Announcements during worship often seem like a necessary evil for churches. We need to let people know what’s happening, but many seem to tune out as soon as the announcements start. Several MyCom articles offers ways to capture attention with creativity and inspire action with your announcements.
Another way some churches try to overcome the in-person tuning out is by posting announcements to Facebook. We assume that if people see announcements in their news feed during the week, it will help them stay connected.
However, just posting an announcement on Facebook doesn’t make it interesting or engaging. That can be a major problem for your online ministry!
In early 2018, Facebook made major changes to the News Feed algorithm. The most important part is that Facebook now prioritizes posts that receive engagement in the form of comments and shares, and, to a lesser degree, likes.
In practical terms this means that if people are commenting on and sharing your posts, more people will see them. If people are simply reading them and moving on, Facebook will reduce the number of people who see them. So, let’s be honest, when was the last time your church announcements generated lots of comments and shares on Facebook?
This doesn’t mean you should stop posting announcements to Facebook. It does mean you need to find ways to make people care and to generate engagement.
Below are nine ways to turn an announcement into a post that generates engagement. And, in order to make the examples practical, let’s assume that you need to get the word out about a bake sale to support a youth mission trip.
AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT “ENGAGEMENT BAIT”
Many of the sample posts below encourage users to leave a comment or interact in some other way. However, you should avoid explicitly asking people to leave a comment, share a post or use specific reactions (“like,” “love,” etc.). This is known as “engagement bait,” and Facebook is cracking down on these types of posts. Instead, use open-ended questions like those you see in the examples.
Most Facebook users understand that questions can be answered in the comments. However, if engagement is slow at first, recruit a volunteer social media team from within your church to help start conversations. Notify the volunteers whenever you post something new. They can start the conversation by posting their comments first.