How to manage your Social Media Like a Pro

58% of non-christians say that someone has shared their faith with them on social media (Barna).

That’s HUGE.

We all understand that social media is key to success in the church world today. We know how big of a role it plays, but it can get SO OVERWHELMING.

Seriously, we have to post every day (because that’s what the experts say), cater to our audience, create content, look at the analytics, and do all of this on top of the other million things we are doing within the church.

How is it possible? How do people have the time to do it?

I am going to let you in on some of the best tools that the pros use every day to manage and schedule all their social media, and give you our favorite platform to use.

What do you mean tools?

There are three basic types of tools that social media managers use to schedule and analyze their social efforts: Scheduling, Management, and Analytics

Scheduling

Social Media Schedulers allow managers to schedule their posts in advance. This means no more waiting till the day-of to post. We all know the struggle of trying to get your recap video on every platform at the right time while not screwing up the caption.

Instead, you can schedule it and forget it. Once scheduled the post will automatically be sent to the social platform (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) and will be automatically posted on your behalf. (And yes, they even do videos on Instagram, but more of that later).

Management

Social Media management (SMM) puts everything on one dashboard for you to see. Imagine your DM’s for a second. How do you check them? Do you hop from platform to platform every two hours to see if someone messaged you?

If so, then this will be wonderful news, you don’t have to do that! With SMMs you have everything in one place. You can see your Facebook messages, Instagram comments, and Twitter DM’s all in one place. You don’t have to jump from one page to another anymore. *Cue every dancing gif you can find*

Analytics

Analytics are the lifeblood of every social media manager. They allow you to understand how each post is performing and who is liking your comments.

This is very useful in so many ways. For example, if you are managing a men’s ministry and you are posting images that are getting good engagement, but attendance isn’t increasing you might wonder what the issue is. However, analytics will tell you that 55% of the social engagement is coming from women not men. BINGO! Now you understand what needs to change.

So what software is out there to help?

We have scoured the internet to find some of the industry leaders and give you the pros and cons of each (as well as the pricing). Then at the end, we reveal which one we believe your church should go with. Please know that we haven’t been paid by anyone to say this. It’s just an honest review of our experience with each platform. With that out of the way, let’s get going!

1. buffer

First up on the list is Buffer. This is a great management software for all levels of experience. They have a super simple design that allows for beginners to post without problem, yet at the same time they have advanced analytics available for those who want a little more bang for their buck.

Pros

• Super simple design that anyone can understand
• Free plan available
• iOS/Android App Available

Cons

• Not a lot of analytics until higher paid plans (basic analytics start at $15/month)
• Free tier is limited to 3 total social accounts
• You don’t get team members until higher paid plans ($99/month and up)

2. later

Later is a great platform if your ministry is Instagram heavy. While Later has the ability to post to other platforms, their bread and butter is Instagram. Like Buffer, they have a very simple UI that is easy to understand and great for beginners as well as advanced analytics for those who are more seasoned.

Pros

• Free plan available (hidden con: it’s only for one account per platform)
• Basic Analytics included in the free plan
• Pretty Cheap— Even for their most expensive package ($41/month if you bill yearly)

Cons

• You can’t schedule videos with the free plan
• Very basic analytics

3. Sprout Social

Sprout social is the heavy hitter of the list. They are by far the most expensive, but they are also the most in-depth. While you might fork out a ton each month, you are getting some of the best analytics around. These analytics are delivered to you in a report that breaks up your audience by gender, age, demographic, and anything you can imagine.

Pros

• Amazing Analytic Reports
• Messages dashboard available
• Feed View that allows you to see all of your platform’s feeds on one page

Cons

• Somewhat complicated design
• Pricy (the base price is $99/month)
• No free tier

So who do we recommend?

We recommend Buffer.

While others might have better pricing and analytics we believe that buffer is a solid choice for ministries of all sizes. They offer great analytics that allow you to understand where you stand on social media as well as a simple UI to post without any confusion.

In fact, it’s what we use to schedule and maintain all of Sermon Works’ social media. Plus they allow you to post Instagram videos automatically (that’s a major win for us)

Don’t just take our word for it, head on over to Buffer and sign up with the free version and see how you like it! Tell them that we sent you!

Still feeling overwhelmed?

Don’t worry we can help! If you feel like you’re drowning in social media let us know. We manage social media accounts for churches all over the country. We create content, post the content, and analyze the results all for a flat monthly rate. Click the button below to learn more about it!

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