Today’s article comes from Michael Lukaszewski of ChurchFuel.com which is a great resource for church growth strategies. I asked Michael to chime in on his two cents regarding church communications and SnapChat specifically. Check out what he has to share with you on where SnapChat should fit in terms of your communications priorities.
Snapchat has hundreds of millions of users, making it one of the most popular social media channels in North America. And it’s recently graduated from a social media startup to a publicly traded company.
So is it time for your church or pastor to create an account and start snapping?
Not necessarily.
I know you’ve been taught you should go where the people are. And of course, social media provides a great opportunity to connect and engage.
But here are some reasons you might want to sit this one out.
3 REASONS WHY YOUR CHURCH DOESN’T NEED SNAPCHAT
#1 – You don’t HAVE TO engage on every channel.
Just because something is available or popular doesn’t mean your church needs to go there.
Fail to realize this and you’ll busy yourself with every option available to you and miss out on true impact.
An opportunity is not the same thing as an obligation.
This week, another “must have” social media app will make it’s debut. And soon, it will fade away. That’s why you don’t have to jump at the chance to use whatever is new.
Chose strategies don’t chase fads.
#2 – It’s still not a great platform for searchable, sharable content.
The initial draw for Snapchat is that you could post video for your friends and it would disappear. That made it fun and kept it current.
In recent months, the company has added the ability to search and share, but the platform is still geared toward “instant.”
If you have a limited amount of time, why not invest in creating content people can share freely and easily across multiple channels? Not content that’s just viewable to one channel’s social followers, but content that can be shared to a wider audience.
If you have limited time and resources to create social content, a channel like Facebook – where people can share not just consume – might be better stewardship.
#3 – The app has a questionable background and purpose.
One of the big reasons Snapchat was created was so people could send inappropriate pictures. That’s not to say other technologies are created for more glorious purposes – that’s not true either.
But if you choose to avoid Snapchat because of it’s questionable use, it doesn’t mean you’re a prude or a luddite. If it’s a matter of your conscience, don’t let others make you feel “holier-than-thou” if you chose to opt out.
Joining Snapchat might be a part of your strategy to connect with people, but you don’t need to chase it just because it’s popular.
If you choose to use it, I hope you have a better reason than “that’s where people are” and a better strategy than “we want to share stuff.”
Remember…an opportunity is not an obligation.
Michael Lukaszewski is the Founder and CEO of Church Fuel. He’s been a youth pastor, church planter, senior pastor and church consultant. He’s a graduate of Florida State University and did post-graduate work at Liberty. Today, he writes books and articles and creates courses for church leaders. On the weekends, you might find him smoking ribs or grilling steaks on the Big Green Egg. Follow Michael on Twitter here.
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