The Biggest Social Media Mistake Kidmin Leaders Make
There’s one mistake I often see ministry leaders make when it comes to their ministry social media accounts: They use social media as a digital bulletin board.
If your social media accounts are just posts of reminders or upcoming events, you are missing out on a great opportunity to connect with your people.
Instead of using your social media as an announcement monologue, change your posting approach to foster conversation and engagement instead. Use the 80/20 rule – let 80% of what you post be about your people, not you, so about things that serve, inspire, engage, encourage, or equip your parents and families, rather than asking them to attend something or go somewhere. Then 20% of your posts can be service times, event invites, and other reminders.
One way to help with this ratio is to remember 6 social media content buckets:
- Inspirational, which is like a quote or a Bible verse to encourage families
- Conversational, when you ask a question and get them talking/engaging online
- Educational, for when you want to teach them something, point them to a resource, or share an idea for a faith activity at home
- Connection-building, which are behind-the-scenes pictures and details, personal stories from your ministry, volunteer appreciation, or something that helps them connect with the goings-on of your ministry beyond Sunday morning
- Promotional, like an upcoming event or reminder
- And finally, just-for-fun posts like a silly gif or meme, a would you rather question, funny joke, or a fun holiday post
Let’s talk about that last one for a minute. A big part of kids ministry is FUN, so it’s OK to have fun on your social media accounts too! Post about fun holidays, or jokes – I love posting a ridiculous dad joke on Father’s Day, and I love asking people about their favorite ice cream flavor on National Ice Cream Day (which by the way, is always the 3rd Sunday in July in the United States). Not everything you post has to be deeply spiritual or highly professional. It’s OK to have fun on your ministry social media accounts. (Psst – we just released a brand new resource that can help with your September holiday posts! Check it out here and download customizable graphics + engaging pre-written captions for 10 holidays in September.)
Keeping these 6 content buckets in mind will help you avoid being just a bulletin board of announcements online and will encourage people to follow, and more importantly, engage. You could even use a simple social media planner like this one to help you brainstorm post ideas!
Want to talk more about a social media strategy for your kidmin? Here are 5 social media tips for your kidmin. And check out our full online training with videos, downloads, and ideas for building a social media/ministry strategy for your children’s ministry. Learn more about this online training here.