Social Networks: A Way to Find Prospects and Keep Up with Members?
An online social network is a Website on which you enter your identity—your name, schools you attended, employment, or pictures. Your profile is then searchable by other people on the social network. As you find your friends, others also find you. It’s a place to build relationships and connect.
The Three Major Networks So what are the major social networks? Currently there are three major players in the social network arena, each with their own target audience. 1. The Teen: MySpace MySpace is the site that made social networking popular. Launched in 1999, MySpace didn’t become the leading social network until several years later and was subsequently bought by News Corp (FOX, New York Post, Zondervan, HarperCollins) for $580 million. MySpace was valued so highly because of the large number of teens who had voluntarily signed up for the site, given their personal information, and frequently visited the site not just throughout the week but throughout the day as well. The advertising potential for any large company was beyond compare. As many of the initial users of MySpace have grown older, there has recently been a slight decrease in the traffic to MySpace. In my opinion, two major demographics use MySpace: teenagers and young adults looking for relationships. The two groups can’t meet or intermingle (MySpace has blocks for users under 18), but the potential is always there. It’s very easy to stumble upon profiles whose pictures or intentions may be sexual in nature. MySpace is the most well-known social network. 2. The Young Adult: Facebook Facebook started as a social network for Harvard, expanded to include other exclusive Ivy League schools, and then began to allow anyone with an educational institution e-mail address (ending in .edu) to have access. More recently, Facebook was opened to anyone who would like to join. This decision, coupled with an open platform that allows Web developers to write Facebook applications, created a flood of new users for Facebook. In August 2007 Facebook overtook MySpace as the most popular social network.1 Facebook is the epitome of a both/and situation. Facebook is both the most private and most open social network. It’s the most private because in order to find out anything about a user, you have to have a real connection to that user. If the user doesn’t give permission for you to view their information, you’re not going to be able to find out much of anything about them. Facebook is also the most open social network. Once two users are friends, the social network is incredibly open with your information. Nearly everything you do (adding new friends, adding new applications, being shown in pictures) is broadcast to all of your friends. The majority of Facebook users are college students and young adults. Facebook has some great tools for keeping in contact through their groups. Also literally hundreds of applications can be added to a profile to add functionality to Facebook. Some churches use Facebook applications to notify church members of new podcasts being posted, while others, like LifeChurch.tv, use Facebook applications to help keep their members connected to church news. 3. The Professional: LinkedIn Consider LinkedIn as a way for them to introduce your church to other professionals. Does your church need a social network mind-set? Does your church need to be involved in a social network? I can assure you that your students are on MySpace, and young adults are probably already connected on Facebook. The advantage of a social network for your church is that it’s simply another channel to get information to people. Is there a way to use social networks in the same way you have been using phone prayer chairs? Does your worship team need to communicate during the week to plan and coordinate and pray together to be prepared to lead worship on Sunday. Can you use the Internet to link up faster with a visitor who might ask more questions about the church through a social network chat? How well do you connect with member who move away? The social network system can keep them linked with things back home and can also help you know how to pray for them as they seek a new church home. Social networks aren’t simply a newfangled technology fad. They represent places to find people, and they serve as a hub for friendships and relationships. Make it a point to set up your own social network account. As you begin to connect with old friends and others in the ministry, consider how your church can develop a social ministry mindset. Aaron Linne lives with his wife and two dogs in
One of the most professional social networks is LinkedIn. LinkedIn strictly intends to be for business contacts and friendships. The main feature of LinkedIn is being “introduced” to other professionals. If one of your contacts has a professional contact with whom you’d like to interact, you can ask your contact to send a message on your behalf.Is your church made up of a lot of professionals? Chances are many of them are members of LinkedIn.
Aaron Linne
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I was disappointed it didn't talk about church alternatives like mychurch and I know there are others out there, that I would've loved to read about! Grace