God's Presence on Social Media

While enjoying the morning’s first cup of coffee, I find myself scrolling through the notifications on the various social media sites to catch up with family and friends.  It never fails; there is always at least one request for prayers.  Having been raised in a strict Roman Catholic household, I understand and respect the power of prayer and one’s faith.  

On an emotional and spiritual level, I have great respect for a majority of the requests then come across my newsfeeds.  Requesting prayers when a loved  one is battling a life threatening illness or, worse, is one thing. I can personally get behind and support those requests.

The requests I have a tough time supporting are the ones such as these which gone way beyond the spiritual realm:

• Please pray that my boyfriend doesn’t see this picture of me dancing on the bar last night after I told him I was too sick to go out.  
  
• My car needs a new transmission, please pray that it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.  
  
• Matilda really has her heart set on attending Harvard, please pray that they look beyond her 1150 SAT score.  
  
• Herman is interviewing for a promotion at work, please pray that he doesn’t screw it up like last time.

  

  Photo Credit: Agent-X Comics. www.agent-x.com.au

Are we to assume that God subscribes to Facebook, Google +, and Twitter?  Does he hold weekly hangouts?  Will he accept our friend requests?  If we don’t like and share the request, are we destined to go to hell?  Finally, if God has a Facebook timeline, how far back does it go and will we be able to finally answer the question of what he did on his day of rest?

How Many Likes & Shares Does It Take?

We have all seen them on Facebook and many of us have actually tried our luck by "liking and sharing" them.  Okay, since we are being honest here, I have even done it.  Who wouldn't want to win a free trip to the Bahamas or tickets to the Super Bowl by simply clicking the Like and/or Share button?  What harm can it do to like a page or a photo and then share them so all our Facebook friends can do the same?

Theoretically, liking and sharing a page or photo is not going to cause you harm.   However, these types of promotions are in direct violation of Facebook's Page Rules and Regulations. The continued use of them by Facebook pages can and will result in that page being shut down.  There goes all the hard work put in to build up a loyal following and strengthening the social engagement on the page.

We are not talking about a lot of money either.  There are some approved Facebook contest apps that cost as little as $4 per month to run contests on all your business pages.  Honestly, I do not believe it is about the money.

Unfortunately, too many business page administrators are so focused on building up the number of page followers, that they forget the true reason why they should be using Facebook as a social media marketing tool.

1.  It is to be social.  It is more about your followers getting to know you and for you to get to know them.  The more you interact with them, the more exposure and reach your page gets on Facebook.  Your followers' friends will see their interaction with you on their news feeds.  Johnny's friends are going to want to know what Johnny is talking about on your page.

2.  It is about the media.  It is proven that images and video extends a page's reach than mere words.  There are many ways to use images to get your message across.  And when someone comments on it, don't forget to respond to the comment.

3. Finally, it is about marketing.  Promoting a brand, product or cause is more than asking people to either buy or donate.  It is about educating the public about your brand, product or cause.  It is meant to be the soft sell approach to advertising.  

All it is going to take is one local small business page being shut down by Facebook for everyone else to sit up and listen.  Until then, if I can't beat them, I might has well join them... so for every share, like and comment this post gets, everyone will win.....  POOF!!!!!