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Diocesan Guidelines for Social Media and Online Communications
Revised Friday, March 9, 2018
As church communities continue to engage with social media platforms and increase their online communications, it is vital to establish clear guidelines to support this evolving technology.
Email is an eco-friendly and efficient way to communicate to a wide audience. Make a concerted effort to be friendly, prompt and polite in your email communication practices.
Be mindful of tone: Manners are essential when communicating via email. Use a tone that is both cordial and professional and avoid sounding critical or using aggressive language (caps lock for instance can be interpreted as shouting). It is easy for your reader to misinterpret a message without tone of voice, eye contact and body language to help communicate the tone of the message.
Reply to emails promptly. Avoid the temptation to file a message as read without responding. This leaves the sender wondering if their message was received and inhibits meaningful communication.
Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube provide excellent opportunities to build a wider audience. The ultimate goal of these platforms is to start and encourage a dialogue that allows us to get to know our neighbours, to build trust and to invite them into a deeper relationship with us, our communities and with Christ.
First take some time to establish your message and your audience. (Who are you and what are you trying to say and who are you trying to reach and what would they like to hear from you?)
Then, assign a few trustworthy, designated administrators to create content and monitor these accounts.
Be mindful of your brand and try to be consistent in your message when posting. But do make it interesting. To provide well considered and engaging content create an editorial calendar that will be reviewed and updated regularly. For example: share parish events, updates and stories, share news items or stories from other sources that feels relevant or engaging to your brand, broadcast sermons or services using videos.
Capture their attention! Experiment with video options and consider using live video (on Facebook or Instagram) for more impact. Research indicates that video media has more impact and reach than photos or text alone.
Be respectful; it’s important to consider the confidentiality and privacy of others when posting photos or content. Be sure to get permission when using images or quotes.
Websites are essential for many reasons. Here are two to consider
First, this is your domain. You own this space and have complete control of the information you wish to disseminate.
Second, your website can contain extensive information and you can refer users to pages that may contain fun facts, history, photos, archives and so much more!
Remember your website’s landing page is like a foyer. It is a welcoming space where your guests are forming first impressions of you. Are there fresh flowers in a vase? Is it neat and tidy? Am I being invited to enter? In other words, is the information up to date and accurate? Will your guests want to investigate other pages and learn more? Are there links to social media platforms where they can watch live videos and view content that will allow them to get to know the people in this organization and to trust them?
To learn more or to join a live social media discussion group via Zoom contact Lee-Ann Matthews (lmatthews@montreal.anglican.ca)
