How to use the Church of England's national campaigns locally

Emma Sijuwade is a social media expert who has worked with a range of clients, including the Church of England and Lambeth Palace for Thy Kingdom Come. Emma will be sharing her expertise and first-hand knowledge of how to use the national campaigns locally at our next Labs Learning Roadshow in Oxford. Book your ticket here.

Before using the national campaigns locally, there are a few things to note:

1. Include national campaigns in your content calendar and social media strategy
   This will enable you to plan and tailor your content, making sure it fits with your social media goals and overall church objectives. If you don’t have a content calendar, you can download the free Church of England social media calendar here.

2. Follow the Church of England across all social platforms
   This will ensure that you don’t miss out on any crucial information they may share online. Find them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

3. Subscribe to the Church of England's digital newsletter
   The Church of England sends out great content and campaign resources in the Labs Latest monthly newsletter. If you haven’t signed up yet, you can here.

Here are several practical ways you can use national campaigns locally on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Facebook

• Share the Church of England’s campaign posts: this is the easiest way for your church to take part, as you won’t need to create your original content and it lets your followers know you are part of the campaign. To do this, click the 'Share' button found at the bottom of every post on the Church of England's Facebook page, and choose to share it to your church's page. Add you own caption to personalise it for your local community. 
• Tag the Church of England in all your campaign-related posts: they may reshare your post, which will expose your church to a much wider audience.
• Engage with the Church of England's campaign-related content: be sure to ‘Like’ and leave comments on posts, as it shows you are actively engaging with the campaign.
• Create original campaign-related content to share: make sure the video and images you create are high quality and can capture the attention of your audience almost immediately. Have you discovered the Resource Hub? Download free stock photography, logos, campaign resources and use the Video Generator, accessed all through A Church Near You, to help you create high quality content.
• Create a campaign-related Facebook event: let your followers and congregation know the events and services you have coming up and encourage them to join in. Add a location to your events to help your local community discover it in the Facebook events tab. Learn more about Facebook events here.

Instagram

• Share regular videos and images of how your church is taking part: for inspiration, take a look at the free social media content calendar. Remember, your images will need to be visually appealing with a strong caption to capture the imagination of your audience.
• Follow the official campaign hashtag on Instagram: find the hashtag by clicking on the magnifying glass at the bottom of the Instagram homepage, type in the hashtag, then select it from the search list. Now press the blue 'Follow' button to see posts using this hashtag in your newsfeed. This will help you keep up with how others are using the campaign and stay in the loop with all campaign content that is shared on the platform.
• Use Instagram stories to update your audience: showcase your day to day activities and what your church is doing for the national campaign. It’s a great way to get your audience engaged, excited and keep up the momentum. For some tips on how to create Instagram Stories, take a read of this blog.
• Use the official hashtag to interact with other churches joining in the campaign: search for other posts using the hashtag by clicking on the magnifying glass at the bottom of the Instagram home screen and typing the relevant hashtag into the search. Leave an encouraging comment on other's posts to inspire them to have a look at your profile and do the same back. It’s all about engaging with others and creating a community on this platform.
• Let your congregation know you are taking part in the campaign on Instagram: the biggest tool a church has is their congregation and Instagram requires a lot more cross-promotion, so be sure to shout about it at your services and events!

Twitter

• Use the official campaign hashtag: hashtags are super important to use and are the fastest way to find out any news about the national campaign. The #LiveLent campaign starts on Ash Wednesday!
• Interact with other churches who are taking part in the campaign: making your church known and active on Twitter encourages others to follow you and to engage with your campaign content.
• Tweet regularly: show how your church is participating in the national campaign by sharing multiple images and videos. Use a scheduler to plan your tweets in advance and ensure they go out on time.
• Share campaign-related resources: not only is sharing resources a great way to use the campaign locally but also another way to add value to followers. Retweet posts from the Church of England, or discover downloadable campaign resources on the Church of England's website.
• Create your own campaign-related content: remember to add subtitles to your campaign videos and make them as visually eye-catching as possible so, it stays on users’ timelines for longer. For tips on how to create videos, take a look at some of our recent blogs.

Finally, the most important thing is to have fun! Every church has a different story, and often, what may work for you may not work for someone else! Just make sure you are staying authentic and showing a different side to your church, as this is what truly resonates with your audience.

Next steps

• Sign up to receive the campaign reflection for #LiveLent here.
• Learn how to use Instagram in our Labs Learning blogs.
• Download the free social media content calendar here for content ideas and important dates.
• Access the Resource Hub through A Church Near You to find the Video Generator, free stock photography, logos and campaign resources.

Emma Sijuwade,
Senior Accounts Manager, Socibelle