Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to sit in on an impromptu "social media boot-camp".  Tony Jones was visiting Aldesgate for the weekend and met with some of the staff and leadership to discuss the use of social media marketing and how to harness the power of free advertising.  The concept of it seems pretty easy: post idea and get your message out.  But what I found was the it is much more than type, post, and wait.  The plan needs to be orchestrated and intentional. Although the time spent was dedicated to how the church could use social media to get its message out, I began to wonder about how we use social media in our personal lives.  Do people really need to know where Allison and I are going for lunch on Sunday?  I could answer yes because it might give a local business some free advertising or introduce someone to a new style of food they had never  considered trying.  The answer could also no because no one cares that Allison just had the best BLT of her life (check our Society Fair, it's worth it!).

We all know the people who post the stupid funny pictures on Facebook of a cat eating an ice cream cone or a witty photo showing everyone how funny you are (even though the photo has been shared 100 times).  As a person with a message to share (hopefully there is someone out there who finds it interesting or helpful) I want to ensure that my ideas do not get lost in the shuffle on various social media outlets.  In order to do this I need to be calculated and intentional in what I share with the world and how I  go about sharing it.

So, do you have a plan for how you get your message out via social media or do you just push 'share' and hope for the best like I had been doing?