14 Ways to Encourage Social Conversations

Church leaders, you experienced hectic days of figuring out how to pivot around coronavirus, shift to online-only services, and then calmly lead and communicated the changes to your congregation. (If this was a struggle for you, check out our FREE 4-Step framework.) Now is the time to shift focus to reaching people digitally for the foreseeable future. One of the best things you can do right now will be to learn how to encourage conversations on social media. This serves the church’s mission by: 

• reaching new people;
• engaging your audience, your community, so it will grow and flourish;
• keeping people in community, caring for and ministering to one another.

Unsure about taking this step? Imagine the impact you can have in an environment where people already spend a good amount of time.

Social media is social. Start conversations focused on their lives and experiences.

Starting conversations with people who aren’t physically in front of you can feel intimidating at first. We get that. The best thing to do is to dive in! 

To help get you started, we’re providing 14 ideas you can mix into your social media content plan. How do you get people talking? You ask them about themselves and their interests! That’s what you’ll find here. Everything from snack preferences to the spiritual. Use what works for your community and church brand. Change it up to make it yours. You can use these questions at the start of live videos, in social posts, on IG stories – anywhere you seek to strike up conversations and get to know people.

PRO TIP: Be real and be relevant. Be thinking of your audience on each particular platform. Try, learn what works well, and keep going.

Encourage conversation with these 14 idea prompts.

1. How do people so little have so much energy?! How are you encouraging your kids to get the wiggles out?
   
2. We’re hungry. What’s for dinner? Tell us or post a photo!
   
3. What snack isn’t safe in your house? (Family size packages are not single serving. Just saying.)
4. Alright, let’s see ‘em! Show us the last photo of your pet.
5. If your pet could speak, what would it say right now? (Who are we kidding, you two talk all the time.)
6. What’s the last verse you marked in your Bible? Why did it stand out to you?
7. Time for a playlist switch. What’s your favorite worship playlists right now? Spotify, Pandora, Amazon, doesn’t matter. Share them here!
8. The church is a group of people, not a building. We’re here for one another! Can we pray for you? Drop an emoji or comment below if you need prayer.
9. Our healthcare and emergency workers are on the front lines fighting this virus. Have someone in your family or a close friend we can pray for? Mention their name below so we can pray for them individually.
10. Monopoly? Catan? Shoots and Ladders? (We won’t judge.) What’s your favorite board game?
11. What has your young artist been up to? Let’s make a mini gallery so they can all show off their artwork! Share a photo below.
12. Extroverts prefer Facetiming, and Introverts prefer texting. Discuss!
13. If you could be in quarantine for two weeks with anybody from the Bible, who would it be? Can’t pick Jesus – we know what you’re up to – no cheating!
14. What kind of person are you? Stick to a schedule or go with the flow?

Remember: conversations lead to relationships. Sometimes, you need a little help to take that first step.

To make things even easier – have us send this info to your inbox. Put your info in the box below and we’ll hook you up.