For years, I’ve seen church social media managers and content creators begin in January with ideas to grow followers and increase engagement with all sorts of posts. But by the time Easter and the summer schedule rolls around, content is back in the rut of the mundane. Christmastime turns many creators into survival mode, just keeping up with every announcement that needs to be made about Christmas music concerts and special worship services. Having to do one-way communication like this can cause social media managers to wonder why they’re still doing this job. It’s ok. We’ve all been there, but you don’t have to stay in the rut this season. Let me be the first to give you permission and freedom to experiment at Christmas. Why would I say this?
Christmastime is packed full of opportunities to capture all different types of videos that your people will engage with.
The answer is simple: engagement. Engagement is defined as likes, comments, shares, views, and increased subscribers and followers. Increasing your social media engagement and allowing the algorithms to work in your favor as you progress toward Christmas means more people will discover, see, and hopefully attend in person and/or online a December worship service at your church without you having to pay to boost a post or run an ad. Many churches use December and Christmas to tell the story of Jesus coming into the world and why He had to come… to save us from our sins. Every church pastor wants this message of good news to be told to as many people as possible in their community. Why not help your pastor by posting content your community will engage with, causing more eyes on all your posts?
When I challenge people with this kind of response, a standard answer is, “I don’t know what to post!” My reaction is simple: " Find out!” What I mean by this is to experiment with your posts and see what people engage with the most. Begin experimentation by repeatedly trying the three basic types of posts: text, pictures, and videos (on demand and live stream) until you see which type or types your audience gravitates toward with higher engagement. Then, continue with these types of posts. Why? Because the platform algorithm will begin working in your favor, organically increasing your viewership, reach, and influence for all your content without paying for the same results.
The first type of content to experiment with is text. I’m not talking about just announcing when the Christmas concert is happening. I’m talking about different types of text posts. Create text posts that are devotionals based on the sermon the pastor preached the past week or is preaching about on Sunday. Use your creativity to ask your followers questions that make it easy for them to respond. Asking about a favorite family holiday tradition could cause a wealth of responses. Post polls asking people to choose what they like or would do in a specific situation. For example, what would you do if you found a squirrel in your live Christmas tree inside your house? Ask for prayer requests and then pray for people in a reply. I’ve even seen excellent text-based posts on Instagram in a graphic and on YouTube in a video with high responses and shares.
Don’t just do the standard “talking head” video announcements or long-form sermon posts. Get creative!
The second type of content to experiment with is pictures. My church community, for example, loves pictures that our photography team takes on Sundays and at church events. We even set up simple photo backgrounds for families and friends to take pictures as a keepsake. The backgrounds and décor for these photo ops are very popular. Lines develop before and after worship services with families and friends excited to take a themed pic. Having a volunteer available at the backdrop scene with a good DSLR camera and lighting is also a great idea. This volunteer takes high-quality photos with the camera and lets people know when and where the pics will be posted later in the day. This is a great way to drive people not only to your social media accounts but also to interact with the pictures by tagging friends and family.
Another way to experiment with pictures is to have a member of your photography team at every possible church-related event throughout December and post pictures about that. Send a photographer to small group parties. Or, if you trust someone at the party to take pics and send them to you, do that. Another idea is to post a picture of a Christmas decoration in the church and have people guess where it’s located. Have a good idea for a photo contest? Please do it! Whatever you do, make sure that you’re posting pictures, tagging others with them, and watching to see which ones get the most engagement.
…you don’t have to stay in the rut this season.
The final type of content to experiment with is video. Don’t just do the standard “talking head” video announcements or long-form sermon posts. Get creative! Have a staff member dress up in a hideous Christmas sweater or elf costume and have them show up in the background when you’re talking about the upcoming Christmas fellowship. Make short-form documentaries (don’t call them testimony videos!) about how the ministry of your church has impacted people during Christmases past. Show behind-the-scenes footage from rehearsals, food preparation for banquets and parties, or preparing Christmas baskets or bags for those in need. Christmastime is packed full of opportunities to capture all different types of videos that your people will engage with.
You don’t need my permission to experiment with your Christmas social media content to drive engagement and get more eyeballs on the life-changing message of Jesus Christ that your church is proclaiming this Christmas. Instead, let me encourage you to unleash the creativity God has given you to reach people for Christ through your social media channels. God has gifted you for such a time as this. Experiment with your posts, track engagement, and give people more of what they engage with. If you try these things, you might surprise yourself and accomplish some goals you set for yourself in January while driving more people to hear the good news of Jesus Christ this Christmas season.
