Is social media right for your parish?
Key questions to get you started
Photo from Photos.comParishes today are pressured to enter into the realm of social media. Many parish leaders are being told by parishioners that they must use social media or they will be left behind the times.
The pressure may soon be coming from bishops as well. In the November 2010 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting, Bishop Rob Herzog, the Communication Committee Chair, went so far as to compare this new media to the printing press of the 15th century and warned his fellow bishops not to let the church make the same mistakes it did during the Protestant Reformation.
Faced with these outside pressures, pastors and parish leaders must ask themselves if social media is right for them. Before making the commitment to use social media to reach out to current and potential parishioners, consider the following questions:
What are my parish’s goals?
Make sure you have clearly defined goals. Decide what improvements you would like to see in the way people relate to and participate in your parish. Would you like to see an increase in the number of parishioners, participants in programs, participation in parish events, or the amount of donations? Define and clarify your primary goals. Make sure everyone understands them before you add social media as one of your outreach strategies.
Does the parish’s website align with these goals?
Despite all of the talk about social media, fix your website first. Social networks and social media channels are outposts or branches that extend from your website. They do not exist by themselves. A Facebook page, for example, does not replace the need for a good parish website.
Your goals should be obvious on the homepage of your website. At the very least, parishes seem to be using their websites to share their location, contact information, Mass times, and bulletin announcements. Is this enough? If your goal is to increase the number of registered parishioners, then there should be a link, a button, or some information clearly stating how to register for the parish.
If your parish website does not align with your goals, then your social media efforts will have no direction either. In general, organizations use social media channels to drive people to their websites. If your website needs to be updated, then consider redesigning it before using social media.
How can I use social media to reach these goals?
In preparation for writing this article, I did a quick survey of about 50 parish websites that I selected randomly. I found only seven out of the 50 parishes had Facebook pages, two had Twitter accounts, and only two had blogs. Most parish leaders are still unsure of the benefits of social media.
What makes social media so effective? It allows people to build relationships. People develop relationships online based on open sharing and content creation. This means that parish leaders will need to provide magnetic content that will keep people coming back for more. This could be as extensive as blog posts or podcast recordings that answer questions about the Catholic faith or simple updates about parish news and events. If you provide quality content, people will visit and respond. This will give you the opportunity to develop real and lasting relationships both online and offline.
Do I have the time and people to participate in social media?
Social media may be free, but it costs time. Developing relationships takes time. Writing blog posts, creating videos, and writing messages on social networks takes time. If you don’t have the time to manage your parish’s social media presence, then who will?
A representative of the parish must monitor, manage, and engage in conversation on social media websites. Someone will need to create content and engage with the people who react to this content. Is anyone willing to give up their time to contribute to social media efforts on the part of the parish? Seek willing and committed people on staff or as volunteers and communicate with them your goals and vision for parish evangelization on the web.
Will I be able to relinquish control of the conversation?
As marketing guru Seth Godin wrote, “The best blogs start conversations; they don’t control them.” This applies to all social media. Anyone can share their opinion with their respective friends and followers. This may mean criticism from outsiders or questions from insiders. These comments can be excellent opportunities for evangelization, but the public nature of the dialogue makes it a new challenge for many people who are used to one-way forms of media. If you are unwilling to respond to criticism or questioning, then social media may not be an effective tool for you to use.
Are you ready?
If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right. If social media isn’t right for your parish today, it doesn’t mean you can’t be ready sometime in the future. It may be time for some additional training for yourself and others who will be managing your parish’s presence on social media channels. To help parish leaders effectively use social media, I have created a page on my website at thereligionteacher.com/todaysparish with information about how to get started in social media and how to use it effectively. You should also visit the Today’s Parish blog (blog.todaysparish.com), which always has valuable insights for parishes seeking to properly use new media.
Social media tools
Blogging (Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad)
Microblogging (Twitter, Tumblr)
Podcasting (iTunes, Zune)
Video (YouTube, Vimeo)
Photography (Flickr, Picasa)
Presentation sharing (Scribd, SlideShare)
Wikis (Wikipedia, Wikispaces)
Social bookmarking (Digg, StumbleUpon)
Social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace)
Location-based social networks (Foursquare, Gowalla)
Jared Dees is the Adolescent Catechetical Specialist at Ave Maria Press. He regularly shares practical strategies and tips for catechists on his website, thereligionteacher.com.
