It’s not enough for a church to just have an eGiving program – people need to know about it.
St. Mary of the Falls Catholic Parish in Olmsted Falls, Ohio is using social media to get the word out. While their initial Facebook page was set up to promote the youth ministry, the parish began adding special posts highlighting their eGiving program. The results are impressive:
45% of the parish’s enrollments in the last six months have been from Facebook;
Facebook enrollments account for almost 10% of their overall eGiving donors.
Inspire spoke with Deacon Rich Mueller, who serves as the Business Manger at St. Mary of the Falls. Here are some social media strategies your church can use to raise awareness of your eGiving program and encourage your church family to sign up:
1. Build your social media presence: If your church hasn’t created a Facebook page, signing up is the first step. It’s easy, and once you’re on board, people can “like” your page and see the updates you post. Once your page is in place, make sure to let people know that social media is a great place to get the latest news and updates.
2. Don’t be afraid that social media will require a huge time commitment: “Promoting eGiving and other events takes very little time once your page is set up,” Deacon Rich shares. “No one staff member has to do it all!”
3. For eGiving, use posts that are relevant and relatable to church members: St. Mary of the Falls posts each month, using content provided by Faith Direct. The messages can be based on the liturgical part of the year, while also relating to people’s everyday lives. Here’s a great example from March:
4. Keep your page interesting: In addition to posts about stewardship and eGiving, you can share special events, family activities, unique ministries, volunteer opportunities… all the ways that people can be more involved in the life of the church. Different staff members can easily add content that is relative to their particular ministry.
You can see more of St. Mary of the Falls’ Facebook page here – and feel free to visit Faith Direct on Facebook and Twitter to see how we use social media to promote eGiving!