to use social media in your next

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

Joel Mikell & Bill McMillan

101 CREATIVE WAYS

INTRoduCTIoN — Why Social Media Matters (Even For Churches)

ChAPTER 1 — How Social Media WILL Help You Raise Money

ChAPTER 2 — Understand Your Social Media Channels

ChAPTER 3 — Get Familiar With the Best Social Media Mobile Apps

ChAPTER 4 — Basic Social Media Dos and Don’ts You Need to Follow

ChAPTER 5 — How to Create Your Social Media Plan

ChAPTER 6 — Who Needs to Be on Your Social Media Team?

ChAPTER 7 — Where to Incorporate Social Media on Your Church’s Website and Capital Campaigns Microsite

ChAPTER 8 — Use Social Media to Make Pledges and Promote Capital Campaign Giving

ChAPTER 9 — Use Social Media to Share Stories of Life Change

ChAPTER 10 — Use Social Media to Enhance Live Events

CoNCLuSIoN — Your Capital Campaign Will Die if You Leave It on the Platform (And in Print)

NExT STEPS

AbouT ThE AuThoRS

oThER RESouRCES FRoM RSI

Table of Contents

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When you think of a capital giving campaign, you may think of piggy banks, a special speaker,

a donation card in the back of a pew, or drawn up images of a new building. You may not

instinctually think of Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube. Consider these staggering stats gathered

in early 2014:

Social media is a game changer for church leaders. Once upon a time, in the not -so- distant

past, the way to get connected to people at church was to show up, chat after Sunday

School, grab a meal on Wednesday nights, go to youth group events or retreats. It used to be

that you had to talk to someone to get to know much of anything about them. Now with social

media you can scan through their likes, catch up on their status updates, flip through their

vacation photos and gather who the most important people are to them, some of what they

value, what they do for a living, what shows they watch, and perhaps even what they eat for

dinner (if they’re into posting pictures of their food.)

People can connect in a way that previous generations only imagined. So what are the

implications for church leaders?

INTRoduCTIoN

Why Social Media Matters (Even For Churches)

AirBnB has 10 million guests.

Amazon has 209 million users.

Candy Crush Saga has 500 million players.

Causes has 186 million registered users.

Facebook has 1.19 billion monthly

active users.

Google+ has 300 million active users.

Netflix has 40 million users.

Paypal has 132 million users.

Renren has 200 million users.

Snapchat has 26 million users.

Tumblr has 216.3 million monthly users.

Twitter has 500 million users.

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Social media offers an incredible opportunity to share what is happening at your church and

how people can get involved in the Great Commission. In the pages that follow, we outline

how social media can impact your church’s capital campaign and have a lasting impact on the

cause of Christ.

The potential is great. Let’s get started.

Social media helps members become more connected.

Social media helps communication become more well -rounded.

Social media is the way people under 40 communicate.

Social media must be used by the church or the church will not be heard.

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In 2010 the average donation through social media increased to $38.

In 2011 that number jumped to $55.

In 2012 it was $59.

Statistics courtesy of Nonprofit Quarterly.

People want to invest in things that are meaningful. Give them that opportunity through social

media and they will jump at it. Here’s how social media will help you raise money for your

capital campaign.

ChAPTER 1

How Social Media WILL Help You Raise Money

Connect with the people who are passionate about your cause. People

will be reminded of your campaign not only on Sunday in the worship

service, but on a Tuesday night while they’re watching TV and see a pin

you posted on Pinterest, or on Thursday morning when they’re scanning

Facebook and see an infographic of campaign progress. Social media

helps communication become more well- rounded.

Tell your church’s story in new, vibrant, and deeply moving ways with

images, infographics, video, live chats, and more.

Build trust by helping your church become more accessible and human.

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Your Next Step: Identify ways social media can help you tell your story better and

connect with existing and potential givers.

Increase traffic to your website and your online giving portal.

Give people a platform to vouch for you and share their passion.

Paint a vivid picture of what will happen after the capital goals have been

achieved.

Connect with donors who believe in and support your ministry but may

not even live in your geographic area. Remember how televangelism

blew up the megachurch movement in the 70s and 80s? (Think Jerry

Falwell, Pat Robertson, etc.) That is social media right now.

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Every day a new social network is born. While you easily have 10 or more huge social

networks that you can use, your campaign will be most successful if you really pour your

energy into one or two networks. Here are nine you may want to consider:

ChAPTER 2

Understand Your Social Media Channels

twitter. This microblogging site

is perfectly equipped for ongoing

conversations with people who care

about a specific cause. Designating

a hashtag for your campaign gives

people the opportunity to join in a larger

conversation.

iNStagram. This image- based platform

has incredible potential to move your

audience to action as they see poignant

photos and short videos of the good that

their money can do for others. You can

use this to show campaign progress , both

financial and physical.

Facebook. The mother of all social

channels, this is where people can

help you reach a larger donor base by

vouching for your organization. Their

friends (potential donors) trust you

because your donor trusts you.

tumblr. Tell your organization’s

story through multimedia here. Include

text, photos, quotes, links, music, and

video. This is a great way to reach

younger givers and even teens who

may encourage their parents to get

involved.

FourSquare. Allow church

members to “check in” and announce

where they are to the rest of the world.

This is just another way that people

can remind others in their social

spheres what is important to them.

ViNe. Use short six second videos to

share significant stats in a creative way.

People are more likely to watch a six

second video than a six minute video.

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Your Next Step: Decide which social channel(s) fit you best. Only utilize the number

of channels you can do well, and the ones where the people you want to connect with are

already active.

piNtereSt. This virtual pinboard

gives your church the opportunity to

share photos and links about your

capital campaign. Encourage church

members to re share your “pins” to

spread awareness about needs.

google+. Google’s social network

incorporates Google Hangouts (video

chats) and lets you share stuff with

both your inner circle and a larger

circle. Google+ is growing and should

not be ignored.

Youtube. Home to millions of videos,

YouTube has given anyone (who wants

one) a video platform. With YouTube

and the more sophisticated Vimeo, you

can create beautiful videos that tell

your story. YouTube is also the second

most -used search engine after Google.

People are watching.

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Mobile is the name of the game. If you’re thinking of your social media efforts as desktop

computer based, you’re missing a huge opportunity. Here’s how mobile apps will accelerate

your social efforts:

Statistics courtesy of UnifiedSocial.com.

Don’t limit your communication to the platform. Nearly 80 percent of

American Facebook users access the site via mobile at least once a

month. You have to have a mobile- optimized giving page. People are no

longer just giving when they write a check. They’re giving when they’re

waiting in the check out line at Wal Mart and they see your fourth post

about the capital campaign and decide it would be really easy to donate.

Make sure your messaging and your call to action are clear. Sixty percent

of Twitter users access the network via mobile at least once a month, and

this number is growing. Twitter is a place where users are really listening.

Your posts should center on what you need and why you need it.

Videos should have a clear purpose and a beginning, middle, and end -

just like any well- told story. Forty percent of YouTube video plays in the

United States now come from mobile. As the second most -used search

engine, you not only have to be on YouTube but you need to put some

decent content there.

ChAPTER 3

Get Familiar With the Best Social Media Mobile Apps

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If you’re not sure where to begin, here are some services to consider:

Your Next Step: Decide which tools you want to use to support your campaign. Sign up

and start exploring them.

HootSuite. This is arguably the best

app to use if you’re operating several

Facebook and Twitter channels. You can

create tabs and columns that help you

keep an eye on every conversation you

want to take part in.

Facebook pageS maNager. This

is the most effective app for not missing

a beat on your Facebook fan page. It’s

specifically created just for monitoring

those pages.

pocket. Use Pocket to save content

you’d like to read later. This is helpful

for aggregating articles and web content

that aligns with your story. (Think

success stories from other churches,

missions news, and even local news

stories about your church.) You can save

it and reshare it later.

buFFer. This great scheduling tool gives

you the opportunity to space out the content

you are sharing and easily see the reach

(how many people are potentially seeing your

content) and the number of clicks your links

are getting on each social network.

google aNalYticS. Get comprehensive

data on your website’s traffic and traffic

sources, from what city your viewers live in

to which social networks people are entering

your website from.

quicklYticS. This app gives you

continually updating mobile access to your

Google Analytics. Find out which posts are

getting clicked on the most and start to

discover the pattern of which kinds of posts

people respond to the most frequently. If

people seem to connect more with certain

types of posts, you can adjust your

plan accordingly.

Think mobile when you think of social media. Using mobile apps for

different social channels will help you knock your social media efforts out

of the park. If it’s on the phone or tablet, people will use it more. That

means more opportunity to connect with potential and current givers.

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You know now why to use social media and which networks and apps you may want to use.

Now you need some practical, in the trenches, how- to help. Here’s some no -nonsense “do’s”

and “don’ts”:

ChAPTER 4

Basic Social Media Dos and Don’ts You Need to Follow

do’S doN’TS

Do engage in the conversation. DoN’t just use social media like a megaphone.

Comment on donor tweets, answer questions, like posts. Do more than just

shout your message.

Do give people useful information, DoN’t just make the ask. The value of social

media is in the relationships that are formed. Provide useful content to your

followers, like insightful articles or an inspiring Bible verse.

Do approach Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram differently. DoN’t engage on

every social media platform the same way.

Do check your social accounts regularly-daily if possible. DoN’t login once a

month and attempt to make an impact.

Do respond to posts directed at you within 24 hours. DoN’t ignore posts from

your fans and followers. It’s insulting.

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Your Next Step: Fill out your social media profiles. Post profile and cover photos. Choose

a hashtag for your campaign.

Do establish your “voice” and keep it consistent. DoN’t be wildly different to

the point that people don’t know what to expect from you.

Do complete your profile on each platform you are going to activate.

DoN’t have such a limited account profile that people don’t know what

you are or why you’re there.

Do have a compelling photo (and cover photo or background photo) that helps

tell your story. DoN’t have a Facebook account without a cover photo.

Do ask questions. DoN’t do all the talking.

Do change it up. DoN’t be predictable with status updates. Variety is the

name of the game.

Do make sure your landing page, giving portal, and the rest of your web

presence is mobile optimized. DoN’t ignore smart phones and tablets. Mobile

users share content twice as often as desktop users.

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So where do you start? How do you create a plan for social media impact when you’ve never

done this before?

ChAPTER 5

How to Create Your Social Media Plan

Start with this question: who am I trying to reach?

Then ask this: where are these people spending their time online?

If you have a large operation, you may be able to focus on as many as four

social channels.

If you have less manpower, focus on one or two social channels.

Make sure the content you are pumping out is a healthy mix of giving your audience

useful, interesting information and making the ask.

You should have a minimum of five posts that don’t directly ask for a donation for

every one post that does ask for a donation.

Be clear from the start on what your goal is. If someone happens across your

Facebook page, they don’t need to be fuzzy on what the point of your campaign is,

how much you’re trying to raise, or what you’re trying to accomplish.

Work on your messaging. Make your goals so clear a six -year- old can explain it. We

are trying to raise X amount of dollars to fund X buildings to accomplish X.

Before the campaign begins, start collecting compelling images to post throughout

the campaign. Think photos from corporate events at church, kids with their piggy

banks, and even your leadership.

Start building momentum by engaging your staff and key leaders in the social media

campaign. They need to share content, comment, and retweet regularly

from the start.

Your posts on Facebook will get more eyeballs if the posts get significant engagement

quickly. That means comments, shares, and likes as soon as your post goes live.

Make sure your team is on top of it and engages with the posts quickly to ensure that

the content is leveraged well.

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Your Next Step: Begin sketching out your timeline and some big ideas you have for

various points along the journey. While every post can’t be scheduled, a lot of the milestones

can be planned.

Keep the momentum of the campaign up from start to finish. Do this by scheduling live

chats, recording Google Hangouts, and posting videos and other engaging content

throughout the entire campaign - not just at the beginning and the end.

Every “ask” post should include a detailed and uniquely compelling story of impact.

Always include how your church is making a difference and will be able to make more

of a difference with this funding.

Don’t be afraid to mention when the campaign is set to end. Give people a deadline.

Draft compelling copy for your social media messaging. Study headlines that

draw you in.

Pay attention to your analytics. When are people spending time on each social media

channel? Use resources like likealyzer.com to figure out when the best time of

day is to post.

Ask your followers - those who have bought in to your message - to share the content.

This gives them the opportunity to show where their values align and it gives your

cause a greater reach.

Invite donors to live events. This campaign is ultimately about connecting face- to- face,

so encourage that face -to-face engagement continually.

Request retweets on important posts.

Create a blog for the campaign.

Post campaign progress regularly on the blog. Don’t worry - blogs don’t have to be

long. In fact, the shorter a post is the better (within reason).

Post links to blog posts on your various social channels. This gives you an opportunity

to give donors and followers more information than you would be able to fit into a tweet

or a status update.

Announce campaign progress. Post a celebratory image when milestones are achieved.

Thank donors individually, both through snail mail and online.

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Deciding who to put on your social media team may be obvious—or it may not. The guy who

designed your website may not actually be the best one to run your Twitter account. Look for

a mix of tech savvy, strong communication skills, and a heart for the mission of what you want

to accomplish once you’ve fully funded your ministry plan.

ChAPTER 6

Who Needs to Be on Your Social Media Team?

Avoid focusing on age as the only qualifier for your social media team.

The youngest person on your staff may not be the one to manage your

Facebook account. If this person is not a natural communicator, his age

really doesn’t matter.

Utilize people who are passionate about your cause. Who really “gets it”?

If you are handing off social media to volunteers, first see if any of your

volunteers work in the social media realm professionally. These people will

be the ones who are most likely to connect the message to the goal.

Don’t just assign social media to a “techie” who can build a website. You

need excellent, creative communicators.

Use team members who are ready to pivot and make good choices in the

blink of an eye.

Most importantly: utilize people who have a heart to reach your community

for Christ.

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Your Next Step: Assemble your team and begin working out responsibilities, posting

schedules, and content ideas.

Digital natives will be pretty adept at learning new technology. You may

find that you need to shift strategies mid -campaign. Who on your team

would be able to identify that and handle it best?

Get buy- in from your leadership. Your pastor doesn’t have to have a large

amount of responsibility within your campaign, but he needs to be able to

login and stay up to date on what’s going on in each space.

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A big mistake we’ve seen church after church make is hiding their giving page deep within the

recesses of their website. Don’t make people hunt for this page! Make it easy for donors to

navigate your website and find the pages they are looking for.

Your Next Step: Update your website and campaign landing page to include giving links

on homepage and links to social media feeds.

ChAPTER 7

Where to Incorporate Social Media on Your Church’s Website and Capital Campaign Microsite

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Put important links and

navigation buttons on the

homepage. Place giving info

and social links above the

fold (the part of the website

that appears before you

have to scroll down).

Make the giving page accessible from your

social media profiles. As easy as it is to

recognize and locate the social media buttons

on your website and landing page, it should be

just as easy to find the giving page from your

social media pages. Don’t make people dig.

Make your social links

easy to find - almost as

easy as the “Give” button.

Use easy -to- read fonts

and color combinations.

Put social sharing links on every page of

your website and connect them to every

blog post. This makes it easy for people

to share your content and your website.

Add a live feed of social

activity (recent tweets and/or

posts). This is exciting to see

on a homepage. It makes

people want to continually

come back because they

know there will always be

new content.

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Take a page from the books of Kickstarter, GoFundMe, Indiegogo, Crowdfunder, RocketHub,

Crowdrise, Somolend, appbackr, AngelList, Invested.in, and Quirky. Tons of sites are giving

organizations the opportunity to raise money, and the number one place you’re hearing about

it is on other social channels like Facebook and Twitter.

Your Next Step: Brainstorm with your social media team and your leadership some

creative ideas for incorporating social media into your capital campaign in a unique and

memorable way.

ChAPTER 8

Use Social Media to Make Pledges and Promote Capital Campaign Giving

Consider giving rewards to donors of various levels. It could be items that have your

logo or even an early tour of a new building.

On Pinterest, pin items that will be purchased through capital giving.

Post regular updates on progress through Twitter.

Encourage followers to retweet.

Link back to the donate landing page regularly. If people want to donate and can’t

find the link, your social media campaign is pointless.

Share special stories of giving. For example: a 2nd grade Sunday School class raised

money with a bake sale. Be sensitive here and only share what is appropriate.

Designate a unique hashtag to use for your campaign. You can use it across Twitter,

Instagram, and Facebook. When people click on the hashtag they can have instant

access to the campaign from an array of perspectives. This increases excitement and

makes the community feel more tightly knit.

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One of the most exciting aspects of social media is that it gives you a platform to share

stories of life change. You can connect a specific face, name, and story with your church’s

capital campaign. No longer is your capital campaign just about brick and mortar. It’s about

a kid who has had multiple stepfathers who finds a relationship with his Heavenly Father and

shares that story with others. Here are some ways you can share stories like that:

ChAPTER 9

Use Social Media to Share Stories of Life Change

Be crystal clear on the donation payoff. Each giving level should describe donor

impact on one of your web pages.

Use YouTube and Vimeo to create a series of videos with personal testimonials

of life change.

Create both video and images for Instagram with powerful quotes.

Encourage givers to share their stories in their own status updates (being sure to tag

your church) and on your church’s Facebook page.

Choose a single story each week to highlight in a Facebook status update. This is a

powerful way to show the difference that is being made, one life at a time.

Pin images that show the work in progress, the practical needs, and inspiring quotes

and Bible verses.

Encourage church members to upload their own videos of life change onto YouTube.

You can share them on your other social media pages as well.

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Your Next Step: Ask the staff for powerful stories they’ve heard or experienced with

people who’ve been affected by the ministry of the church. Begin with just a couple of stories

and flesh out how you want to share them - whether it’s through photos, a video interview or

by letting them pen a blog post.

Create posts that align and reflect on what the pastor has been preaching lately in his

sermons. Get conversations started by sharing one of his key points, then posting a

follow up question.

All video posts don’t need to be perfectly polished. You can even have a volunteer

video someone’s testimony using an iPhone and post it.

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Social media is not just for connecting with people when they’re sitting on their couches

browsing their iPads. It’s also for connecting donors who may be in the same room. Consider

the following tips for utilizing social media to make in person connections even stronger.

ChAPTER 10

Use Social Media to Enhance Live Events

Get people excited ahead of time. Have a big campaign kickoff next month? Begin

using the campaign hashtag now and get excitement going online.

Get the conversation started. Ask questions before the campaign begins. Let people

know you exist online.

Enhance attendee connection during special events. Make your social media

presence accessible. Answer questions quickly and be available.

Keep the conversation going after the event. Once the money is raised, continue to

update supporters on progress via social media.

Stay connected to attendees. Don’t let your social pages become a wasteland once

the money is raised.

Determine which platform (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) is best for your

audience. Then narrow the focus.

Brainstorm ideas with your team ahead of time for implementing social media during

the events. Don’t just come up with ideas for posting off the cuff.

At the same time, pay attention to what is going on each day. You don’t want your

posts to look like they were programmed a week ago.

Create a hashtag unique to your event so attendees can join conversations on Twitter

and Facebook and view photos across Instagram.

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Feel free to implement ideas that have worked in the past, but don’t expect things to

play out the exact same way this time. Pay attention to other churches’ social media

accounts and messaging. Ask yourself what they are doing well and what needs

some work. It’s often easier to be objective about someone else’s project.

Remind people on social media to use it as a jumping off point to become more

engaged in the cause. Social media messages should be conversation starters.

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Your Next Step: Decide how you can use social media around your services and special

events. Keep important dates and information on a document your whole team can access

either on Google Drive or Dropbox.

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Social media is changing the landscape of not only how the world communicates but

also how dollars are raised for ministry and life change. As leaders, we can’t assume our

preferences are the same as those of the people who sit in our pews, chairs, or whatever.

It’s likely that what is efficient for you may be limiting your potential to spread the word about

your campaign and make this season of commitment something much more than a financial

pledge.

People want to hear stories. It is what validates the potential for impact they have when they

emotionally (and financially) commit to funding your capital campaign. There is no better way

to share stories on an ongoing basis than through social media. Plus, you’ll be empowering

every member to become an evangelist for the work and ministry of your church.

If you only communicate from the platform, you’ll miss a huge opportunity to connect with a

majority of people who will support your campaign. Life happens seven days a week. Social

media makes it possible for you to engage your givers even if they aren’t on your church

campus.

Social media is ever -evolving, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. The bottom line is that it’s

a resource that can help you connect with people who want to support your cause and help

you bring the vision God has given to you to reality.

CoNCLuSIoN

Your Capital Campaign Will Die If You Leave It on the Platform (And in Print)

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1. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

2. Subscribe to our blog on rsistewardship.com

3. Sign up for our e-newsletter.

4. Call us at 1.800.527.6824.

5. Contact us to discuss your church’s needs.

5 EASY WAYS FoR YouT o C o N N E C T W I T H R S I

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AbouT ThE AuThoRS

Joel mikell is president of RSI. With more than 25 years of local church ministry experience, he brings a passion for helping churches cast their vision to reach people for Christ, as only a pastor can. He has helped church leaders raise more than $400 million for kingdom projects and has had the privilege of working with some of the most well -known churches and church leaders across the country. Joel can be reached at joel.mikell@rsistewardship.com,Twitter ( @joelmikell ), or Facebook.

bill mcmillaN served for more than 20 years as both a pastor and a pastoral counselor before joining RSI. He currently serves as executive vice president. Bill has led thriving stewardship campaigns in churches of many sizes and denominations, raising millions of dollars for local ministry. He is an excellent communicator and project manager, whose consulting hallmarks lie in communications strategy and major gift development. Bill can be reached atbill.mcmillan@rsistewardship.com, Twitter ( @billmcmillanrsi ), or Facebook.

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P R O D U C E D B Y

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