One of my personal passions is telling others about the potential of social media for the church, if you haven’t got that yet ;-). Many of the friends I make online are social media experts in their own non-profit fields and it is always great to get their input into my life and what I do. I asked this question on a Facebook group I belong to What ‘rookie mistakes should churches and non-profits avoid on social media? Here are some of the answers:
1. Posting content before it’s approved. Jim Gray
2. Not following back people on Twitter. Haley Veturis Social Media Manager at Saddleback Church (Check out my video interview with Haley – she is the real deal!)
3. A Facebook ad campaign with no content strategy. Jim Gray
4. Using tragedy to explain why personal engagement on social is important. Carrie Kintz
5. Not searching a hash tag before using it for a weekend series/conference. Haley Veturis
6. Using hash tags on Facebook. Haley Veturis
7. Don’t be spontaneous. There are some things that you just can’t plan for but work really well. Steve Fogg
8. Directing people to “Click here” while attaching the wrong URL. Haley Veturis
9. Lack of conversation when you ask people of question on social. If you ask a question – be prepared to engage. Carrie Kintz
10. Focusing on only going after influencers, rather than also developing brand advocates. Jim Gray
11. Post really infrequently and don’t engage or manage your community. Steve Fogg
12. Auto-posting the exact same content in all your channels at the same time. It ignores the unique purpose of using social media to reach your audience. While you can get away with tweeting heaps..it can come across spammy on FB. Users of one platform don’t want to be treated like users of another. Jose Manuel Huergo – Web content and Social Media Co-ordinator at Hillsong Church.
13. Everything tweeted about you with no comment. Jim Gray
14. Don’t broadcast. Adam Jeske – Director of New Media at Intervarsity USA
15. Tweeting something out of the wrong account (account belongs to a client, etc.) Jim Gray
16. Don’t tailor the content for the different platforms. Jose Manuel Huergo
17. Create a whole bunch of new profiles and update them for a month, then let them all die. Then, when someone tries to connect with you, you aren’t there! Jim Gray (Check out this real life example, the company later contacted me in the comments section of the post)
18. Don’t plan your content out ahead of time to align with your church’s/non-profit’s focus. Steve Fogg
Got questions? Agree/Disagree? Do you have any tips on what mistakes to avoid in social media? Comment below now!
