Getting new visitors to come to church on Easter is supposed to be easy, but the hard reality is that it’s not. Yes, every church will see an attendance spike on Easter, but if you’re seeing the same Easter folks year after year, it’s time to try something new – to reach your community in a different way.
Social media is the most powerful tool available to churches to do just that. They don’t have to be looking for a church to see something from you. It could be as simple as a share from a friend, a video you posted, or an ad you run.
Today we’ll walk through 3 quick and easy social media tips for reaching that part of your community that have never showed up to your church before.
1. Giving People Something Sharable
Every church’s most valuable asset is its people. Your people can reach their friends in a way that you as a church pastor or staff member will never be able to. Why? Because they have built trust. They have relationships.
The best way to leverage that trust is to give them something to tell their friends about. And why not have them tell their friends about your church’s Easter services?
But you can’t just ask them to tell their friends – that won’t happen. You have to give them the vehicle to share details about the Easter services with their friends. And there’s no better way to do that than to give them something to share.
The more unique the sharable, the better as well. Some churches put down floor decals, and have people take photos and post them on social media as part of a broader campaign, as in this example:
2. Use Invite Videos
People love video, and so do social media algorithms. Video will cut through the noise in a way that simple images won’t. It allows your pastor to use a personal touch – to build a relationship over social media in ways a photo can’t.
There are all kinds of ways you can creatively use video, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Something as simple as a 30 – 60 second video shot with your iPhone can be posted on your social channels and then shared by your current attenders.
You can always ask people for likes, comments and shares, but that never works as well as a video that truly engages people and makes them want to share your content. If you have an entertaining video that you can share, that will be even better for reaching people that wouldn’t pay attention or share it otherwise.
3. Running Facebook Ads
At Social Church®, we talk a lot about Facebook ads, but for good reason – when done properly, they are extremely effective. Any of the previous two tips can only be improved by creating a Facebook ad as part of the campaign.
Facebook ads allow you to reach outside your normal “echo chamber” of people that would get your social media posts. If you want to get serious about reaching your community with the Gospel around Easter, Facebook ads are the way to go. They allow you to target your community and talk to them, even when they aren’t looking for you or maybe have never even heard from you before.
If you’re ready to try Facebook ads for your church this Easter, I recommend you check out the Easter Facebook Ad Kit from Social Church®. We’ve packaged together everything you need from done-for-you ad copy, 24 editable graphics with a place for your church’s logo, and a step-by-step guide to reaching the most people with your ads.
We’ve seen Facebook ads work over and over again for lots of churches. Is this Easter the time to really invest in doing them right?