy….
- Social Media Strategy: Remember why you’re doing this
- www.united-church.ca