This is the official blog of the Fort Worth deputation to the Episcopal Church’s 78th General Convention. Stay tuned for news, events, stories, observations, food, pictures, and all the fun you would expect from a bunch of Texas Episcopalians.
Who, me? You say I should “be social” at General Convention?
The Strategy of Using Social Media at the Episcopal General Convention
by Susan Kleinwecher, social media coordinator for the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth
The 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church brings the opportunity for participants to share so much of their experiences in the governance of TEC and the shaping of the future of the church. And it is vital to do so, in ways perhaps unfamiliar to many. It’s insufficient in 2012 to simply go home and write a 2-page article and publish it along with the rest of your July news and email or snail-mail it to your normal recipients. Yes, by all means, do that, but do more, and do it during General Convention.
The “more” is important. It is vital to the life of our church in a time that we so clearly need to grow and reach further, especially to younger audiences, ones that will become the leadership of our church. It is vital to help “folks at home” understand the topics and discussions and decisions that shape our church. It is important that we do this in a social context, because that’s where our reach is both strategic and effective.
It is heartening that so many dioceses have launched their convention publishing initiatives and sites, realizing why social media coverage is so important now:
- Social networking has twice the click-throughs as email, reaching more of your audience.
- Conversation about a subject engages more people than reporting about a subject.
- Pictures and videos elicit more engagement than other forms of digital publication.
- Social networking is a powerhouse for encouraging online engagement, improving and driving how people connect to your information.
- When people feel more connected, they participate more and give more.
When we embrace and follow a new model of engagement and conversation, while not abandoning less timely, traditionally authoritative ones, we won’t leave any listeners behind, and we’ll grow new ones. It’s win-win.
Serious nonprofits use the social web in intentional ways, not as a gimicky playground, but as part of a larger communications strategy, driven by solid content. Add to the content. Be social at General Convention, on social media, perhaps in ways that are new to you. Check in using Facebook or Foursquare so your peeps know you made it. Blog; perhaps enjoy the brevity of Tumblr. Post to Facebook, and Tweet about it all with hashtag #gc77. By all means, point us to your blogging on Twitter using #gc77 and a link shortened with bitly.com or goo.gl. Pin your good visual stuff, and tag it so we can find it. Add your ideas to the commentary every way you can.
The Church will be richer for the experiences and information you share in a timely manner and in newer ways.
Using Facebook for Episcopal General Convention
Admittedly, this is a timid approach to using Facebook
by Susan Kleinwecher, social media coordinator for the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth
What Facebook is:
it’s the largest social network in existence, used more than any other on the planet.
Getting Started: Go to facebook.com and create an account. Set up an account, upload your image/avatar. Find some friends! You’ll find people you know on Facebook, along with organizations you care about.
Tutorials: https://www.facebook.com/help/?page=260315770650470&ref=hcnav http://www.gcflearnfree.org/socialmedia http://www.gcflearnfree.org/facebook101
Connect with the Diocese: Go to facebook.com/DioFW and “Like” the diocese page. This will allow you to receive updates to the page and post to the page.
Post to our Diocesan Facebook Page: Our page allows posts by fans. Go for it! Post your resources, information, and links to blogs on our page; post to your personal profile as well. Page admins may re-post your information to extend its reach.
Where are the tags? Facebook does not tag content. It’s quite different from WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, Twitter, and Pinterest. It focuses on people connections, not content connections. Tag your content everywhere else, but not facebook.
Go Mobile: When you’re comfortable with using Facebook in your computer browser, know that every major mobile platform has a good, free Facebook app.
Why this is timid: I could make all our deputation a level of admin that facebook calls “content creator” (see Facebook’s admin roles). I’m leery of that. Somehow it changes the voice of the page from an official one to a more chatty, less-predictable one.
What comments do you have on my fearful approach- of NOT opening up Facebook and allowing our deputies to have admin roles, yet having the existing page managers and content creators re-post what our deputies share on the page? What are other dioceses and organizations doing on Facebook, considering a flood of content from new sources? What approach do you recommend?