It’s Wednesday . . . but Sunday’s Coming!

This week we’re going to focus on easy to execute last minute promotion activities that you can do this to help people learn about your Easter services next weekend.  Join in the conversation!  We’d love to hear your ideas!

All year you’ve been grooming your facebook page . . . right?  You’ve been making sure the status updates are engaging and the first time tab is fun to come to and you’ve even been posting photos up so your people will come by and see what’s going on.

It’s time to use to leverage those relationships and try to encourage some last minute inviting to your easter services this weekend.  “Normal people” still haven’t made their decision if they are going to attend church this weekend . . . so it’s not too late to get the word out.

So here are some ways to use your facebook presence to help encourage people to attend this weekend:

• Post to “Friends” who are “Connected” – Go to your church’s facebook page . . . on the right you will see a list of “Friends who are connected with” your church.  Click on that link.  Take time to post on every one of those people’s walls asking them to invite some friends.  Some tips for doing this:
  • Relate before you delegate – Before you ask people to invite their friends . . . make sure to comment on something happening in their world.  Ask a question . . . be social!
  • Make a direct ask – Ask them to do something specifically . . . share a link to a video with friends . . . or comment on a post on our wall . . . or email out a PDF to friends.
• Put “social” back in “social media” – Facebook has a chat feature.  I’m sure you’ve found that. 😉  What if you opened up the chat feature and started asking people if they’ve invited anyone this weekend and if you could pray for that person?  Then take 2 minutes with that person and pray right there on facebook?
• Run a Facebook ad communicating with your people – You can target ads at just the people who are connected with your church on facebook.  It’s really easy to do and is up and running almost instantly.  [Click here to learn more about facebook ads.]  Rather than run ads that generally target facebook . . . aim them at your people with a message that encourages them to invite this weekend.

A Word of Caution: Don’t get spammy with your actions on facebook.  Social media strategy is about developing relationships over the long haul.  As in “real world” relationships . . . trust is lost quickly and take a long time to rebuilt.  Make sure that you are being kind and “social” in your interactions . . . not just trying to “shill for the church.”  There is a balance between developing relationships online and using this channel to sell.  Lean towards developing relationships.

How are you using facebook this Easter?  [Join the conversation and let us know how your church is leveraging social channels to connect with people!]