Using Facebook Effectively to Grow Your Speaking Ministry

Last week I talked about how the only social media strategy that works is to think about your target audience and then post stuff that would interest them–rather than just posting stuff about you or that you find interesting. It has to start with the people that you are trying to reach.

Today I want to talk about how specifically to use Facebook to do that.

Facebook has three main ways that you can connect with people: you can set up your own personal profile, you can start a page, or you can start a group.

If you’re thinking of starting a group, stop right now. They’re annoying. So many people have added me to groups and I hate it. The notifications drive me insane, and you have to specifically turn them off. So don’t do a group.

The question most people have is between a Fan Page and a personal profile. What do you do if you have a mixture of people in your personal profile, some of whom are your neighbours and your cousins and your dog walker and your pastor’s wife, and others who just know you from speaking? Or do you even need a Page? And what about the new Facebook changes? Let’s try to take these things one at a time.

1. A Page is more Targeted

On a Facebook Fan Page  you can specifically target those who are interested in hearing about your ministry–and not turn off your dogwalker or your cousin who isn’t a Christian yet. It’s easy to set up, and it looks like a personal profile. The difference is that you can have unlimited fans (a personal profile can only have 5,000), and you can have multiple people administering it, if you want.

I have both a Page and a Personal Profile, and whenever anyone sends me a friend request, I usually accept it but then also send them a message pointing to my page. I don’t tend to post as much on my personal profile about “work” type things as I do on my Page, and I don’t want them to miss it.

Try to only update your Page 2 times a day maximum. People don’t want to get overwhelmed with stuff from your Page. If you are going to do it more often, spread it out throughout the day. But it is a good idea to update every one or two days.

2. Divide Friends into Lists

Then, on your personal profile, make sure that you add EVERYONE to a list. If you have to go back and do this with friends you already have, go do it now. Go. Now. Don’t wait.

Why? Because then you can make sure that you don’t overwhelm your ministry acquaintances with personal stuff, or your personal acquaintances with business stuff.

For instance, let’s say that you wanted to write this as a status: “I’m on a cruise and loving it!” You may want your sister to know, and your cousin, but likely not everyone in the world. That’s like saying, “My house is empty! Come rob me!”

So what you can do is post that status, but then clarify who can see it. That’s where lists come in.

Usually Facebook shows a status update to “everyone”, but you can choose to make it visible to only a subset of your friends. Just click on “Everyone”, and then choose custom.

Now you can either choose to show it ONLY to certain lists, or Exclude certain lists. Just type the name of your list, and you’re set! So if I want to show something only to close friends and family, I’ll choose those lists. Or if I want to exclude something from family, because I don’t want to inundate them with ministry stuff, I’ll exclude them.

Note: for this to work, make sure that your personal profile’s privacy settings are such that your wall is not visible to anyone who is not your friend. If your wall is visible to everybody, then even if you choose to exclude certain people, strangers can still see it.

Now you can treat your personal profile like a Page, putting ministry up there, but not inundating your church family or your distant cousins with all of it.

So everytime you add someone on Facebook, put them in a list (or multiple lists). Then, when you make a status update, decide how many people you actually want to see this, and mark them accordingly.

3. Don’t Rely on Networked Blogs

A lot of us post to our personal profile and our Pages using NetworkedBlogs, a Facebook app that lets you add your blog, and then the blog post shows up without you having to specifically do anything.

If you’re not already using NetworkedBlogs, you can disregard this point, because I’m going to tell you why Facebook’s recent changes make NetworkedBlogs useless.

First, new blog posts used to show up in people’s news feeds. Now, if someone is subscribed to a bunch of blogs, they simply get a notification that there are 32 new blog posts, and most don’t click on it. So while my average post on my Facebook Page has about 1000 impressions, anything posted by Networked Blogs has only about 40, because they’re not in news feeds anymore.

So I’ve gone back to manually posting my blog posts, and bingo, they’re back at 900 impressions again.

All of Facebook has gone wonky with the new changes, because you can’t count on being in news feeds anymore with the way we used to do it. You have to manually enter stuff. It’s harder, but it’s the only way for people to see it.

4. Remember that Engagement is the Key

If you want to keep people seeing your stuff, then they have to interact with you. They have to click a like button, or leave a comment, or follow a link that you posted. When they do this, Facebook counts them as being interested in you, and you’re more likely to be a “top story” in their news feed.

Thus, the key to people seeing your stuff on Facebook is to post stuff that people are more likely to hit the “like” button about, or leave a comment. So ask a question every now and then. Post a pithy saying. Post a funny video or a funny status update, just so they will hit “like”.

When they hit “like”, that will then show up in all their friends’ ticker tape feed, the part that is now on the right hand side of the Facebook interface. And that may get you more traffic!

In sum, you should have a Facebook Page, but don’t ignore your personal profile, either. Lots of your friends won’t be fans of your page, so you should post in both. Just use lists to manage who sees what in your personal profile, and you won’t inundate people with too much information that isn’t helpful.

The most important part of keeping people interested in you, though, is the old truth that we can’t escape: post stuff that people actually find interesting and helpful. Do this, and people will interact with you, which will increase your visibility. Post only about yourself, and people will tune out.

I hope that helps! Tell me of your experiences with the new Facebook, and with Pages, and let’s see if we can help each other!

The Only Social Media Strategy that Works

Let me tell you about a woman I know who is an aspiring speaker. She also is quite involved in ministry to teens and the hurting.

I follow her on Twitter and Facebook, and occasionally look at her blog. And this professional woman, who is listed as “in a relationship” on Facebook, with no other information, spends 60% of her tweets replying to another male professional in the town where she lives. I have no idea what their relationship is, but I don’t think he’s the one she’s “in a relationship” with.

I don’t think there’s anything bad going on. It’s just odd.

And if I were a women’s ministry leader, and I were investigating her for a possible speaking engagement, and I took a look at her Twitter feed, I would have no idea that this was a woman who wanted to teach other women. And, by the way, I’d be very leery about this guy that she keeps talking to (even though it probably is innocent).

I know she is trying to build a speaking business, and a ministry, but she isn’t going to do it with that social media strategy.

We seem to think that the correct social media strategy is: If you build it, they will come.

In other words, if you’re tweeting, if you’re on Facebook, if you’re constantly updating your blog, you’re doing all the right things.

Nope. That’s not how it works.

If you want to become known in a certain sphere, and if you want people to take you seriously in your area of expertise, then you must actually tweet and update about that area of expertise. And pretty much ONLY that area of expertise.

That may not sound radical, but it is amazing how few people actually follow this advice. If you want to be known as someone who can minister to people recovering from cancer, for instance, then make sure most of your tweets have to do with inspirational quotes, cancer studies, links to inspirational stories or videos, posts on your own journey with cancer, and things like that. Do not talk about what you had for breakfast. Don’t throw in too many tweets about your kids’ soccer games (though the occasional one is okay). Don’t confuse people.

There is so much noise in the social media world that if people don’t know who you are, and can’t figure out what your brand is, they will tune you out. But if you can consistently talk on one main topic, you’ll get “listed” on Twitter (people can organize the people they follow into lists, so that they can keep better track of the people they find interesting. I’ve been listed almost 300 times now, because I tweet primarily about marriage). People will pay more attention to you. They’ll make sure not to miss your updates. They’ll interact with you on Facebook, and thus keep your Facebook updates in higher profile on their Facebook feeds.

I’m going to write a follow-up post on how to use Facebook appropriately so you don’t annoy your personal friends by posting too much about your business, but you also don’t annoy your “internet” friends by posting too much about your kids. So look for it!

But right now, do this experiment: take a look at the last fifteen updates on your Twitter feed (for those of you on Twitter) or your LinkedIn feed, or your Facebook feed, and ask yourself, “If I didn’t know who this person was, and just came across them, could I tell, based on only these updates, what their brand is? What their primary focus is?”

If you can’t answer yes to that, then you have a social media problem.

Social media can go far to define you as an expert in a field, but only if you consistently post about that field. So instead of thinking of “updates” as “updating people on what I am doing”, start thinking of updates as “updating people on something they would find interesting that has to do with my niche.” Don’t think about you would find interesting. Don’t start typing about what’s predominantly on your mind, or what you’re thinking about. Make the starting point what your target audience would find interesting, and then update them on that. They are the starting point, not you.

Refocus your strategy that way, and you’ll find a lot more people listening to what you say, because they know what it will be about and they’re interested in it. Keep updating people about your grocery purchases, or about your aunt who is sick, and you’ll lose them.

Coming soon: how to handle Facebook to find that balance between personal friends and fans!

If you want to learn more about managing an online community, my webinar and my e-course are tremendously helpful! They’ll direct you on how to focus your energies and be more strategic in what you do. Check them out!

Use Your Words: When Your Speaking Ministry Stresses You Out

Today on Use Your Words we talked stress. Usually I give  you some pep talk about marketing, or planning a talk, but I thought it was important to touch on something all of us deal with, but rarely talk about: how draining ministry is. And speaking ministry has its own unique stresses!

Every Tuesday I host a BlogTalkRadio show for 30 minutes, and you can listen live at noon EST. But if you didn’t make it, you can always listen to the shows after the fact. This week’s is right here.

To summarize, though, what are the sources of some stress?

1. Engagements with High Costs and Few Benefits

Picture this: you’re just starting out, and you’re so happy to receive any engagement that comes your way! You want to spak. You want to build word of mouth.

So when an offer comes, you jump at it. Then you realize that it involves driving six hours, billeting at someone’s house, speaking the next day, and driving home.

You drive. You’re exhausted. You arrive at the billet’s house and you have to be nice and make small talk, even though you’d rather just sleep. When you get to the engagement, only 30 women are there, and they’re not the kind who are likely to lead to a lot of word of mouth. At the end of the night, they give  you $50 and a potted plant.

You’re discouraged. That was a lot of effort for relatively little reward. Of course, God can bring rewards out of anything, no matter how small, and so you feel guilty for being a little bit resentful. But it was awfully far to drive, and awfully draining.

Do this too much and you will burn out.

Solutions: Do free engagements certainly, but try to do them closer to home. Read about cold-calling local churches. Be strategic about doing workshops at conferences, which are likely to lead to more word of mouth. If you are going to drive far, try to combine several engagements at once. And once you do start to get more engagements, it’s okay to ask for a hotel rather than a billet!

2. You Can’t Admit Your Struggles

My husband and I have been speaking at marriage conferences for six years now, and one of the hard things is that when I’m mad at him, it’s hard to tell anyone or get counsel, because people may think that our marriage is in trouble (even when it’s not). When you’re in ministry, you have to look like you have it altogether, or you may damage your reputation.

That’s exhausting, and spiritually dangerous. Remember all the big name preachers who are caught in scandals? People don’t wake up one day and make a huge mistake out of nowhere. It starts with little things they compromise on, and then it grows. And why do those little things appear? Because they don’t have anyone to talk to about their doubts and struggles, and they don’t have proper accountability.

Churches are working together to get pastors more accountability and anonymous help, but we speakers are a lonely bunch. We don’t have anyone doing that for us.

Solution: Make one of your primary prayer requests that God will send you 3-4 women with whom you can be completely honest. They don’t even need to live in your hometown! Send email prayer requests around, and ask them to hold you accountable.

3. Overbooking Yourself

When a speaking request comes for nine months in the future, you jump at it and say yes. Later you’re asked to speak somewhere else a week later, and you say yes to that, too. But when the week comes around, life has gotten in the way. Your kids are busy. All of a sudden there’s a family wedding you didn’t know about when you took those engagements, and you’re going to be driving all over the place trying to squeeze in shopping for a gift and dress fittings, etc.

The fact is that life does intrude, and we have to be wise.

Solution: Cluster your engagements. Try to do a whole bunch at once, so you’re away from the house for an extended period, but then be home for 6-7 weeks straight. When you speak every weekend, or once a week, your mind is never completely at home. You’re never able to completely relax (or even completely unpack!).

4. Worry When No Engagements Come

You’re doing everything you’re supposed to do, but your calendar isn’t filling up. Is God really calling you to this? What about money? You’re not being paid enough and you wonder whether you should still be doing this.

Solution: Keep up to date with God. Wrestle with your calling. Ask God if it was temporary, or if it’s long term. It is okay to do something for five years, and then God may call you to move on.

I said much more in the recording for Use Your Words, which you can listen to here.

Another resource I know you’ll find helpful is my audio download, How to Get Better Bookings. If you’re sick of driving huge distances for little reward, learn how to build word of mouth to get the kind of engagements you need! It’s available here.

How to Stop Nervousness When You Speak

Today on Use Your Words BlogTalkRadio, I talked about how to end nervousness! And you’ll be happy to know I didn’t say anything about picturing people in their underwear.

Listen in to the show here for great tips! It’s thirty minutes long, and well worth your time.

But here are a few highlights:

1. Practice one talk really well

You don’t have to create a new talk each time you speak. Use one talk, and adapt it to fit the theme that people ask you to speak on. The more you deliver your one talk, the more confident you will feel.

2. Be careful of speeding

When we’re nervous we tend to speak quickly. To stop this, make a habit of stressing one word per sentence, which forces you to vary your speed. Just keep emphasizing SOMETHING, all the time. You can also write throughout your notes the time that you’re supposed to be at different points. I write it in two minute intervals when I’m getting used to a new talk. I practice the talk, and then I bring a timer up to the podium with me, setting start when I begin speaking. Throughout my notes, it shows me where I should be at 7 minutes, or at 9 minutes. If I get there early, I know I’m speeding!

3. Be Careful of Filler Words

Fortify yourself on chocolate if you need to first, but then listen to a recording of yourself speak. Do you say filler words, like Ummmm, you know, right? If you do, learn to take a deep breath between sentences rather than trying to fill the space. Read this post for more information on overcoming filler words.

4. Use Stories

The more you use stories in your talk, rather than many theological points, the less nervous you will be. It is hard to keep 15 “proof texts” straight in your head, and that’s why we tend to rely on notes. But if you use one main Bible passage, and the rest of your talk uses illustrations and stories that expound the message of that passage, it’s easier to keep everything straight in your head.

For more information on how to do this well, check out my downloadable seminar, “Crafting Your Life Changing Signature Talk”.

5. Step Away from the Podium

Often we read our notes verbatim, or we cling to that podium, because it forms a barrier between us and our audience, which makes us less nervous. But even if we feel less nervous, we appear more so, and it isn’t very effective.

Learn to step away from the podium. This is easier to do if you don’t write your notes out verbatim, but instead just write down the names of the stories or illusrations you’re using. Then, when you go to tell a story, step away from the podium. Keep one hand on it, if you need to, just so that your hands know what to do, but you appear much more confident if you’re not always behind that podium!

There’s lots more in the Use Your Words show! So listen in, and remember, if you have questions you want me to tackle in one of the FREE BlogTalkRadio shows, let me know in the comments!

Doing One Thing Well…

When we start speaking, we’re desperate for work. We feel a little overwhelmed by the whole process–does God really want to use me? Do I really have something to say? And the more we get into speaking, the more excited we get. Maybe I really can do this!

The problem is that that excitement often isn’t blended with anything resembling a practical gameplan. Let me share with you a bit of my story to show you what I mean.

Many speakers are both speakers and writers. We’re essentially communicators, and we want to share the message that we believe God has given us. When I began speaking, I was mostly speaking to moms with young children. And I was also writing a column in a secular paper. I was writing for Christian magazines. I was writing books. I was sending out reprint requests to magazines all over North America to try to sell my previously published articles. I was speaking to MOPs groups.

And I’d talk to other speakers and writers and find out what they were doing, and I’d think, that’s such a good idea! I should do that, too!

What I found was that I was very busy, but I wasn’t focused. I was doing everything and anything.

And one day I realized, I can’t keep this up. I can’t go in 100 different directions. I have to figure out what specifically God is calling me to. These are the questions I asked myself to help me move in that direction:

1. What are my SPECIFIC giftings?

Obviously I can write, and I can speak. But many people can. What specifically was I good at? I realized that I was good at delivering a heartfelt message while still making people laugh. And that wasn’t limited to moms with young kids at home. It was to all women.

2. What are my specific interests?

I realized I wanted to keep speaking more than I wanted to write. Writing was interesting, but it was speaking that gave me energy.

3. Do I have a unique way of reaching the lost?

My column in the secular paper was very widely read, and it was my method of injecting some “Judeo-Christian” values into current debates. No matter what I gave up, I wasn’t going to give up that.

4. What is my long term goal?

I wanted to speak to large groups of women, and I wanted to write royalty books.

Once I figured all that out, it helped me plan my work schedule. I realized that all the writing I was doing for magazines wasn’t really part of my long-term aspirations. Ironically, that was what paid the best at the time. But it took precious work hours away from marketing my speaking, developing talks, and figuring out new books to write.

Now, of course, once you write books you have to publish articles to promote those books. I haven’t given up on writing articles altogether. But I now do it strategically, rather than all the time.

So if you’re trying to figure out what to focus on, because you’re going in many different directions, ask yourself: where is your ministry going?  Who is my MAIN target? Where will I get most of my income? Where is the most likely place where I can grow my business?

Answer those questions, and then make sure you’re spending 90% of your time chasing that market. Sure, there are other things we could be doing. I could write secular books. I could write magazine articles. I could ghost write. But I don’t do those things because it’s not my MAIN niche.

You have to figure out what your niche is and then work it hard. You want to be a big fish in a small pond, so figure out where your pond is and then work so that everyone in that pond has heard of you.

We all have many things we could be doing, but that doesn’t mean that all of them will contribute to your ultimate goals. Figure out what those goals are, and then WORK THOSE GOALS. Try to hit the bullseye.

I don’t have a lot of time to work. I homeschool my two teenaged daughters. I run a youth program at our church. I organize my extended family. I can’t write and speak full-time. I only have about two or three hours a day where I can really work. So I want to make sure those hours count.

You’re probably like me, and your hours are few and fleeting. Make them count. Focus on where you want to grow, and then work that area hard. Don’t try to do everything. You’ll find yourself much further ahead towards your goals if you think and work more strategically!

If you want more information on how to set goals and work them, my download How to Treat Speaking Like a Business will help.