Facebook’s popularity and your church’s social media strategy

Facebook is popular.

Seems rather inane to state it like that, but a lot of people don’t know what to make of Facebook. Some don’t even know what Facebook is. Facebook’s incredible growth over the past year has far reaching implications not only for how people spend time online, but also how people interact in their daily lives. And this, in turn, affects the way we as the church operate. So the question is: how does a church make heads or tails of this bellwether of social media?

Since this article is long (1860 words, at last count), let me tell you where I’m going to go with this.

• First, we’ll try to understand the magnitude of growth that Facebook is experiencing.
• Then we’ll look at the factors that have contributed to this growth.
• I’ll present an interpretation of why Facebook is popular that should change the way churches approach it.
• We’ll conclude with a discussion of major implications for churches and their social media strategy.

So, just how popular is Facebook?

The facts:

• According to comScore data, Facebook reached 200 million unique visitors in November of 2008, reflecting a staggering 116 percent growth over the previous year.  Now 20 percent of everyone on the internet uses Facebook. That’s one out of every five people. (Table source: VentureBeat)

Facebook achieves 116 percent growth rate in 2008.

• Facebook is a world wide phenomenon. Here are some facts about Facebook’s global reach:
  • Number of active users : 175 million
  • Percent of Non-English users : 40%
  • Percent of Non-US population : 70%
  • Available number of languages : 43

• Facebook is no longer just for college students. Here’s a look at it’s growth across age groups (Source: Neilsen):

Facebook's 2008 growth by age group.

• Though 55 percent of Facebook’s users are under the age of 25, it is seeing the largest growth among people ages 18 to 49.

CNN Money puts Facebook’s size into perspective this way:

If Facebook were a country, it would have a population nearly as large as Brazil’s. It even edges out the U.S. television audience for Super Bowl XLIII, which drew a record-setting 152 million eyeballs.

In this era of online churches, is it too much of a leap to start sending missionaries to serve online?

But what is even more significant to churches is the increase in time people are spending on Facebook.

According to Compete , US residents spent more time last year on Facebook than any other website. According to Neilsen between December 2007 and December 2008, the total amount of time spent:

• online (globally) increased by 18 percent;
• on ‘Member Community’ sites increased by 63 percent;
• on Facebook increased by 566 percent (!!!!!).

More than 3 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day. It also has the highest average time per person (three hours 10 minutes) amongst the most popular online brands. Not only is Facebook reaching more people but it is consuming more and more of their attention.

So what?

Well, there are two ways to respond to the Facebook phenomenon.

1. Me-Too-ism -or- The Relevance Trap

You may be thinking to yourself, “I don’t understand Facebook, but it’s clear that it isn’t going away so it’s something that our church has to do.”

Given that approximately 61 percent of Protestant Senior Pastors are from the Baby Boomer generation (source: Barna research), the increased popularity of Facebook among their age group may make venturing on to the site less daunting. And so someone from the church staff or  congregation volunteers to set up a “fan” page for the church. Local members begin to sign up, proudly displaying their affiliation. Maybe someone posts some pictures or starts a discussion about a sermon. And VIOLA!! your church has a Facebook strategy!

But what’s the benefit?

Increased awareness of your ministry? Yes. A reputation for being tech-savvy? Sure. Enhanced spiritual growth or gospel-centered community living among the body? It is possible. Enhanced teaching/missions/service/pastoral care/worship/evangelism? What about looking after orphans and widows in their distress? And how helping your members keep themselves from being polluted by the world? How do you do that when you’re giving them a tacit endorsement of Facebook and by extenstion MySpace (gasp!) by having an official church page?

The problem is that developing a social media strategy this way is reactionary and is not start with a true understanding of Facebook and why people are attracted to it. Nor does it incorporate ministry goals or define web-relational models and strategies that are appropriate for Facebook. You’re so busy getting your church on Facebook that you’ve never stopped to ask whether or not doing so advances the mission of the church.

This does not mean you can’t have success without a strategy. Like Woody Allen says, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” Churches can not address the Facebook phenomenon without being on Facebook. And good things are happening as a result. There a many stories of life transformation, online conversions, deepening of relationships with Christ, and increased proclamation of the Gospel that are occurring online through tools like Facebook. The value of these can not be diminished. But the truth is that these are the exception, not the rule.

For your consideration: the percentage of the 50 million active Facebook users in the US that express personal interest or affiliation to the follow is disappointingly small (Source: Unconventional Method):

• The Bible – 2.81%
• Christian – 0.77%
• God – 0.69%
• Church – 0.57%
• Love – 0.45%
• Jesus – 0.19%
• Worship – 0.16%
• Theology – 0.10%
• Missions – 0.07%
• Social Justice – 0.05%
• Praying – 0.04%

Compare that to these other popular interests:

• Barack Obama – 6.38%
• Harry Potter – 3.39%
• Football – 2.20%
• Sleeping – 2.13%
• Gym – 2.08%
• Beer – 1.50%
• Food – 1.49%
• Breathing – 0.21%
• Sex – 0.14%

There are more people in the US who are willing to publicly promote on Facebook their affinity for “breathing” than those who would for “Jesus”. Despite our best efforts, the majority of the Body of Christ is not living out their life for Christ on Facebook. (Disclaimer: I too am guilty of this. My personal Facebook profile only mentions that I am a Christian. Though I am a “fan” of Tim Keller, so that’s got to count for something.)

I believe that we, as the church, can and should do more. I believe that the global Body of Christ has the responsibility to engage Facebook (and other realms of social media) as ambassadors of Christ. I believe  it is the responsibility of churches not only to participate in Facebook (and/or) other social media, but to understand what need individuals are having filled at such sites and be able to minister to those very needs with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Which brings me to the second approach to Facebook.

2. Understand and Employ

Why is Facebook so popular? From a functionality perspective, Neilsen identifies the following factors that have contributed to Facebook’s rapid growth:

• Design – it has an organized, simple and easy-to-use interface which appeals to a broader audience;
• Broad appeal – Facebook isn’t targeted towards a specific demographic;
• Activity Focus –  it is focused on connecting as opposed to entertaining;
• Architecture – it combines inventive features and open architecture;
• Privacy – it offers high levels of control over who sees content;

Facebook’s creator, Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for Facebook is for it to become the main place people live their digital lives. The strategy for achieving this has three components:

• Facebook as the main tool people use to communicate.
• Facebook as the central place for coordination and digital interaction (event organizing, media storage, entertainment and games, job postings and other classifieds, etc.).
• Facebook as the primary mode of personal identification across the web (Facebook Connect).

Neilsen has measured which aspects of Facebook people mention when writing about the network.

The most discussed aspects of Facebook.

As you can see “Friends” and “Profile” received the most mentions while other features d0 not receive as much attention. At it’s very core, Facebook is designed to facilitate interpersonal connections (friends) and online expression of self (profile). And it does so in a way that is accommodating to the preferences of the greatest number of people (simple design, customizable control, variety of features).

When you look at it like that, Facebook isn’t that different from the church. Fundamentally, the church exists to facilitate connections (with God and with others) and to facilitate expression of self (living life centered in Christ).

The difference is that with Facebook, there is very little accountability other than the self-policing that occurs within any group. There are no standards or requirements for participation. There is no commitment involved. There is nothing to promote progress or personal movement. There is no greater theme connecting it all together. It’s just people existing and interacting with others, just at a magnitude far greater than what is possible in real life. But unlike the church, Facebook itself has no meaning.

I was speaking with Tony Ferraro the other day and he believes there is a deeper, more spiritual reason Facebook is so popular. He said that because we are built in God’s image and He exists in relationship, we are compelled to live in relationship. Facebook has simply (and unknowingly) tapped into man’s need to be deeply known.

I think there is great wisdom in that. Sure, you can make the argument that the benefit of social media is how it facilitates interaction, engagement and participation among an audience. But deep down, at the root of the issue is our human need to be known. And in the absence of Jesus Christ, nothing (even Facebook) will meet that need.

So the question the church must ask itself is: are you engaging Facebook for your own good or for the good of others?

Don’t get me wrong, a church social media strategy is a great way to address many of the growth, marketing, and financial challenges facing churches today. According to social media marketers, the top benefits of a social media strategy are (Source: Social Media Marketing Industry Report):

• generating exposure for the organization (81%)
• increasing traffic and growing lists (61%)
• forming new business partnerships (56%)
• increasing search rankings (52%)
• generating qualified leads (48%)
• reducing marketing expenses (45%)
• closing business (35%)

So how do we add “introducing people to Jesus Christ” to the top of that list?

Despite the plethora of research out there about the Facebook phenomenon, ministry groups are only in the early stages of adapting their traditional evangelistic and ministry models to work within this context.

How can we promote activities on Facebook that we believe are central to being Christian and being the church? How do we lead others to use their self-expression and connection with others on Facebook to glorify God and serve His Kingdom?

Unconventional Method is embarking on a project that seeks to answer these questions. We seek forward-thinking churches who would like to participate in a study that examines the effectiveness of social media. We would love to work with your church (leadership, members, and community) in our efforts. In the next few months, we will be distributing an online survey that explores these issues in depth and seeking participants.

If you would like to participate, please email us at research@unconventionalmethod.com. Also, I’d love to hear your comments on how your church is approaching Facebook and what you believe is effective.

Thank you for reading.