“When we looked at how many different people they communicated with every month, it was only 6 people. This is despite the fact that these people are checking Facebook almost every day.”–Paul Adams, Facebook Product Team Member, from the book Grouped

In spite of the growing number of friends that students have on Facebook, the amount of people that they actually interact with stays under 10 people. Just because you have hundreds of students who have liked your page does not mean those people are listening or even interested in what you are saying online.

Information online spreads primarily through individuals sharing information with small groups of people.

Most of online communication from ministries falls under two categories:

• Internal, announcement-driven messages: “Bible study is at 7:30” “Don’t forget to register for the retreat!”
• External, anonymous invitations: “Come hear ______ speak tonight!”

These are helpful but not social communications. Think about the last conversation you had with a good friend, boyfriend/girlfriend, or family member (one that you like). How many announcements did you share with them? How many times did you invite them to something that they had never expressed interest in?

There is a tremendous opportunity for ministries to use social media to start and participate in meaningful conversations. To truly be social communications must be:

• Targeted: Messages that are sent to everyone are usually read by no one. Instead of sending a communication about a meeting from your Facebook page consider having a few student leaders create a Facebook list of their friends who are new or recently joined, and sending the same message from their personal profile to that list.
• Tailored: Students come to your ministry for different reasons. Some enjoy the community and social aspects; others are spiritually seeking, or strongly identify with your mission, vision, and values. One message will not capture the attention of everyone. There is more work and energy required to do this–but take a look at the last 10 communications you have sent on Facebook or Twitter–has anyone liked, commented, or shared them? You could argue that you are actually wasting your time on social media if you no one is liking, commenting, and sharing your posts.
• Interesting to the receiver: Most ministries talk mostly/only about themselves. To find out what’s interesting to those in your ministry, go to their Facebook profile or check their Twitter account. Go to their “info” section and look at what pages they have liked. If you do not demonstrate with your posts that you are interested about the things those you are seeking to reach, mobilize, or encourage is, then why would they listen or interact with you?

What can you do to change your ministry communications to make them more social? Have you taken the time to measure the effectiveness of your current social media efforts? What’s one thing you can do to make your communications more interesting to the students you are seeking to influence?

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