You lead a group or an organization. You continue to recognize the power of social media. Yet, it seems like a challenge or missed opportunity to share a social media post for an event.
As pastors, leaders, and influencers, it matters what you post on social media, especially when it comes to events. You have the opportunity to celebrate vision, share the story of what God is doing, and thank people who serve.
Jokingly, I hear people say, “If you didn’t post it, it didn’t happen.” You can find significant truth in that statement.
A personal post to your profile and account speaks volumes to what you value. The time you take to post brings people into the present and invites them to participate in the future.
Whether you find yourself new to social media or overwhelmed about posting about an event in the church or organization you serve, I want to offer you a few tips creating posts for events:
Partner with another leader.
Find a person on the team fluent in social media. Encourage them to take photos and videos. Then you could use their content to post on your profile.
Prepare to post before the event.
You might feel busy as a leader, but take a moment to figure out a posting opportunity. Think through the before, during, and after an event. Consider the schedule to see what you can highlight.
Pre-write your posts. BONUS use hashtags on Instagram and Twitter.
Part of preparing involves pre-writing your posts. Let’s say, for example, you are hosting an appreciation gathering for small group leaders. You could pre-write a post like this one below:
I’m grateful for the small group leaders who serve the church faithfully. Tonight, we had the opportunity to share our appreciation. #smallgroupleaders #ROC #thisisroc #bettertogether #browncroft #sgls
I used an example of something I would post related to the church I serve. You can see a local hashtag for Rochester, #ROC and #thisisroc. The church I serve, #Browncroft. Specific hashtags towards small groups such as #smallgroupleaders or #sgls. Pre-writing will allow you to copy and paste the post at the event.
Post the behind the scenes.
Share a post on the setup crew thirty minutes before the event. Posting the behind the scenes builds anticipating and prepares people for when they show up. That also could be the time when you’re not as busy.
Post in real-time or directly after the event.
Posting in real-time connects the people at the event and the people outside the event. I believe it’s better to post an authentic real-time post than to polish a post later. You have an immediacy to the event that people want to see.
Post about people and tag them in posts.
Take a group shot together. It’s the easiest way to get a post. Tagging people in posts alerts them that you have posted about them. It works really well with Instagram and Facebook. If you miss an opportunity, you can also edit your posts on both platforms. Take a moment to check-in with a person to see if they have an account.
What tips do you have about social media posting as a leader for events? Share in the comment section below.
Photo by Sherman Yang on Unsplash
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