Social Media and the Gospel
Now before I baptise you as digital marketing strategy gurus, remember, I’m not ‘ the one’ you’re looking for; nor am I here to give you a spiel. I’m just a regular guy putting down his thoughts. Feel free, to sue me.
It’s like God spent a lot of money and got the communication all wrong! Or rather we took a long time to eventually get it right. God has been throwing hints about social media all along! Don’t believe me? Read on!
You see, people on earth disobeyed God. Adam and Eve ate the fruit that wasn’t meant for them. That’s like tagging 50 people in a Facebook picture when they’re not even there! Who wouldn’t get pissed off and banish you from the Garden of Eden? (Read Facebook) Well, I most certainly would!
That was the entire Old Testament in a nutshell.
So, God loved his people and hence sent his only son Jesus to save them. Pretty much like the communication mix sent social media; the cheap, effective, communication tool that promised to redeem businesses that couldn’t afford traditional media. And just like social media came along as a relatively less expensive saviour, Jesus too as we know, was born in a manger; with no frills, fancies and luxuries! Co-incidence you say? I’d say it was a big hint!
Whoever believes in him shall not perish but shall have eternal life; just like businesses that include social media in their digital marketing strategy!!
Now Jesus, he was one smart kid. He argued with the elders in the temple at the age of 12 and astonished them. Just like you need to defy your clients, and most importantly, even your own work at times. Be prepared for your meetings and remember to make your pitches and content creative. Defy the rules, argue if you have to, and wow clients and customers with your ideas! If I had my way, I’d totally do away with presentations; but we’ll save that tirade for another day!
Now Jesus’ first miracle was, turning water into wine. Here, my friend; lies strategy. Like my boss tells me to follow Forrester’s POST model. (forgot the full form, you can check here) Now Jesus could have turned that water into, beer, vodka, petrol, anything. He was Jesus wasn’t he? But what did Jesus do? He realized that it was a wedding, how important the event was; and hence turned the water into an expensive wine. Isn’t that the same we do with social media for clients? Recognize their objectives and convert communication to achieve them? Well, sometimes we lose track. And end up turning the water into rum, or beer or whatever it is the kids are drinking these days. No wonder then that we look like we’re serving beer to underage kids who don’t need it; and doing no one any good! When it comes to social media, I always think from a third person’s perspective. Before you post, always ask yourself, ‘Would I have clicked on that content if I saw it on my Twitter timeline or Facebook newsfeed along with 30 odd posts that I scroll through every second?’ If your answer is no, you’re definitely not turning the water into wine!
I would like to quote a tweet that I read. ‘You don’t need many followers. Jesus has just 12.’ It caught my attention because it’s so true! Of course, you can always run a campaign, get the required numbers up, and impress your clients in your weekly social media reports! But if you do it like Jesus and choose the ones who are necessary, they will spread your word. Because after a certain point, it’s not the quantity but the quality of your followers that counts! Narrowing down your target to the right audience is like striking a match next to a line of gun powder! Need I say more? That’s how it should be. Whoever said “content is king” definitely knew what he was talking about. Build that curiosity. Social media is advertising with words that have a weak shelf life! The right ones get ‘liked’, ‘shared’, and ‘retweeted’ etc. The people who do these are your disciples. Treat them well; we don’t need a Judas here.
I am not going to elaborate on ‘The Passion’ too much. But just remember that Jesus was scourged at the pillar, crowned with thorns, fell three times. It sure wasn’t easy. Neither is social media! There’s a lot to be done before redemption! Know your audience, study your insights, see what content gets you traction, and modify content according to your audiences’ tastes. Build an entire story around your content strategy; and then my friend thou shall rise from the tomb!
And now here’s the last hint; about presentation. 3 days after he was crucified, Jesus rose from the dead. He appeared to his disciples and let them touch the wounds on his hands to show them, he was alive and real. Yes, however much I hate PPTs, formatting, charts, and all of that; it’s important that you give your audience and clients the ‘wow’ factor. Jesus gave it to his apostles by returning from the dead and ascending into heaven in front of their eyes. Imagine the glory that heavenly content, wrapped in eye catching pictures and creativity, can bring to your pages/accounts! It will totally make your social media followers say ‘wow!’ Hallelujah!!!
Well my dear brother and sisters, that was social media and the gospel in a nutshell. Let us now bow our heads in prayer. But before that, you can p-reach out at ashish.dsouza@ethinos.com. Follow me @socialmunky and checkout our podcast on the 10 commandments of social media, right here!
Amen!
P.S. – Your feedback/questions/opinions are more than welcome!
what do you think?