Dawn Nicole Baldwin is a strategist with a passion to help churches reach people more effectively. She lives this out as founder and lead strategist of AspireOne and as a senior partner with Jarbyco, a mobile communications firm specializing in live events that works with organizations such as Park Community Church, Lifechurch.tv and Youth Specialties.
A former staff member of Big Idea Productions [creators of VeggieTales] and Willow Creek, Dawn Nicole frequently contributes to today’s leading-edge thinking of integrating Christianity and culture but is best known as a change agent who is intent on stretching imaginations, connecting people and making a difference.
Dawn participated in the M2LIVE webinar series sharing on 5 Ways Social Media Can Kill Your Brand. Here’s my notes and you can check out Dawn’s here.
- Over 500 billion minutes per month are being spent on Facebook.
- One of the fastest-growing demographics is middle-aged women.
- Twitter is growing fastest in the age 12-16 demographic.
- People are now connecting with brands through social media.
- Everything is moving mobile.
- Over 30% of people who are connecting to social media are doing it through their smartphones and mobile devices.
- Hear how Park is using texting.
- Technology can be leveraged for “holy” things.
- Some churches are allowing people to text in prayer requests.
1 – To be unprepared
- Organizations are rushing into the space out of a fear of being left behind.
- Since social media is free, many people are jumping into it without thinking about why.
- “If you fail to plan you are planning to fail.”
- Being unprepared will kill your brand.
- So many people are throwing darts without a bulls eye in mind.
- We have to have a clear, defined target.
- Planning is a key component of effectively using social media.
- There is no perfect fix.
2 – Having the wrong people lead it.
- Social media channels can get delegated down to the wrong person.
- It’s not the job for a tech person… they often don’t have the larger picture in mind.
- You need to look at social media as one of the first ways your church interacts with the public.
- Whoever is spearheading you communication channels needs to be involved in the flow of social media.
- Social media isn’t a siloed function of organizations.
- You have to have a cohesive identity in how you are expressed in social media.
- The people you put in leadership of social media will be “brand ambassadors” for your organization.
- Social media isn’t a task to tackle.
- It’s not an item on your checklist.
- Communications is another channel to deliver your vision.
3 – It’s not set it and forget it.
- It’s not uncommon for organizations to set up multiple accounts but have no one championing it.
- “If you build it they will come” doesn’t work anymore.
- If you build it, they expect a response.
- Silence on social media is worse than not having a social media presence.
- Every communications channel has its own rhythm.
- Content is king when it comes to blogs.
- Audience interaction determines the rhythm of other channels.
- Check Facebook and twitter hourly and daily and respond when appropriate.
- It changes the way we communicate and will impact our daily activities.
- Social media isn’t something everything should do.
- How does it fit around what you do well?
4 – Not Adding Value
- SPAM applies to content.
- People are looking value.
- Don’t just repeat what people have already heard.
- Leverage it to give new, relevant information to your audience.
- It’s not about YOU, it’s about your audience.
- How can you meet their needs?
- Social media is a two-way conversation.
- It’s also a listening tool to connect with your audience.
- You don’t have to always know the answer.
5 – Expecting miracles.
- Technology isn’t the end-all-be-all.
- Social media isn’t a substitute for other media channels.
- Print still has a place in most places.
Some examples of social media impact:
- Greenpeace vs Nestle
- OldSpice YouTube campaign
- TSA backlash
Closing Thoughts
- People have always had conversations but social media gives people a public platform to amplify them.
- Google removed front doors. It made everything accessible.
- Don’t get overwhelmed… you don’t have to do everything at once.
- Think through what you want to accomplish and how it fits who you are as a church.
- Does it matter to the people you are trying to reach?
- Planning will help your efforts become more fruitful and effective.
- Choose channels that are manageable. Try one at a time.
- Experiment and let people know about it.
- Experimenting gives you freedom to adjust.
- Don’t be afraid to collect information.
- Don’t be afraid to ask people questions to find the right channel.
- Conversation beats everything.
