social media

Q and A: How to increase Facebook views

Q. I’ve taken many of the suggestions about doing church Facebook better (InterConnections, March 1, 2014) but am very frustrated by the rate of views allowed by Facebook algorithms. Last year I regularly got 100 views, sometimes 1,000 or more, and now they are very small. Someone told me that about one in five posts get through to the news feeds, more likely the ones with videos. I always have a photo. I can see the content is not reaching my own news feed. What can we do to change that? I changed the option on my website to receive notifications from the church website, but still am not getting all the posts.

—Sara Morrison Neil, membership program director, First Parish, Framingham, Mass.

A. Facebook changes privacy controls, news feed algorithms, et al. per its own business needs, not per the user’s needs. Only when user needs tie directly to its bottom line will Facebook suit UU needs, let alone any special interest group.

Sara’s not getting the traffic because she has no control, not only over what Facebook does but over how friends or followers to her page set their Facebook accounts. Unless everyone on both sides of the dialogue identifies each other as “close friends” or “followers,” there’s no way for her content to be viewed consistently by those she’s trying to reach. And therein lies the crux of the Facebook problem. Forget about covenant because the technology works against it. Even with the setting of “followers,” there’s no guarantee people will see her posts.

—June Herold, former executive of AOL, member of the UU Church of Arlington, Va., and author of REACH: A Digital Ministry Program.

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Growth

Shed old processes to create vitality

Natalie Briscoe, a Congregational Life staff member for the UUA’s Southern Region, invites congregational leaders to undertake some “spring cleaning” in a recent post on the region’s blog. She suggests some things congregations might want to get rid of, including:

• A mission that is uninspiring, inaccurate, or old. A vision that is too small, old, or doesn’t lead you to where you want to go. An old covenant that isn’t practiced. Processes that no longer serve the congregation (such as committee structures, governance style, or communication processes).

• Along with old processes, how about old technologies? Are you still using a membership database from 1994? Do you still have Yahoo email groups? The internet, social media, and new database systems can streamline our congregations. We no longer need to waste time with outdated technologies.

• Silence around financial issues. Does your congregation have anxiety when it comes to speaking about money? Throw out the silence and start having honest conversations about what we can realistically do to financially support Unitarian Universalism in our communities. There are no tips or tricks; we just have to do it.

Briscoe’s complete blog post, from March 16, is here.

 

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Uncategorized

UU World survey needs your voice

There’s still time to complete a UU World survey that will help determine the future of the magazine. The 31 questions include ones on whether you read the magazine in print form or online (or both), what social media you use, and your involvement with a congregation or other aspect of Unitarian Universalism.

The survey takes about five minutes and can be found at the Your Voice Counts link at the top of the uuworld.org webpage.

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UUA Announcements

UU Social Media Lab a place for questions

The UU Social Media Lab on Facebook has included the following discussions in recent weeks:

• Whether to make worship services available on DVD, livestreaming, or by posting the files onto websites and Facebook pages. And if posting to websites, to be mindful to omit music that is copyrighted unless permissions have been obtained.

• From a congregation that loans its folding chairs for public events: How can the chairs be creatively marked to promote the congregation’s mission?

• Locating email newsletter software that will allow creation of PDFs so it can be added later to a website.

• Reviewing and rating your congregation on Yelp as a way of attracting seekers. Try this. Go to yelp.com, put in the name of your congregation, and see what comes up.

Join the lab (registration required) for discussions about a variety of topics around how congregations can and do use social media.

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Growth, Resources

Why your congregation needs a digital ministry

From one of our May feature stories, now available online at UUA.org:

For fifteen years, as an executive with AOL and other companies, June Herold helped create some of the digital tools and toys that the world uses today, including instant messaging, online games, mobile applications, and an online billing system. She holds six patents on her electronic work.

In 2009 she joined the UU Church of Arlington, Va., where she created a top-of-the-line interactive website for the church that includes a self-contained social network.

All of that is only a prelude to what she hopes to accomplish—bringing every UU congregation fully into the digital world. She believes strongly that without an active and engaging digital presence, congregations will not be fully present in the world.

Go to full article.

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Growth

Email lists, Facebook labs facilitate discussions

Need a place to engage in in-depth discussions of UU topics or simply pose a question that’s on your mind about church management, growth, worship, etc.? In addition to UUA-sponsored email lists, UUs on Facebook have recently created more than a dozen “labs” for such discussions. Topics include growth, use of social media, religious education, evangelism, stewardship, small group ministry, and governance. Find them all here, or below.

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Resources

Help develop a UU mobile app

There are mobile applications—or “mobile apps”—for a wide range of uses today, from finding out what happened on this day in the Civil War to getting the scoop on when your subway train will actually arrive.

Now there’s an app coming for Unitarian Universalism, and you can help determine what it will do. The UUA will be developing a UU app this summer, and they’d like your suggestions on what it should be.

For ideas, go to the UUA Facebook page and read what others have proposed. Ideas have included using the app to make a weekly meditation available, find the nearest UU congregation while traveling, or to create a news feed for religious news. Not on Facebook? Submit your ideas through the UUA’s website.

Deadline for submissions is June 15. Once the ideas are winnowed, UUs will have an opportunity to indicate their favorites.

 

 

 

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Resources

Tips for using social media

The UUA blog New Media for Unitarian Universalists has an overview of the opportunities and challenges of using social media in congregations. Topics include building online relationships with those who visit your congregation, and sorting out when and why to use various new media, including blogs, Facebook, Twitter, podcasting, and YouTube.

The blog includes a video of a presentation by Shelby Meyerhoff, the UUA’s public witness specialist, to the Massachusetts Bay District’s 2010 Spring Conference on the topic of using social media.

The blog also has a Frequently Asked Questions section, one on “Getting Started” with new media, and separate sections on specific tools like Facebook and podcasts.

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Resources

May/June 2010 congregation-focused articles from UU World

InterConnections is not the only source of useful information for lay leaders. Check out uuworld.org for articles about UUA changes and congregational activities. Sign up for a weekly email about new articles on uuworld.org.

  • UUA moves pension fund The UUA decided to move its pension funds from Fidelity Investments to TIAA-CREF after Fidelity refuses to divest from companies doing business in the Sudan (thus contributing to the genocide there). The change will have no effect on congregational pension plans. 5.24.10
  • UUA restructures staff Reduced funding inspires more effective ways of doing ministry, including focusing social justice work at the congregational level. 5.17.10
  • UUA moving toward changes See what changes the UUA has in mind for the election of its president and moderator, reducing the size of the UUA board, and altering General Assembly. 5.15.10
  • Read UU World’s comprehensive coverage of General Assembly 2010, June 23–27, on UU World’s GA blog and at uuworld.org.

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Resources

‘Faith and Web’ blog guides web designers

Looking to improve your congregational website? Check out Faith and Web, the blog of Anna Belle Leiserson of the First UU Church of Nashville, Tenn. She is a professional web coordinator and says she is committed to “web standards, accessibility, handsome design, elegant code, and deep dark chocolate.”

She writes about all types of web issues. A recent article explains how to “Launch a Church Email Newsletter in 9 Simple Steps.” Other articles: “Top 10 Tips for Church Blogging,” “Content Audits Are a Beautiful Thing,” and “Finding Stock Art for Your Website.”

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Resources