Your Parish Social Media Questions Answered

Over the years we have helped thousands of Catholic churches across the country by providing art and content perfect for use in social media posting. This week, we’ve gathered and answered some of the frequently asked questions that our Catholic social media experts encounter. Read on for some parish social media advice and strategies!

• Should our parish be on social media platforms?
  Yes! Forbes recently reported that 84% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 use at least one social media site while the average amount of social media accounts someone living in the United States has is seven! They also found that Facebook is the most visited social media site in the U.S. and that, out of all adults in the country, over 74% regularly communicate via social media! You can read even more amazing recent social media statistics in their report here.
  

• How can we ensure that our social media presence aligns with the teachings and values of the Catholic Church? 
  Allowing only a dedicated social media staff member or a trusted volunteer access to your parish’s social media profiles will help keep your messages aligned. Don’t forget to have regular meetings with parish staff and ministry leaders to create a calendar of content which best represents your parish. If you need help with this, consider this article on how to create a parish content calendar.
  
  
• How often should we post on social media? Should we post every day?
  When creating your monthly social media calendar, consider the quality of your social media posts instead of your quantity. It’s also important to take your communication goals into consideration. Your parish can have a very healthy social media presence without having to post something every day so, simply post as frequently as you desire in order to accomplish your goals. If, however, your entire social media account is made up of posts that don’t seem like they are aiding you with any of your communication goals, it might be time to dial those in and become more intentional about what you’re sharing.
  
  
• What type of content should we share on social media to effectively communicate with our parishioners and the wider community?
  If one of your social media goals is to share information about upcoming events and how to participate or register, then simply post whenever an event is coming up and don’t forget to use a flyer for the event in your post!  
  
  If your primary desire is to livestream Mass, you might decide to create weekly posts a couple days before the livestreamed Mass to remind people when to tune in!
  
  If your aim is to educate people about the faith, you might consider posting daily about the liturgical season, traditions, saints, and more! We have a tool inside WeCreate, our library of Catholic art and content, that provides daily liturgical content for churches to use in their social media profiles. This parish social media content calendar comes with professionally designed, curated images and captions that you can simply copy and paste into your own parish social media feeds to give your weekly content a boost or to help when you don’t know what to post!
  
  Don’t forget to share parishioner posts that might be important to the community. Did a parish member recently post about getting married in your parish? Repost their post or pictures! Did a parishioner tag your parish in a story? Consider reposting it to your own stories on Facebook or Instagram!

• What strategies can we use to grow our social media following and increase engagement?
  Something very important to remember is that engaging with people on social media isn’t only about posting things to your profiles. Use your social media profiles to answer questions, like and comment on parishioners’ posts, and generally engage with your parishioner “followers” and “friends.” The best way to build community online is to engage with each other, after all.
  
  Aside from building frequent engagement into your strategy, don’t forget to regularly remind your parishioners at Mass and at other in-person events about how to find your community on social media. Sweeten the deal by telling them what kind of content they can expect if they follow you. Make sure there is a QR code in your bulletin with links to your socials for easy access or, at least, have your social media handles printed with the rest of your contact information in your bulletin and on event flyers, registrations, and other communications.

• Who should be in charge of posting?
  Be sure that someone on the parish staff or a trusted volunteer has the distinct roll of social media coordinator and is available to check your parish’s social media at least once a day to interact with parishioners. The social media coordinator should have guidelines and best practices for how to represent your parish online, agreed upon by parish leadership, in place ahead of time. This coordinator should also have regular oversight so that the parish is being consistently represented appropriately. Holding a monthly social media calendar planning meeting can be a great way to make sure that social media engagement remains in line with your parish’s goals!

Creating new and engaging Catholic social media content every month that churches can use to accomplish their communications goals is something we pride ourselves in! Learn more about how to access this content in WeCreate, our library of Catholic art and content, here!