As you can probably guess from my other articles, I am a big advocate of social media.
As I travel around the country and abroad, people are continually asking me one question when I talk to them about using social media to start and maintain relationships for their churches.
Is it too late to jump into the social media pool? With the research that I have done, I don't think anyone has to worry about social media going away soon.
The network of choice may change.
Perhaps in the not too distant future, sites like Facebook and Twitter will be an afterthought.
But for now, they are very much real and you want to get aboard.
Could being a social media slacker actually be a benefit? A good friend and author recently wrote on my Facebook wall that there are three types of people in social media:
But there is a reason that they terms early adopters "Pioneers".
They are the ones with the arrows in their backs or at least have some scars from having traversed the waters earlier than others.
Those that survived and continue to hang in there are definitely ahead of the game.
But with the internet, information is readily available and those coming behind the Pioneers have a much more rapid learning curve.
There is so much information out there to help you out, that starting your social media exposure for your church is still a great time to get involved.
Being an innovator rather than an imitator While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it is never as good as the original without some innovation thrown in.
Whether it is social media or church ministries, being a "me too" church is probably the worst place to be in my opinion.
If you don't have something of value to offer, people will quickly see through what you are doing.
So having your church be on Twitter or other social sharing sites doesn't really help you if you aren't providing something back in return.
Being "fashionably late" can be a good thing! While Carra might term these folks lagger's, these folks understand that there is a cost to being first.
While you can gain valuable market share or exposure, there is also an understanding that there is also a cost to pay.
You may have picked something that turned out to be a flop rather than the next killer app or program.
The reason I believe being fashionably late can be a good thing is because of social media's explosion into every part of our lives, there are so many tools that make doing it easier and better yet, more effective! You don't have to spend a bunch of time to make sure you have exposure on all of your networks.
There are tools out there that will post to your blog, which will post to FaceBook, which in turn will post to Twitter and many other social sites.
And not matter what category of social media enthusiast you find yourself in (including the fact that you haven't started with ANY network yet), you are still in a great place.
Research shows less than a quarter of people provide content.
And that is what people gravitate to! Everyone else is just responding to other peoples tweets, blog posts, and inspirational quotes.
Don't get me wrong, I believe you should have a mixture of retweets, quotes AND content.
That seems to be the way most successful social networker's (including churches) are making it work.
People are responding.
Not just young people, but ALL people.
FaceBook's fastest growing segment is women over 55! Facebook is quickly attracting a larger audience among older age groups.
That acceptance is great news for social media and churches alike! Potential is huge! While over 90% of those under 21 years have participated in at least 1 social network site, don't think that market is tapped out either.
Hard as it is to believe there is still 33% of the world that doesn't have regular access (or any access) to the internet yet! Don't be daunted by where others who have gone in front of you are now! Don't be dissuaded by other churches who have social media accounts and are seemingly on top of the world.
Your voice can and will be heard.
You just have to keep at it.
I am living proof of that myself.
You can be as well!
As I travel around the country and abroad, people are continually asking me one question when I talk to them about using social media to start and maintain relationships for their churches.
Is it too late to jump into the social media pool? With the research that I have done, I don't think anyone has to worry about social media going away soon.
The network of choice may change.
Perhaps in the not too distant future, sites like Facebook and Twitter will be an afterthought.
But for now, they are very much real and you want to get aboard.
Could being a social media slacker actually be a benefit? A good friend and author recently wrote on my Facebook wall that there are three types of people in social media:
- Pioneers
- Followers
- Laggers
But there is a reason that they terms early adopters "Pioneers".
They are the ones with the arrows in their backs or at least have some scars from having traversed the waters earlier than others.
Those that survived and continue to hang in there are definitely ahead of the game.
But with the internet, information is readily available and those coming behind the Pioneers have a much more rapid learning curve.
There is so much information out there to help you out, that starting your social media exposure for your church is still a great time to get involved.
Being an innovator rather than an imitator While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it is never as good as the original without some innovation thrown in.
Whether it is social media or church ministries, being a "me too" church is probably the worst place to be in my opinion.
If you don't have something of value to offer, people will quickly see through what you are doing.
So having your church be on Twitter or other social sharing sites doesn't really help you if you aren't providing something back in return.
Being "fashionably late" can be a good thing! While Carra might term these folks lagger's, these folks understand that there is a cost to being first.
While you can gain valuable market share or exposure, there is also an understanding that there is also a cost to pay.
You may have picked something that turned out to be a flop rather than the next killer app or program.
The reason I believe being fashionably late can be a good thing is because of social media's explosion into every part of our lives, there are so many tools that make doing it easier and better yet, more effective! You don't have to spend a bunch of time to make sure you have exposure on all of your networks.
There are tools out there that will post to your blog, which will post to FaceBook, which in turn will post to Twitter and many other social sites.
And not matter what category of social media enthusiast you find yourself in (including the fact that you haven't started with ANY network yet), you are still in a great place.
Research shows less than a quarter of people provide content.
And that is what people gravitate to! Everyone else is just responding to other peoples tweets, blog posts, and inspirational quotes.
Don't get me wrong, I believe you should have a mixture of retweets, quotes AND content.
That seems to be the way most successful social networker's (including churches) are making it work.
People are responding.
Not just young people, but ALL people.
FaceBook's fastest growing segment is women over 55! Facebook is quickly attracting a larger audience among older age groups.
That acceptance is great news for social media and churches alike! Potential is huge! While over 90% of those under 21 years have participated in at least 1 social network site, don't think that market is tapped out either.
Hard as it is to believe there is still 33% of the world that doesn't have regular access (or any access) to the internet yet! Don't be daunted by where others who have gone in front of you are now! Don't be dissuaded by other churches who have social media accounts and are seemingly on top of the world.
Your voice can and will be heard.
You just have to keep at it.
I am living proof of that myself.
You can be as well!
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