digital strategy 101 for #cnmac13

DIGITAL STRATEGY 101Dr Bex Lewis, CODEC, Durham University; Social Media Director, Digital Fingerprint

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

What is strategy?

http://www.wordnik.com/words/strategy

A plan of action resulting from strategy or intended to accomplish a specific goal.

"If you want to build a presence in the social

media platform, then you need to be present."

- @unmarketing

Social Media: More than the cherry on the cake!

Image Credit: Stockfresh

The Big Questions

• Why• Who• What • Where• When

• To achieve what?

• How do the digital tools help achieve this?

WHY?

What problem are you solving?

Image Credit: Stockfresh

The Church Front Door?For many churchgoing is no longer the ‘cultural norm’. People don’t actively ignore the church: they don’t even think about it. Matthew 5:13-16 calls us to be salt and light in the world, and for thousands in the ‘digital age’, that world includes social networks such Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest. With literally billions in the digital spaces, the online social spaces presented by churches need to be appealing, welcoming, and not look like they are just an afterthought: they are now effectively the ‘front door’ to your church for digital users, and you ignore those spaces at your peril.http://www.churchgrowthrd.org.uk/blog/churchgrowth/growing_churches_in_the_digital_age

Image Credit: Sxc.hu

• We are not selling something to the world that will make more people like us, believe in our story, join our churches. We are trying to be something in the world that invites connection and compassion, encourages comfort and healing for those in need, and challenges those in power to use that power in the service of justice and love

• (Drescher, 127)

WHO?

Who is your audience?

Image Credit: Stockfresh

DISCUSS: Your audience• Turn to person next to

you. • Who are you

interested in reaching/listening to?

• What ‘problems’ are you seeking to solve for them?

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Who/What?

Personas• http://justinwise.ne

t/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/carol-blog-9-555x822.jpg

Push/Pull Media…

Image Credit: Stockfresh

Who are you?• What are your values?• What do you stand for?• What is your ‘tone of voice’?• What can you contribute to the conversation?

– Locally?– Nationally? – Globally?

WHAT?

What do you have in place now, and what tools are you already using?

Image Credit: Stockfresh

A Clear Plan• Avoids

– Wasted Time– Wasted Effort– Seeing social media

as ‘play’– Social Media fatigue– Missed

OpportunitiesImage Credit: Stockfresh

“Call to Action”

• Don’t make it too complicated to participate• Define an (easy) action• Define the (simple) benefit(s)• Give a (short) time frame

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Shareability• Knowing

– Your Audience– Your Values

• What motivates you to share? – Funny?– Poignant?– For a particular person? http://bzevents.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/

2012/09/Instagram-wedding-hashtag.jpg

Networks of Networks

Image Credit: Stockfresh

Humour

http://anglicanmemes.com/2013/10/17/the-best-of-awkwardanglican-sorry-im-c-of-e/

Vulnerability

http://bigbible.org.uk/2013/08/digital-lunacy-and-new-acceptance-frdavidcloake/

The Visual…

https://www.facebook.com/bigbible

Don’t look to “publish” but engage in a CONVERSATION

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1382970

DO YOU Think people WILL join #ChristmasStarts?

Where

http://www.slideshare.net/drbexl/an-overview-of-social-media-january-2013

Facebook Insights

http://www.slideshare.net/drbexl/daily-twitter-workout

Blogging? Think About• Who are you blogging for?• How often can you blog?• What style of blog will you use?• What content can you produce?• What do you want Google to find?• Who else can you bring on board?

WHEN?

When? It takes TIME…

Source: RGBStock

Identify Keywords

Image Credit:Stockfresh

Hootsuite (Manage Multiple Accounts)

Hootsuite: Pre-Set Tweets

What is required?• Back to: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE?• What feels ‘acceptable’ as a starting point?

– Platform?– Frequency?– Personal/Organisational?– Shared?

• What will your “KPIs” look like? Can such things be defined in numbers?

• Sustained is better than ‘energy burst’ followed by ‘dead space’…

No Magic Bullet…

@drbexl @digitalfprint @bigbible

http://www.slideshare.net/drbexl/digital-strategy-101-for-cnmac13