Three ways to make church social media more engaging

TL;DR

Let leaders speak in their own voice, document real moments from church life, and write opening lines that earn attention. Show people what being there feels like instead of relying on graphics and notices.

3 ways to improve your social media today.

Today we're back on the topic of social media. I want to outline 3 ideas that will immediately improve your church's social media. Before someone visits your church, they’ll often look at your social media. Not to find information. To work something out: “Would I feel comfortable there?” Most posts don’t really help with that. Take a typical example: “Join us this Sunday at 10am. All welcome.”

It’s clear, but if you’ve never been before, it doesn’t tell you much. You still don’t know what it’s like. You don’t know who’s there. You don’t know if you’d fit in. So you move on. A lot of church content tells people what happens. Very little shows people what it feels like. So it doesn’t really help someone decide to come.

Let church leaders speak in their own voice

People don’t really follow organisations, they follow people. So if your social is mostly graphics and notices, it will always feel a bit distant. That’s why it helps when leaders are visible. I'm not saying leaders need to become influencers, but there's a reason influencers blow up while small businesses often struggle. People follow people.

So if you're a church leader, you need to be willing to show up. A short video. A quick thought midweek. Something that sounds like how they actually speak. That alone makes a big difference.

Document the church life already happening

Then there’s the content itself. A lot of churches feel like they need more ideas. They might lock themselves in the office on Tuesday trying to plan out content for the week. A lot of the time, that's actually working harder than you need to. You don't need to "create content" you need to document what’s already happening. Every Sunday gives you many moments worth sharing.

A quote from the sermon, an insight into the youth or kids work. A photo of people mingling. It’s simple. But now someone on the outside can picture it. If you want something practical to try this week, keep it simple, take a few photos or videos and describe how it felt to be there. That leads us on nicely to thinking about what type of content actually keeps attention.

Write an opening line that earns attention

Hooks matter more than most people realise. If you want to go beyond just documenting what’s happening, and actually use social media to reach new people, this is the bit to pay attention to. On social, the first line or the first few seconds of a video does most of the work. If that doesn’t catch someone, nothing else really matters. Most church posts start like this: “Join us this Sunday…”

Which is easy to scroll past. In fact, it's putting the horse before the carriage.

"Join us this Sunday" is a call to action, not a hook. Compare that to something like: “Ever wondered what actually happens when you visit a church?” Same goal. But one gives you a reason to stop and leads into the content. The other doesn’t. You don’t need to overthink it. You just need to start in a way that makes someone curious, or helps them recognise themselves in what you’re saying.

Because if no one stops… No one reads the rest. Putting it all together, it’s actually quite simple. Show people, don’t tell them. Let visitors see real people, not just graphics. Start in a way that makes someone stop. That’s most of the work. If you want something practical to try this week: Let a leader speak on camera, even briefly. Share one real moment from Sunday.

Rewrite one post so the first line actually earns attention. You don’t need to post more. You just need to make what you do post easier to engage with. Because for most people, your social media is their first impression of your church. And right now, it’s either helping them feel comfortable… Or giving them a reason to scroll past.