The Seminary of Hard Knocks Podcast | Church Communications, Marketing, and Social Media

This episode is not only the final episode of this season of the podcast, but it's a synthesis of everything this season has been about. Kyle Ranson at Crossroads Church is using just about every tool at his disposal to do online and digital ministry right. In this episode, we learn how he uses social, blogs, podcasts, video, SEO, and more to reach people during the week and on weekends. And he's not just inviting them to church, he's reaching people with the Gospel online.  Oh, and you have access to all the same things he's using to do it too! Find out how he does it and what God is doing at Crossroads in this incredible conversation!   LINKS Crossroads.net  SOHK Facebook Group ChurchComm Team  

We're wrapping this season up strong with Jennifer Benton from the BLK LYTE podcast. She is an Instagram influencer as well as a content creator for her church and she does it all remotely!   In this episode, we will see just how far online content can go when it is used as a means for discipleship and ministry. Can you impact someone's spiritual life and walk with Jesus while you're asleep?   All this and more in this week's episode.    LINKS Jennifer on Instagram | TikTok  BLK LYTE podcast ChurchComm Team

Before the pandemic, only 5% of the workforce worked from home. In May 2020 it shot up to a whopping 60% and it looks like there will be a lot of people refusing to go back to an office-only model ever again. If you are in a position where your job can be done remotely, then the pandemic has thrust you into a very interesting future.   Before we start calling these fortunate few “lazy,” you should know that a two-year study by Great Place to Work® of more than 800,000 employees at Fortune 500 companies found that most reported stable or even increased productivity levels after employees started working from home.   On this episode of the podcast, I talk with my Church Comm Team partner Paul Fleming. Paul has launched numerous successful businesses like Church Ink and Church Swag: all fully remote.   He has a ton of insight about how church leaders can utilize remote workers and contractors to fill in the gaps for skilled jobs you need asap! (or you could hire Church Comm Team, but that's whatever). :)   LINKS Church Comm Team Church Ink Church Swag

In 2021, Ryan Wakefield and the Church Marketing University team did something bold. Instead of continuing to talk about what a hybrid worship service would look like, they decided to create one and see for themselves.   Because everybody knows that when it comes to hybrid worship services and vegetables, your mom wants you to try it because you might like it.   What would it look like if both the digital space and the face-to-face worship were seen as equally important on Sunday mornings?   Imagine that no one can tell you "no" and suddenly, you DO have the money and manpower to make it happen. What would you do? Get rid of that organ, that's what. But then what?   Well, we did it and we learned a ton. In this episode, Ryan and Seth talk about what went well and not so well in our test of all these theories in real-time.    LINKS Church Marketing University CMU Facebook Group | Instagram Church Comm Team

What would it take for your church to embrace the digital space just like you do the face-to-face as a legit ministry? How would you even do it?  If you're kicking those kinds of questions around, this episode with Jason Moore will help you process the practical side of running a hybrid ministry. He calls it "Both/And" and his new book by the same title lays out the framework.  We talk about Both/And (physical and digital) ministry, church communications, and more in this episode of The Seminary of Hard Knocks! LINKS Jason on Facebook Both/And Book Both/And Workshop Church Comm Team

Did you know that there were more email addresses on file than social media account handles COMBINED? Email still drives much of the communication space and churches need to be able to master the medium. If you said "the subject line" was the key to more opened emails, you're mostly right. But there are a lot of other factors that Email Marketing specialist from CMU (Church Marketing University) Julianne Alkire and I discuss in this episode. Especially the art of making automated emails personal. How can you get your website and social media to work for you while you're asleep? Or after hours? Or on your days off? And how do you make those automated responses feel personal for those who are interacting with you when it's convenient for them? All this and more in this episode of The Seminary of Hard Knocks!   LINKS Church Marketing University Church Comm Team - Fix Your Four Julianne on Instagram | Twitter   

Every comms team struggles with getting good photography. Whether it's finding the talent to volunteer or it's how photographers turn in photos to use or even training them to know what photos you will need, photography impacts your social media, website, and promotional graphics profoundly! So I talked to a guy who has basically mastered this issue at every step, Zach Zamora. He is the Media and Communications Pastor at New Life Church in Corpus Christi, TX and we talk extensively about how to get good volunteers, train them, get great photos, and how to actually GET them!   LINKS Fluro Smugmug Church Comm Team New Life Corpus on Instagram 

We all know that social media has some data privacy issues and many users are feeling more than sour about using them, especially in the church. Not to mention your reach is probably like, less than 5% on your FB page posts. So what do we do? Enter the private, online community of Discord! And here are two guys from BlackBar who can tell you all about how to use it, Zach and Caleb! I think that Discord is a must for kids and student ministry digital communities now and in the future, may become more and more important for adults as well. If you're considering creating your own private, online community for your church outside of Facebook or Slack, you need to hear what these guys have to say about Discord and see what they're doing on their own servers.   LINKS BlkBar on Discord / YouTube / Instagram / Facebook Church Comm Team

You don't want to miss this! Ok, maybe you do, but you shouldn't. In fact, we may be contributing to a major problem in the church and culture with that simple phrase and ideology: the inability to observe Biblical rest. Rhythms and patterns in our lives help regulate our physical, emotional, and psychological health. In this episode, James Kelly, CEO of FaithTech, the creators of Digital Sabbath helps us understand how to incorporate rest in our routines, especially taking rest from technology and social media.  What if the church led the way in helping people practice Sabbath? Learn more in this episode! Links Digital Sabbath FaithTech ChurchComm Team

What constitutes Biblical fellowship? Are there any reasons we should break fellowship with one another? I've watched my guest, George Holleway, navigate conversations online as the pastor of his church for the last 2 years.  Fellowship is more than sitting down to eat together. In this episode, I have a very in-depth conversation with a pastor in the trenches of ministry about how to be in fellowship with people who drive you nuts and maybe believe different things than you. Links Church Comm Team George on Instagram    

When Jesus told us to make disciples, do you think He meant that 2000 years later we would all be using something called Zoom over the internet to do it? I like to think that he probably winked at John and secretly thought "you're never gonna guess where this thing is going!" Jeff Reed from Church.Digital & DigitalChurch.Network joins us to talk about what discipleship can look like in the digital world and how churches can (and already are) seeing growth there.   Links DigitalChurch.network The Church.Digital / Instagram Jeff on Twitter / Instagram Calendly / TidyCal Church Comm Team  

The great resignation is taking its toll on the American workforce and this is one instance where the church is NOT exempt. This week on the podcast we're talking to Brooke Hodnefield from Slingshot Group about the HR situation as well as how churches can better examine what it means to work and minister today from a practical and Biblical perspective. From office hours, setting healthy boundaries, and remote work, we look at what is working, what is not working, and where we go from here in this exciting episode of The Seminary of Hard Knocks podcast! Links Slingshot Group Slingshot on Instagram / Twitter / LinkedIn Church Comm Team  

The definition of a Biblical "gathering" today has expanded. We are going to look at the Biblical definition of gathering, also called worship, and see how (or if) it can be applied to online and digital spaces! Hebrews 10:25 has been the primary Scripture that many have used to push back against church online. Meanwhile, many churches are forced to respond to the realities of the pandemic. Now on the backend of the pandemic, churches are faced with a decision: how do we go forward with the digital expression of the church now that people are starting to come back? They have responded one of three ways: 1) Go back to prioritizing in-person and simply streaming services to FB/YT, 2) Going all-in with a hybrid approach to in-person and online services, or 3) going back to prioritizing in-person services while attempting an online strategy with no extra resources, manpower, or attention from leadership. Our Guest today is no stranger to the controversy surrounding the issue of what the future of the online church may look like. After being published in an article by a major news network, the passion of all sides of the issue came out in the comments! It's been a long journey for Dave Adamson to today, as we near the release of his forthcoming book on the subject called Discipleclick: How to use digital ministry to reach people and make disciples. Links Dave on Twitter / Instagram Go HERE to learn more about Dave's Discipleclick book Church Comm Team 

It has been a good break over the last several months but we are coming back strong in February of 2022! We are switching our format, focusing on hybrid church strategies, and bringing in the heavy-hitters in the digital church space to help you and your team reach more people in the new era of the church. Subscribe to this podcast and don't forget to join the email list, where you'll get a free download of our Major Messaging Calendar, the tool we give our Church Comm Team clients to help them organize all their communications, from sermon series to events, to the emails going out each week! Important links in this episode churchcommteam.com sethmuse.com/calendar sethmuse.com/88ideas

I love a good scroll-stopping headline. In our profession, church communicators and marketers are always looking for a quick list of best practices to help us get more emails opened, increase clicks, get more followers, etc etc the list goes on and on. Over time, the playing field changes, and those tried and true best practices, well, aren't anymore.  In episode 150, Meagan and Seth talk through a list of previously believed best practices for church social media, websites, email, and more that no longer work as well as they once did! *Note: We're taking a break after this episode until Fall 2021 when we come back with a new format that no one else is doing!  LINKS Church Comm Team - We provide remote church communications support with a team of pros for less than a full-time employee's salary!  88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

If you've ever received a "bad" gift, you get it. It's not that you're unappreciative. You just don't know what to do with a wall-mounted fish that sings when people walk by. You don't think you'll ever wear a pink unitard that says "Work Out" anywhere. When guests arrive at your church, it's a nice gesture to give them a gift to say thank you for coming, just make sure you've thought it through so that the message you send is what you want. Justin Nava from Mr. Church Marketer gives us lots of great insight to the good, the bad, and the ridiculous guest gifts! IN THIS EPISODE The right philosophy behind giving guest gifts Good gift ideas Bad gift ideas and what makes them bad LINKS Church Comm Team - We provide remote church communications support with a team of pros for less than a full-time employee's salary!  88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

Have you ever walked out of a church service? Turns out, lots of people have. This week on the podcast, Meagan and I read some of the crazy, hilarious, upsetting, and uplifting stories we heard from you!  IN THIS EPISODE The amazing AUDACITY Legit reasons to get up and leave What some "normalized" actions can communicate to today's crowd that might be walk-out worthy. Lots and lots of laughter & opinions LINKS Church Comm Team - We provide remote church communications support with a team of pros for less than a full-time employee's salary!  88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

A church website is more important than ever in the post-covid, digital world. The year 2020 accelerated everyone's digital savvy by leaps and bounds, so more and more people will be using your church website than before. We'll discuss how to make your home page guest-friendly and how to optimize other pages for your regular attendees as well.    IN THIS EPISODE Things guests are looking for on your home page. How to use your website as a social and content hub Personas, targets, and how bullseyes work. How to organize or create content on your website that answers questions people are asking. What's the "junk drawer" of your website? LINKS Church Comm Team - Get a team of church communications pros for what you would pay a full-time employee! ManyChat 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

Today, you have two lobbies to think about. There's the physical lobby and the digital lobby. You've probably thought about how to cast vision in your lobby a little, with handouts, signage, posters, etc. But have you thought about your digital lobby? Meagan and Seth give practical ideas and strategies for communicating your vision both directly and indirectly in both spaces in this episode!   IN THIS EPISODE Ideas for capturing information from visitors Ways to implement your vision and values into the design of your lobby Ideas for creating digital lobby spaces that align with your vision Ways to create a journey and pathway for visitors to connect deeper into your church life   LINKS Church Comm Team - Get a team of church communications pros for what you would pay a full-time employee! 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

What is a First Time Backer? Well, it ain't no holla back girl, that's for sure.  In this episode, I talk with my good friend Jeff Reed from TheChurch.Digital about the future of the church in a hybrid digital/physical expression and what to do about it. We also talk about the phenomenon of your regular attenders who haven't been back in a year feeling like a first-time guest when they return. How are you handling both first-time guests and first-time backers?  LINKS Jeff on Twitter Stadia Church Planting The Church Digital Podcast https://thechurch.digital/  OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts  

Women have had to fight for a lot of rights and freedoms and the church is one of those places where the debate still quietly rages on. My guest this week, Adesewa Greg-Ighodaro helps women in the professional world in Nigeria, Africa to find their voice for sharing the Gospel in their workplace, their families, and in the church. She is a communications expert and has a lot to say about how women can lead the way to communicate better inside and outside the church! In this Episode: What it's like to go to church in Nigeria, Africa What differences exist for communications in the church between Nigeria and U.S. How women are raising their voices to lead in the church How Adesewa helps train women to find their voice to share the Gospel LINKS The Corporate Church Instagram & Website Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

Resumes don't always tell the whole story. When someone jumps from job to job it could be because they are not dependable and looking for the next big paycheck. It could also mean they are a high-capacity leader looking for a place to thrive. If you think you're a high-capacity leader or you have some that work for you, this podcast will help you understand what makes them tick and more importantly, how to prevent them from exploding. In this Episode: What is a high-capacity leader and how is it different from a high-capacity worker? The kind of temperament high-capacity leaders tend to have Why high-capacity leaders crave visionary leadership and freedom to fail How to deal with difficult barriers if you are a high-capacity leader How to deal with high-capacity leaders under you in the org chart LINKS Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

If you feel like you can't keep up with what's happening in the world of digital communication, follow Natchi Lazarus on Instagram. I talk with Natchi about what the church looks like in India, some of the latest trends and developments in digital media, and his new book The Connected Church in this episode of the podcast. In this Episode: What's different about the church in India compared to the USA New developments in Audio for Twitter (and Clubhouse) A new YouTube feature that makes message clips easy Social media attempts to crackdown on false information LINKS Natchi on Instagram Natchi's Book, The Connected Church Seth on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

Easter is coming. After a tough year in 2020 and a somewhat heavy Christmas, Easter might be a dark cloud in the future for some church leaders and communicators. This episode is your permission to see the bright and fun future of hope that this Easter represents! Meagan and Seth talk about several great ideas for online fun with Easter this year that will engage your people offline and help you communicate the Good News! In this Episode: A very unique start :)  Digital Easter ideas for families Content to create for your Easter services Social Media campaign ideas to build a user-generated content strategy LINKS Videoask.com Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

Every leader knows that they can't do everything. Which, of course, makes us feel like we can't do anything. Of course, that's not true, but who wants that? Learning to delegate tasks and doing it in a way that ensures the tasks are completed well is a learned skill. Paul Fleming has been a successful business owner, entrepreneur, pastor, and communication director. He shares how he has built several of these on remote work and strong delegation. In this Episode: Why it's so difficult to delegate, even though we know we should. What to do when we feel alone and there's no one to delegate to. How to delegate so that the job gets done well Common issues with organization that are barriers to good delegation LINKS Church Comm Team ChurchInk.com Churchswag.com Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

If you're in communications at your church, you probably need some help. Before we hire more staff, we first try to find volunteers. So where do we start? How do we recruit volunteers for our content teams, what teams should we create (like a Photography team)? In this episode, we'll tell you what has worked for us to recruit, train, inspire, and lead volunteer content teams for communications.   In this Episode: Recruitment methods and tools Training tips for getting quality content back How to celebrate wins Ways for photographers to turn in photos and how you can organize them Ideas for other types of content teams besides photographers LINKS SmugMug Flickr Example of a slide deck for training   Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram   OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

Whether you're a communication director just starting out or you're starting over, the first 100 days is an important time in the life of your ministry. What do you do first? Where do you start? In this episode, Seth and Meagan will give you some advice for how to execute a solid communications plan by laying out a few milestones and tools to help you activate your strategy!   In this Episode: Tools you'll need Ideas for what to do first How to set a timeline for milestones and goals A word or two about promotional tiers and handling difficult or high-maintenance departments LINKS Project Management: Trello, Basecamp, Monday, Asana Social Media Scheduling: Buffer, Hootsuite, Later Automation: Zapier, IFTTT Email Marketing: Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign Request Forms: Paperform, Typeform, Wufoo, Google Forms Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram   OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media   You're a church staff member sitting in the crowd and you hear an announcement about your area of ministry that you had NO IDEA was happening. Ever been there? Pulling a rabbit out of a hat is a welcome time for "Ta-Da!" but when it comes to working with leaders who hate magic but enjoy the big reveal, it's frustrating. This episode explains why playing your cards close to the chest, big reveals, and mixing metaphors is not a good leadership strategy!   In this Episode: TA-DA! moments are for crowds, not coworkers. Four negative things ta-da moments do to teams How different team members take it when you go for mysterious instead of clear. LINKS Blog Version: There's No Ta-Da! in TEAM Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram   OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media   Usually, the copy comes last. It's an afterthought behind the graphics, the plan, and the aesthetic. But the copy is what causes people to take action, so it should be an important checkbox on our content creation list. Because we often mail it in when it comes to writing, we write garbage. This episode is about easy alternatives to copy garbage. In this Episode: Cliche phrases that aren't that exciting Common insider-speak that doesn't work Things that cause an action that we often don't say well Asking the wrong questions LINKS Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram   OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media   This very important episode is a very honest conversation with my friend Jason Caston. Aside from his many communications credentials including Daystar, AT&T, and writing his own books and strategies, he has a very poignant perspective on how racism has been and is currently being dealt with in the church. Can we heal? Can we move forward? We have hope. But first, we have to talk about some things.    In this Episode: How has the black community interpreted the response to racism from the white community? What steps can we take to healing? What exactly is "white privilege?"  Have recent events polarized us in the church racially in ways we cannot recover from? LINKS Jason on Instagram The iChurch Method   Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram   OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media   I'm going to tell you how I started, organized, and managed almost 30 Facebook groups for my last church. We'll talk about how to run a group successfully and how to facilitate community online with your people.    In this Episode: The 4 categories of groups that any church can start with. How to choose leaders and train them to run groups How to define expectations and set the groups up How to decide what groups to start Keeping the content flowing and resourcing your leaders with ideas LINKS   Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram   OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media   Literally one of my worst fears about video chat is that I'll forget the video is on and do something embarrassing. There are rules, etiquette, if you will, to being on a video call and suddenly we all have to learn them. In this episode, Meagan and I walk through some of the rules for staff meetings, counseling calls, or general Zoom calls in King James style!   In this Episode: Ways to annoy your co-workers Lighting no-no's Audio faux-pa's Avoiding embarrassing moments LINKS Blog: 10 Commandments of Zoom Meetings 8" Ring Light Mobile phone ring light   Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram   OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media   There sure are a lot of experts in everything all of the sudden. It's weird. They have lots of opinions and sometimes, they start to sound the same. But the truth is, not every guru's idea that happens to work perfectly with a product they sell works for everyone. We have some somewhat unpopular opinions about church communications that we're ready to throw down on this episode of the podcast!    In this Episode: Should you hide or engage with negative comments? Do you really have to create content every single day? Will texting replace email? Which is better exposure: social media or email? Which churches should you watch for ideas? and much more! LINKS   Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram   OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media   There's a good reason for why we are all at each other's throats, depression is on the rise, suicide rates are up, and we are generally angry all the time. It's not just because it's an election year or because of quarantine, though those things have made it worse. What if I told you that social media has contributed to poor mental health in ways you couldn't imagine? We're discussing mental health and the effect social media has had and looking at the recent documentary The Social Dilemma on this episode of the podcast.   In this Episode: What social media algorithms contribute to our bias and health. How the Church has been affected by political divisiveness due to social media. Ways to keep yourself mentally and emotionally healthy through difficult times such as pandemics or elections. LINKS Working in Social Media: 7 tips to Protect your Mental Health from Later Get help from a counselor with Better Help Doomscrolling and our Mental Health by Seth Muse   Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram   OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media   Right now, we are rethinking EVERYTHING! Especially when it comes to core practices like guest follow-up. With a much larger digital audience than ever, it can be a bit overwhelming. Text in Church is one of those tools that can help you make sense of your follow up strategy and Jeanette Yates is one of those people who can help you do it well! She's always fun, so enjoy my conversation with Jeanette on this week's Seminary of Hard Knocks Podcast!   In this Episode: How online and digital follow up works with Text in Church. How Digital + Human interaction works better than one or the other Ways to create successful and personal follow up plans with digital How to get the new book releasing soon called "Boomerang" LINKS 500 Free Messages with Text in Church Boomerang Book Link Two Church Girls and a Microphone Podcast Jeanette on Instagram & Twitter   Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram   OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media   Kyle Draper and I used to work together in student ministry at a large church here in DFW. Now, we both have found our way into the digital marketing world and have joined forces again in this episode to pull back the curtain on social media and ministry and where those two intersect.   In this Episode: What do businesses get about social media that churches do not? What type of content should churches focus on? Should churches be on TikTok and how should they treat it? What you can and can't control about social media. LINKS Kyle on Instagram Kyle's Website   Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram   OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media   Joe Chavez is the former social media director for Elevation Church. In this episode, we talk about how to set up Facebook ads for people in and out of your church depending on which of the 3 levels of connection they are in. We'll also talk about what types of content works for those who are heavily invested as well as those who have no idea who you are.    In this Episode: How to set up a basic Facebook ad for 3 different audiences in your church The different types of ads in Facebook Ad Manager and what they mean Types of content that works best for the three types of audiences LINKS ChurchFacebookAds.com    Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram   OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media   The church is facing a crisis of identity at this point in time. As we deal with civil unrest, racism, and divisiveness in our churches over multiple issues, Nik is one of those guys who always seems to have a clear heading. This is a very frank and powerful conversation with a creative who understands how art and beauty can lead us to truth in the church and creative space.   In this Episode: How art and design can help us communicate as well as process pain. Thoughts on current events and the church concerning racism. LINKS CRTV Facebook Group CRTV Instagram CRTV conferences   Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram   OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media The future of the church is a big question. We know it will always endure, but what will it look like? Joanna and I discuss the impact of the digital renaissance that has been forced upon the church in 2020 and how churches can go forward from here with digital tools at the ready.   In this Episode: How can technology infuse with our in-person meetings? What will be the impact of a digital lockdown on the future of the church? LINKS Word Made Digital Podcast The Future Church Podcast Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts *Affiliate links mean I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Follow Seth:

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media The carousel post on Instagram is a powerful way to engage your audience with ideas and content in a deeper way. It uses a tactic called "microblogging." What is that you may ask? This episode is all about it and how you can get your church followers to engage longer with content that matters on Instagram. In this Episode: What is microblogging? How to use the carousel post for microblogging on Instagram How to use Instagram stories as microblogs Content ideas for microblogging on Instagram LINKS Hubspot article on Microblogging Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts *Affiliate links mean I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Follow Seth:

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media How do you know when you're doing well on social media? What metrics do you look at to determine success? Do you have goals? These are all things that churches must begin to master in order to have an impact on social media. Tammy Burdick from Firm Foundations Marketing stops by to talk us through setting good goals for social media and how to tell if you're doing well! LINKS Firm Foundations Marketing Follow FFM on Instagram & Facebook SEMRush Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts *Affiliate links mean I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Follow Seth:

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media Seth and Meagan share some of the big takeaways and highlights from The InstaSummit that just happened last week. This summit was all about helping churches master Instagram and understand the platform. They will go into detail about some of the speakers' content and reveal some surprising truths about where the church is with the platform. LINKS The InstaSummit Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts *Affiliate links mean I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Follow Seth:

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media As some churches consider reopening their buildings for services, we still have to think through safety and process along with keeping a strong guest first impressions presence alive for your live stream. First impressions expert Greg Atkinson stops by to give us some of his thoughts and wisdom on this episode! LINKS Book: Secrets of a Secret Shopper Blog: 10 questions to ask your congregation before you reopen Worship Impressions Greg Online Greg on Twitter Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS The InstaSummit! This free online summit will help church communicators master Instagram over three days of intense training! Get your free ticket HERE or upgrade to the Later pass for on-demand access. 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts *Affiliate links mean I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Follow Seth:

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media On this episode, Meagan and Seth talk about TikTok, the state of social media, and 5 types of engaging Instagram posts that connect during a time of quarantine. LINKS Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS The InstaSummit! This free online summit will help church communicators master Instagram over three days of intense training! Get your free ticket HERE or upgrade to the Later pass for on-demand access. 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts *Affiliate links mean I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Follow Seth:

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media Carl Barnhill of Twelve-Thirty Media specializes in making Sunday happen for churches. But now, that looks really different since moving to the online-only format during the COVID-19 pandemic. Should pastors try to do the same thing online that they would in an in-person service? That is our topic today on this episode! LINKS Twelve-Thirty Media COVID-19 Resources Making Sunday Happen Podcast Carl on Twitter Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS The InstaSummit! This free online summit will help church communicators master Instagram over three days of intense training! Get your free ticket HERE or upgrade to the Later pass for on-demand access. 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts *Affiliate links mean I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Follow Seth:

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media While quarantined, Seth and Meagan try to help church leaders and communicators figure out how to train and resource staff for online ministry. We're dropping links to a lot of great tools and giving you some ideas for training newbies to the online space for success! LINKS Zoom Training Video Calendly Training Video Episode 117 with Jeff Reed about online church Zoom Uberconference Calendly Open.life.church Rightnow media Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS The InstaSummit! This free online summit will help church communicators master Instagram over three days of intense training! Get your free ticket HERE or upgrade to the Later pass for on-demand access. 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts *Affiliate links mean I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Follow Seth:

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media Leaders are learners, I always say (and so do lots of people smarter than me). Especially in the world of communications where the game is always changing, we have to constantly be evolving our skillset and honing our craft. These are a few things that you can always be working on when you don't have anything in particular you're learning at the moment! LINKS Seth on Instagram Meagan on Instagram OTHER GREAT LINKS The InstaSummit! This free online summit will help church communicators master Instagram over three days of intense training! Get your free ticket HERE or upgrade to the Later pass for on-demand access. 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts *Affiliate links mean I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Follow Seth:

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media What if there were a way to reach people online in a real way? If you are church planting in 2020 (or dealing with a viral outbreak), planning for the digital church is a much bigger deal. Join me as I talk to Jeff Reed from Stadia Church Planting! LINKS Jeff on Twitter Stadia Church Planting The Church Digital Podcast Episode 76: Is online church "real" church w/ Jay Kranda of Saddleback OTHER GREAT LINKS The InstaSummit! This free online summit will help church communicators master Instagram over three days of intense training! Get your free ticket HERE or upgrade to the Later pass for on-demand access. 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts *Affiliate links mean I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Follow Seth:

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media If you're like many church communicators, you wear a lot of hats. Often the hats don't fit but you've gotta strut out into the street with it on anyway. Many of us have to manage a church website and have no idea how to code or troubleshoot, so we turn to an easy platform like Wordpress. These are some of the plugins we love that help take care of some basic functions for your website and require no CSS or HTML experience. LINKS SEOPress Classic Editor Duplicate Page Facebook Pixel Smush Elementor Builder Gravity Forms Post Expirator OTHER GREAT LINKS The InstaSummit! This free online summit will help church communicators master Instagram over three days of intense training! Get your free ticket HERE or upgrade to the Later pass for on-demand access.  Podcast gear! Seminarystuff.com is live! 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts *Affiliate links mean I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Follow Seth:

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media Wes Gay says we should pay attention to what major brands are doing on social media, not what major churches are doing. Do you agree? Find out the reasoning behind this idea on episode 115 of The Seminary of Hard Knocks podcast! LINKS Storybrand Wayfinder Agency Wes on Twitter OTHER GREAT LINKS Podcast gear! Seminarystuff.com is live! 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts *Affiliate links mean I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Follow Seth:

THE SEMINARY OF HARD KNOCKS PODCAST with Seth Muse and Meagan Ranson Church Communications | Marketing | Social Media This episode I talk to Phil Bowdle about his new book ReThink Communications. He says that Attendance, Engagement, and Attention have all changed and the church has to make a shift. Find out more in this episode! LINKS Phil's website (sweet branding) Phil's Book. Phil's Twitter The Communications Shift Your Church May Not Be Ready For OTHER GREAT LINKS Podcast gear! Seminarystuff.com is live! 88 Ideas for Church Social Media Posts *Affiliate links mean I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Follow Seth: