Website and social media users from churches across the Diocese of Leeds have been learning how to make the most of digital communications as part of a Church of England drive to support and encourage the church to make the most of online platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and A Church Near You.
The sought after one day course at Church House in Leeds was oversubscribed and led by two of the Church of England’s Westminster based communications team, Liz Morgan, Churches Digital Champion and Isobel Neville, the Church of England’s Social Media Officer (both pictured below and right).
The team has already delivered training to hundreds of parishes in other dioceses and will continue to do so as they seek to support, equip, and enable local churches to maximise their digital presence and share the Christian message in an increasingly online world.
As well as going into the basics of creating effective Church Facebook pages and Instagram accounts, the course covered the national website, A Church Near You, and unlocked the mysteries of analytics, hashtags, promoted posts, safeguarding issues and dealing with negative comments.
"It has been great to be here in Leeds today to explore all things digital and what engaging content can be used on Church social media platforms,” said Liz Morgan.
“We believe websites such as Facebook, Instagram and A Church Near You can be great ways of parishes effectively reaching their communities and inviting more people in.”
Those taking part where overwhelmingly positive about the day. “Really useful”, “encouraging”, and “a marvellous day, clearly well-presented and just right for the audience", were some of the comments from those who took part from every corner of the diocese.
More courses are planned in the Diocese of Leeds as part of communication plans in 2019 to equip and build confidence around the use of digital and social media. Another training day will be repeated in September, along with Social Media Skills Camps held in each of the five areas.