Social media is a crazy world. Each day as I jump on Facebook, I have to prepare myself to weave through the political rants, embarrassing-too-much-information posts and cat videos to find my way to the Small Group Network page or SGN group (#shamelessplug). Social media can be a toxic place but there is so much good in this valuable tool, as well. Today, I want to run through the 4 advantages I see in using social media as a small group point person!
MARKETING
It seems to me that many churches and teams market their product well. As Point People, this is the part of social media that is the easiest. We’ve seen billboards and commercials for years, so we can copy and paste whatever bit of advertising we have to SM for the consumers. One tip is to know your audience better. Social media allows point people the advantage of learning what group of people are using each SM site and the ability to cater communication accordingly. Advertising isn’t one size fits all.
BUILD YOUR TEAM
Heading into any new season, I want to make sure our community learns about the various opportunities to connect with our church. One lesson I learned a while back was to make note of who was highly supportive during these campaigns. Whether through Facebook, Instagram or you favorite other SM tool, your “likes” and “shares” are giant, flashing arrows pointing to who supports your church, the current campaign, and even who has bought into your leadership. Utilize these people to get the word out, join your team, and strengthen your movement!
MAXIMIZE THE IMPACT OF YOUR CONTENT
Let’s take a moment and recognize the work that goes into developing a sermon, curriculum and campaign launch… It seems wasteful to let all of that work to be released in one day or at one event and to never been seen or heard from again. Social Media allows teams to re-release snippets of past sermons, points from teaching sessions, and to recast vision from training events weeks and months after they originally aired. Re-sharing this material enables point people and teams to truly maximize the impact of prayerfully developed content!
LEARN WHAT YOUR PEOPLE NEED
In my opinion, the greatest benefit from Social Media is getting to hear what my community needs. If I have learned anything about Social Media, it’s that people are dying to tell you what they believe, think, and recently ate. Although knowing what restaurants I need to visit next is vital, nothing is more valuable for a Point Person than knowing the condition of your flock. People are hurting, broken, and seeking for answers to the many questions this world is presenting. It is our responsibility to help them find Biblical answers. I’ve seen many pastors and church point people ask questions to their followers around sermon topics, but we can do more. Not only can SM help drive Sunday’s content but it can help teams better equip their leaders with new tools or resources. We can become more proactive, in reactive world.
I encourage you to look for Social Media to be a lot more than a place to update the world on your recent trip. I mentioned four advantages today, but there are many more to discover for yourself.
