Think Visual

Leaders must consider what the most important social media tools are for their ministry context.

While every ministry audience is different, emerging trends show a younger generation who have embedded new media values—Personalization, Ubiquity, Connectedness, Sharing, and Interactivity. These values dictate nearly every decision they make, even more than the values of the family they were born into!

Savvy leaders study cultural trends to know what’s coming next for their ministry. Social media cannot be overlooked or ignored. In my opinion, multimedia social platforms are the ones to focus and concentrate on.

Platforms like Vine, SnapChat, Instagram, and Tumblr will provide the next generation of social media users to control they want, and the community they crave. In other words, it will be easier to keep their parents out!

Churches and ministries must become experts in creating content. We are all in the publishing business now. Content is the new currency. Because of this, organizations must focus precious resources onto telling their story online.

Those that don’t make the transition will be severely hindered moving forward. Think of it like a someoone singing the national anthem at a major league baseball game without a microphone! A few folks in the stadium might hear you, but everyone else is looking at you, scratching their heads, and shouting, “HUH? We can’t hear you!”

Upcoming generations state Digital. Plain and simple. It doesn’t mean you have to ditch all off-line activities, promotions, or marketing strategies. It does mean you need to re-think how you get the word out about your organization.

Think visual. The Web is evolving into an image-based platform. Focus on creating content for disposable media platforms and you’ll be miles ahead of everyone else!