Last week we kicked off our Social Media Round Table with part 1 focusing on personal consumption of social media (reading blogs, tweets, listening to podcasts, watching video). With so much social media available, it can be overwhelming to keep up with it all. So, last week our round table gave us their insights into how to manage social networking and keep it in its proper priority and perspective.
Today in part 2 our round table looks at social media for organizations. There are lots of opportunities for organizations to connect with people using social networking tools like blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and so on. Many organizations struggle to decide which tools to use and how to use them effectively. Our panel provides some insight to help your organization navigate those options.
Everyone’s buzzing about Twitter these days. Twitter is the hottest new thing for churches, and writing about churches using Twitter is the hot new thing for bloggers, tech publications, and even big-time media like Time Magazine. I blogged about it a few weeks ago, myself (see Church Promotes Twittering During Service).  But now that I’ve read about so many articles on the subject they are all starting to sound the same.
I almost didn’t bother to read the article published on MSNBC yesterday, but I’m glad I did because it’s got some of the funniest quotes I’ve read so far….
If you’re trying to figure out how to better use Facebook within your company, church, or non-profit, this webinar sounds like it may be worth an hour of your time.
How to Use Facebook for Business
Wednesday, June 3, 2009 2 PM EDT
While it won’t address specific applications for churches, schools, and non-profits, I’ve found there is usually a lot of principles that translate regardless of the type of organization you lead. I’ll be attending and will blog my thoughts on it shortly afterwards. Would love to read your thoughts on it as well. So, if you participate in the webinar, be sure to stop by and comment afterward.
Here’s the official description and registration info:
Kurt posted a provocative blog article on Church Marketing Online entitled Is Your Church Putting Money Before God? In it he makes the claim that the reason most churches don’t optimize their websites for search engines is because they care more about money than about reaching people in their communities. He makes the case that search engine optimization (SEO) is a wise investment of resources by showing it would be a money maker for churches to the tune of hundreds of extra dollars each month if even one tithing family becomes a part of the church as a result, but despite that fact most churches don’t do it because outreach just isn’t important to them.
I completely agree that SEO is a worthwhile investment for churches as I personally know of many members of my own church who first found the site through search engines.
But as to why churches don’t optimize their websites – that’s a tough call. Is it primarily…
a) They don’t understand SEO is necessary
b) They don’t think SEO will work to bring in new people
c) They just don’t care enough about people outside the church
d) Something else
This is going to sound like a cop-out, but I’ve seen all 3. What do you think? What’s the biggest reason most churches don’t optimize their website for search engines?
Pastors are obviously influential people. Their job (among other things) is to influence people towards a closer relationship with God and others in Christian community. That said, pastors also have the ability to influence to what degree a church adopts social networking and how church members relate to each other on social networks. Two recent blog articles touch on that.
One the one hand, (as John Saddington wrote on Monday) by getting into social networking a pastor could initiate a wave of new online connected in his church. On the other hand, (as I wrote in a guest blog post) a pastor’s entrance into a social network could stifle authenticity if some people have a tendency to put up a false front around the pastor.
What do you think the pastor effect is in social media?
If your pastor has gotten into social networking (or you are a pastor who is using social networks) what has your first hand experience been of the “pastor effect?â€
It’s a good article that reinforces what we’ve been talking about here - that social networking sites (and in particular Facebook) are a great opportunity for Christians and Christian organizations.
And that’s been born out in my own personal experience… (more…)
I was just looking at a church-related site when I noticed these two ads at top.
I’m glad to see more churches using Google AdWords to reach out to people in their communities, but does anyone see what’s wrong with these ads?
I live near Tampa, FL. The ad on the left is for a church in West Palm Beach which is a 4+ hour drive. The ad on the right is for a church in Twin Falls, Idaho. Yes, IDAHO! (That’s a 37 hour drive by the way.)
People, Google AdWords has a geo-targeting option. That means you can set up your ad to only be displayed to people in within a reasonable driving distance to your church. Please stop throwing money down the toilet and use this option.
During Search Marketing Month, we wanted to give the members of OurChurch.Com an idea of what search marketing can do for their website, ministry, school, or business. So, we decided to do a series of case studies of actual search marketing clients. We believe that search marketing can dramatically effect the influence a ministry or business has on the web and, in some cases, can be the difference between success and failure of a website. We do search marketing for OurChurch.Com and we believe search marketing can greatly benefit all of our members. So, we wanted to show you how.
This week we’ll start with churches. See how church marketing has effected one church in Safety Harbor, FL… (more…)
Just came across this news story describing how Next Level Church in Charlotte, NC encouraged people to Twitter during the Easter service. Everyone they interviewed seemed to think it was a great idea. That it did not distract their attention from worship or the message. And that it was a way to use the tools available to us today to connect with others share with them what was going on during the service.
I’m an advocate of using social networking to connect with people and generally speaking I think it’s good for Christians to give their non-Christian friends a glimpse into what day-to-day life is like as a Christian.
I’ve also posted before about how my church has encouraged people to text questions about the message to a moderator who then passed them on to the pastor for a Q & A session at the end of the service. At the time I thought that was useful. But now I’m not so sure…
Most churches and ministries have some kind of a staff directory that includes contact info for their paid staff. Usually it includes their phone number and email address. But with the rise of social media, it’s time to consider helping people connect with your staff by including their social networking info.
Mt Bethel UMC in Marietta, GA was featured yesterday on TwiTip and Church Crunch as an example of how to do this.
Last week we kicked off our Social Media Round Table with part 1 focusing on personal consumption of social media (reading blogs, tweets, listening to podcasts, watching video). With so much social media available, it can be overwhelming to keep up with it all. So, last week our round table gave us their insights into how to manage social networking and keep it in its proper priority and perspective.
If you’re trying to figure out how to better use Facebook within your company, church, or non-profit, this webinar sounds like it may be worth an hour of your time.
Kurt posted a provocative blog article on Church Marketing Online entitled 
Pastors are obviously influential people. Their job (among other things) is to influence people towards a closer relationship with God and others in Christian community. That said, pastors also have the ability to influence to what degree a church adopts social networking and how church members relate to each other on social networks. Two recent blog articles touch on that.
Most churches and ministries have some kind of a staff directory that includes contact info for their paid staff. Usually it includes their phone number and email address. But with the rise of social media, it’s time to consider helping people connect with your staff by including their social networking info.