I'm pleased to introduce a new friend to readers of Church Requel. I've invited Michael Cornett, the founder of Church Website Design, to guest post for me today. Thank you Michael - and I will take this advice personally!
Lately, every time I mention Google Plus in my posts, there always seems to be someone who tells me why Google Plus doesn’t matter. People tell me “no one uses Google+”, “why not just use Facebook?”, “really, another social media site I have to use?” So today we’re going to look at 10 reasons why your church should be on Google Plus.
1 ) Unlimited Post Length – While this may seem like a trivial matter, being able to post a full devotional, thought, or event can be extremely helpful.
2 ) Edit Your Posts – Ever make your post then realize you need to re-do it because you misspelled a word or left out some punctuation? With Google Plus, simply edit your post instead of re-typing.
3 ) Hangouts On Air – In a recent post, I described how you could stream your sermon live through Hangouts On Air.
4 ) Hangouts – Although I already mentioned Hangouts on Air, the normal hangouts can be a great way for your church staff to meet from different locations, have devotionals, or even follow up ‘in person’ to share the Gospel.
5 ) Over 170 Million ‘Users’ – The latest numbers released from Google says that over 170 million people have “upgraded” to Google Plus.
6 ) Visibility – Google Plus can help you increase your church’s visibility and ranking in search engine results. The posts that your church makes on Google Plus can even be seen in search results!
7 ) No Friend Requests –On Google Plus, you can simply add someone to your circles without asking for permission. They will add you back if they enjoy your posts.
8 ) Control – Google’s “Data Liberation” gives your church the ability to pack up all your data and leave with it at any time.
9 ) Hot Topics – Does your church keep up with certain Christian figures or news topics? The Hot Topic feature allows you to track the hottest topics on Google Plus, with adjustment sliders.
10 ) It’s Easy – If your church already uses Gmail, Google Docs, Calendar, or any Google services, using their social networking is the next logical step. Google has also made setting up your profile and sharing information incredibly easy, so give it a try!
While Google Plus may not be the behemoth that Facebook is, there is still an incredibly active community with whom your church may get involved. If your church isn’t seeing much activity on Google Plus, I would urge you to adjust the way that you have been using Google Plus and give it another try.
What do you think? Does your church use Google Plus? Are you willing to give it a try or a second look? Leave us a comment below and tell us your favorite feature of Google Plus.
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Michael Cornett is the founder of Church Website Design, a Christian web design company that helps churches share the Gospel through websites and free social media training. Michael can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Website4Church.
