Social Networks & Kingdom Influence
Social Networks & Kingdom Influence
When we offer something of value in networking, we gain influence. We all have something of value—an opinion, an experience, or a warning, and we can find a voice in social networks to increase our influence.
Several companies influenced me recently. I joined twitterland without knowing much about it or it’s powerful connectivity to the real world. After signing up for iContact’s free opt in e-mailing account, I had some issues getting the thing to work. I pursued the old route of e-mailing support and began waiting. Waiting. And waiting. Then I tweeted, “trying to figure out iContact.” It was a status update with no expectations. But amazing results happened. I got a response back from James Wong, @CommunityMGR, with iContact offering his assistance. He wasn’t blowing smoke either. I told him my problem, what I wanted to do, and he went above of his job description and helped me get up and running with my e-newsletter. iContact Support got involved after Mr. Wong worked his magic. Twitter allowed real conversation and assistance with a friendly/community atmosphere. A company is only as good as its real relationships with its clients. As a result, I paid for an upgraded account. This same scenario was repeated this past week. I sent a query to support then remembered twitter. I tweeted and Mr. Wong was at the rescue once again, long before support responded with a blanket that would never have given warmth—a useless response. Twitter replaced support hotlines and sold me as a client.
If only Blackberry had the same kind of service. I got nothing from Blackberry when I twittered, Googled, or asked in the AT&T store. Arg! Hate the lack of customer service. It felt like no one cared. Grrrr! I wanted to throw the thing through AT&T’s window. Satisfaction guaranteed! Wonder if iPhone’s people have better service?
Two examples of influence, one is great. The other’s horrible. I want to be a customer of those with great influence and I want to be a person of great influence, offering value to others. It’s important that we use our influence for God’s best interest especially in social networking. (ie. Don’t throw the Blackberry.) Kingdom people should use Kingdom influence to glorify God and we have a great opportunity to do so in the arena of social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Ed Stetzer, a man of Kingdom influence from LifeWay, posted a great blog about Social networking. He expounded his best practices—what he does and what he doesn’t do in social networking. Check out Anti-Social Networking.
Here’s a couple of links to free resources that may be useful to help spread your influence:
• Downloadable e-book about Facebook for use in ministry influence Facebook for Pastors.
• Downloadable e-book about Twitter for use by non-profits Twitter Jumpstart: The Complete Guide for Small Non-Profits
• Downloadable audio book about marketing for your message or book PyroMarketing
Let’s be Kingdom influencers of God’s good! Our best foot forward in the most relevant systems. God is awesome!
Hi Robin,
In the short time I’ve been on Facebook and Twitter I’ve been amazed at how helpful and far-reaching these social networks are. And you’re right, social networking can definitely be a Kingdom Influencer. It just goes to show that God is not lacking in creative ways to spread the gospel and show His love.