My 6 Go-To Social Media Apps

Here are some social media tools for you to use in order to reach parents & students in your ministry. I currently use these tools for organization, task delegation, connections, and to build a following in my youth ministry. Some are FREE, others are PAID. I recommend you budget these in for 2017! They're worth it!

1. Meet Edgar: This is my go-to social media scheduler. Unlike regular post schedulers, with Meet Edgar, you simply place your different social media posts into category buckets. Edgar offers a few different options (like Blogs, Inspirational, Funny, Promotional, Tips, etc.). You can also create your own categories. You then select how often you want Edgar to post onto the three different social media apps they currently offer: Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. I love the fact that I can drop in or create a slew of social media posts and pretty much not worry about posting every day myself. It's kind of like that rotisserie cooker that came out a few years ago. "I just set it and forget it!" 

   

2. Buffer: I really only have Buffer for Instagram integration. I do the same as I do with Meet Edgar, but have to manually post to Instagram every day. For Instagram, Buffer does send you a reminder when your social media posts are set to be posted. If I want to re-post things later, I would have to do it manually. But, Buffer does a great job if you're on a tight budget. 

   

3. Snapchat: Many youth pastors are against using Snapchat due to the way so many people use it (for explicit content sharing). But, so many students use Snapchat these days and we should meet them there! What a great way to remind them that we're also on Snapchat and want to connect with them. I've used Snapchat to communicate quick information with students, asking them to sign up for camp, using fun filters to make announcements, and more. I don't, however, get into the texting feature on Snapchat, just to keep myself safe. 

   

4. Facebook Live: Have students missing out an event? Get on Facebook Live for a minute and let them see what they're missing. Sure, you can also do this on Snapchat, but why not do both? Get some of your students to hold up their cellphones to use Live. Find out how many of your students are actually still on Facebook, though. Make it interactive and have students give shout outs. 

   

5. Asana: This has been my method of communication with my team and interns for a while now. I also use it for my personal reminders, tasks, and projects. I currently use the free version and am looking into the paid version for 2017. You can skip emailing your team as the app allows for push notifications on their phones or tablets. Asana allows you to upload attachments and assign tasks to groups or individuals.                     

   

6. Group Ahead: I recently completed a 30-day free trial with Group Ahead. It's an app for your ministry! It works perfectly and the developers are working on the ability to post videos. For now, you can provide YouTube links for recorded sermons or announcements. I used to use a texting app for overall communication with students & parents, but having our own app covers all those bases and then some. My favorite feature is the calendar. We all get students constantly texting us, asking what time the next event begins, they ask if there's youth group on any given night, and this can get cumbersome. With your own app (fully protected), your information is accessible at all times. Another great feature is the ability to accept payments through Stripe! Check it out! 

   

I hope you try these apps for your ministry and budget them in for maximum impact in 2017 with creative communication and effectiveness with administration. Let's face it, we can all use a bit of help with admin duties. These apps make admin tasks fun & exciting. 

Hope this helps!