Promoting summer events and celebrations can be difficult when half your congregation is away on vacation or at other weekend events. Don’t rely on Sunday morning service announcements to do the trick. Leverage the power of user-generated content. User-generated content is word-of-mouth marketing on social media. This type of marketing relies on the testimonies, pictures, and posts of regular people who want to share your church messages and ministries.
One of the primary benefits of this type of content is that it’s free. It is also very effective because personal content is more likely to evoke an emotional connection, be remembered, and spark conversations. For example, when a member of your congregation shares a reel of their child jumping up and down in anticipation of VBS, it is more likely to garner comments and likes. With every engagement, interest in VBS and your church grows. The drawback of member content is the lack of control. Technically, you aren’t creating the reels, taking the pictures, or writing the posts. However, you can channel the information into the right hands.
Here are a few suggestions:
Find your followers. Take a close look at your social media platforms. Who likes, comments, and shares your posts? Which posts seem to particularly catch their interest? Reach out to those people. Send them a private message asking if they might help promote a summer event. For example, you notice that under every church fellowship post, Joe comments about how good the food will be. Message Joe privately and ask him to make a post on his social media accounts. Encourage him to tell his followers about all the good food at the Memorial Day picnic or how delicious the ice cream is at the church block party. Encourage him to include a picture if he has one. Give Joe a link he can copy into his post so that his followers can find more information about the upcoming social.
Recruit the influencers. Maybe a news anchorwoman attends your church or a beauty queen volunteers with one of your ministries. Do you see a mom who is always posting something on Instagram? Influencers come in all shapes and sizes. Some are local celebrities, and some are average people with an above-average following. Pinpoint them, and don’t be afraid to ask for their help. For example, you can ask the mother to help drum up enthusiasm for the upcoming children’s camp by making a video of all the things she did last year while her children were away. You can request that your neighbor, who happens to be a radio personality, plug your church karaoke competition on his Facebook page.
Do your due diligence. Whether someone creates content at your request or on their own, if a post highlights or mentions your church, activity, or ministry, you should be present in the conversation. Start with a like, and then do more. Comment to give more information or to garner conversation: “You are right, Joe. Mrs. Sander’s banana pudding is to die for, but I also love Aunt Tee’s peach cobbler.” If the post fails to include important information, add that to your comment: “This year’s youth camp is July 14-18. Don’t forget to register at (church website)!” Don’t be afraid to prompt or ask questions: “Did you take that picture at Wednesday’s youth service? I think I see the famous donut table in the background!”
Provide opportunities and encouragement. When you have an in-person audience at a service or event, ask them to take out their phones and make a post. You might say, “Before we begin boxing up these food baskets, can everyone take a selfie and post it to your social media accounts? Tell your friends and family about all the great work we are doing here today!”
Share user-generated content with your audience. Whenever possible, share any content that promotes your church. If a post is liked, commented upon, and shared, the social media algorithms favor it, and more people will see that post on their feeds. User-generated content is as varied as the users. So, don’t be shy. Make a few requests. Get creative, and have fun. Let your followers and fans do the work for you and unleash the power of social media marketing.
Let your congregation do the work for you. Leverage user-generated content to market your summer events.
Tricia K. Brown is a Christian author and inspirational speaker. She shares stories of life, loss and laughter to encourage women to grow in their relationships with the Lord and each other. Her recent fiction release, “Seen, Heard, Beloved,” can be purchased on Amazon. For more information about her ministry and books, visit The Girls Get Together.