Many churches don’t have their compelling vision defined and written out. Sure, it may sit on a letterhead somewhere. It might even be emblazoned on a plaque in the foyer. But the vision, in many churches, lacks a “lived-in” feel.
Now, some churches are automatically seen as being effective at social, but the reality is they are successful at having a compelling vision. That compelling vision enables them to communicate from a shared point of view with a shared purpose, which leads to effective social communication and engagement. It works!
How do we know if we’re being successful?
While there are churches who have worked this out, there are very few churches asking the question, “How do we know if our social media efforts are effective? Are they are doing what we want them to do?”
This is part of identifying a compelling vision. When you ask questions about effectiveness, you have to have measurement tools in place or you will never have a definite answer.
You can only measure something if you have a goal.
So when you talk about social media return on investment, you have to be able to point to social media activity and say, “This is helping us accomplish {insert specific goal here}!”
Yet, so many churches are leaving goals and measurement out of the equation and then wonder why their social media efforts seem to be lacking. Here’s the truth of it; if you don’t have a goal in place, then your social efforts are a waste of time!
They aren’t doing anything; they are simply white noise.
Here’s the kicker: This would be one thing if social was a flash in the pan. As we’ve seen, however, it is fundamentally changing the fabric of our society. It is not going away. We do not step backward in technology as a society, we only move forward.
How to know if your church will vanish.
The reality is there will be many churches who do not create a compelling vision, establish goals related to that compelling vision, create a clear communication plan for the compelling vision and establish social media ROI points for the goals connected to the vision.
There will be many churches who don’t do this and they will be the churches that vanish. The congregation will get older and eventually die off, as harsh as that sounds. After that, the church will cease to exist.
So for those in leadership now, investing in social is an absolute necessity. The implications of this are absolutely staggering.
Leaders, one of the best ways to build your legacy is to create a compelling vision, to create a communication plan around that vision and invest in social media to connect with the people with whom your vision could resonate.
Social media ROI should be the question that every church is asking right now. More than:
- How do we get a bigger building?
- What overseas missions trips are we going to take?
- How do we increase our attendance?
- What outreach events are we doing this year?
- How do we get more people to volunteer?
Above ALL of these questions, churches must be asking, “How are we determining social media ROI?”
This fundamental question is the umbrella over most everything else. The answers tied to your church’s compelling vision implicate everything the church may be able to do moving forward.
