Digital Day

Tuesday morning and DH and I were off to The Old Palace in Worcester for some training on Social Media, which was being run by the Church of England.
DH doesn't use social media a lot, but he likes a good course, and I needed a lift.
Besides which, if two of us go, then we can chat about it afterwards!

It seemed like a good idea when we signed up several months ago.
Then, as the date got closer, the doubts crept in...
"Would we be the only ones there?"
< Imagines four people sat around a table and the strain of trying to appear intelligent, focused and serious for several hours... >
"Would it all be stuff we already knew?"
< First create your facebook account... >
"Would it all be too complicated?"
< Which tab am I supposed to click, to be able to analyse the demographics of my target audience
and analyse by holiday destination?
What tones should I not use, to avoid alienation of my audience, by using the colour scheme of the 1990s away kit of a rival football team?  >

Traffic can be unpredictable,
so we allowed plenty of time
and arrived twenty minutes early.
We were upstairs in the Severn Room,
presumably so called because of the wonderful panoramic views it offers of the River Severn.
It was a beautiful morning,
but the river looked surprisingly muddy.
I took a quick photo looking down river
trying to minimise the amount of bird poop on the window and posted it on facebook.
No one said anything about the view,
the river,
or the sunshine.
They only commented on the poo!
Sigh.

The room was set out with about 40 chairs around small tables,
We were not going to be the only ones! Phew!!!
One of the organisers appeared and offered coffee.
It would be rude to refuse.


















We looked at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the advantages and the typical profile of a user.
Great advice was given on how to be strategic in our content and how to try to make our posts understandable and interesting, particularly to those who do not normally attend church.
"Avoid jargon!" urged our trainer and the above screen appeared listing words which were recommended that we should avoid using.
"Quinquennial is missing!" I declared.
From the look of bewilderment on her face, the rest of us were instantly aware that our trainer was not an Anglican by background.
Those receiving the training chuckled. They were all Anglican and being a mixture of clergy, readers, administrators, churchwardens and other interested persons, were all VERY familiar with the word! The second trainer bravely tried to put her in the picture.
'Quinquennial' was duly despatched to the Social Media equivalent of Room 101, along with 'Mission', 'Faculty', 'Evangelism', 'Benefice', 'Collect', 'Synod', 'Deanery', 'Diocese', 'Parochial', 'Lay', 'Episcopal', 'Lectionary' and 'Incumbent'.
There are undoubtedly others that could be added to this list,
but we got the idea that if we were communicating to a non-church audience,
our message must be easily understood and, as far as possible, devoid of ecclesiastical jargon.

What impacted me most about the course?
Thinking about what my audience might be interested in,
rather than just endlessly telling them what I want them to know.

Would I recommend the training?
Yes, though if you do not use any of the platforms the training focuses on,
you will soon feel out of your depth.
The training is great for those who are already using at least one form of social media.
I mean, you wouldn't sign up for an advanced driving course if you had never driven a car,
would you!?

RIP Google+

There are other social media platforms we did not cover, but the same principles would apply.
Know your audience and post relevantly and regularly.

I better go and find something interesting to post...
The Bishop of Dudley becoming the next Bishop of Norwich, or tomorrow's services - which would be the lesser evil, jargon-wise?