Inspire

If you can’t see this video in your RSS reader or email, then click here. Sponsor: Maximum Twitter Impact Course – $10 Special Offer. Show Notes In the last video podcast (which you can listen to on iTunes if you’re out and about btw) I talked about one of the three main ingredients of what it takes to grow your Twitter account fast with true followers so that you can have greater influence and impact. That was, be consistency and post frequently. Today I’m going to deep-dive into the other two pieces of ingredients: How to follow the right people How to unfollow the wrong people

If you can’t see this video in your RSS reader or email, then click here. Sponsor: Maximum Twitter Impact Course. Show Notes In today’s video podcast (which you can listen to on iTunes if you’re out and about btw) I talk about one of the three main ingredients of what it takes to grow your Twitter account fast with true followers so that you can have greater influence and impact. The challenge we face on social media (especially if you’re just starting out) is the challenge of getting noticed. How to get on Twitter’s recommendation list? How to get into Instagram’s discovery feed? How to be seen by followers of your followers through Retweets?  How to get more views on Facebook? The deceptively simple ingredient I talk about in this video podcast is the posting of content consistently and frequently. In this podcast I don’t just talk about where I’m succeeding, but also where I’m failing, and why. I also explain my motivation for consistent posting: 25% to 50% of my followers viewed my profile first. Example: In December 2015 I had over 10k profile visits and over 5k new followers The strategy feeds into itself: consistency is fuelled by new followers and new followers is fuelled by being consistency and a few other ingredients Love and Share If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. The higher the rating of this podcast on iTunes, the more visibility it’ll receive and the more people I can help. And you can be a part of that simply by going to iTunes and giving it a rating.

Welcome to Season 1, Episode 04 of Inspire, a podcast for Christian leaders online and those who aspire to be one. In this episode I talk with Ryan Richardson about whether the dangers of social media outweigh the benefits. Ryan is the founder of Media Safe workshops and the author of Saving Face(book) and Ryan has a brand new book coming out called When Private Is Public. You can find out more about him on his website Be Media Safe. Sponsor: Bluehost promotional offer. Set up a new account with Bluehost for only $3.49 a month (regular $5.99 a month). Click Here. Three Questions: Question #1: For some people the dangers of social media are greater than the benefits. People sometimes bring up the fact that there is porn on the Internet. Or that it’s not safe for their children. And these are valid concerns. But do these dangers and concerns outweigh the benefits of using social media for God’s Kingdom? What do you say to that person in church leadership who feels that way? Question #2: What are some measures a church can take to safely operate and utilize a social media ministry with their people? Question #3: What would you say to a church that is considering launching a social media ministry, but there’s some fear or hesitancy to move forward. They know that they “should” or “need” to be present online. But the whole endeavour seems strange and overwhelming. How would you counsel them? Love and Share If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. The higher the rating of this podcast on iTunes, the more visibility it’ll receive and the more people I can help. And you can be a part of that simply by going to iTunes and giving it a rating.

Welcome to Season 1, Episode 03 of Inspire, a podcast for Christian leaders online and those who aspire to be one. In this episode I discuss with you the 10 essential elements every church website absolutely needs in today’s world. I’ve done a pile of research over the past year and what I found is that only about 9% of churches in North American are equipped to reach 47% of their potential audience. Here’s what I mean: in his book, The Digital Church, Justin Wise and his team did a study and found that 47% of people surveyed said that a church’s website is a key factor when decided whether or not to visit the church. And in my study of hundreds of churches in major cities across Canada and the United States I found that only about 9% of churches have modern and functional websites that are equipped with the essential elements needed today to truly impact their visitor in a way that might help them decided to visitor the church. Sponsor: Bluehost promotional offer. Set up a new account with Bluehost for only $3.49 a month (regular $5.99 a month). Click Here. Show Notes #1: Put your contact and location information on the front page of your website. #2: Use real images rather than stock photos to show visitors you are genuine. #3: Include an About Us or History Page. #4: Tell your visitor what they can expect. #5: Let them know what your church stands for. #6: Share your core beliefs and values. #7: Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. #8: Include profiles of your leadership team. #9: Have a descriptive ministries page. #10: Upload audio and video sermons. Love and Share If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. The higher the rating of this podcast on iTunes, the more visibility it’ll receive and the more people I can help. And you can be a part of that simply by going to iTunes and giving it a rating.  

Welcome to Season 1, Episode 02 of Inspire, a podcast for Christian leaders online and those who aspire to be one. In this episode I offer 8 tips on how you can be more secure online. Internet security has never been more important than today. It seems hackers are in full bloom and it can be quite scary having a social media presence because you never know if or when you will be a hacker’s next victim. Believe me, my website was hacked once and it was terrifying. I felt helpless and violated. I didn’t know what to do. Fortunately I learned from that experience and now I want to share with you 8 tips to help you be more secure online. This is especially important if you have a ministry website or a church website or even a business. Listen Here Sponsor: Bluehost promotional offer. Set up a new account with Bluehost for only $3.49 a month (regular $5.99 a month). Click Here. Show Notes In this episode I offer eight tips to help you be more secure online. #1. Avoid registering with new websites or applications using 3rd party apps like Twitter, Facebook or Google+. #2. Assign a password point-person for your organization. #3. Create strong passwords that include numbers, symbols and ambiguous characters. #4. Be intentional about what you share and with whom. #5. Create a Junk email account. #6. Don’t give your passwords out (not even to friends). #7. Don’t forget to log out. #8: Prepare for the worst. Stay Calm Backup your website on a regular basis Contact your website provider, explain and explain the situation Contact people who might have been affected by the hack and explain the situation to them. Resources My Permissions Password Generator 1Password Worst passwords of 2014 Love and Share If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. The higher the rating of this podcast on iTunes, the more visibility it’ll receive and the more people I can help. And you can be a part of that simply by going to iTunes and giving it a rating.

Welcome to Season 1, Episode 01 of Inspire, a podcast for Christian leaders online and those who aspire to be one. In this episode I offer 10 tips to help you have the greatest impact for your mission, your ministry or your church with Facebook. Last year it was reported that the average organic reach of a post from a Facebook Page was somewhere between 3-6%. What that means is only about 3-6% of the people who said they want to see your content on Facebook, are actually seeing that content. “Organic reach” refers to “unpaid” reach. In other words, how many people saw your post without you having to pay for them to see it. And in February 2014 Facebook announced that we can expect that number to “approach zero in the foreseeable future.” Well, fortunately for you, there are ways to circumvent this system and grow your organic reach and engagement just by following these 10 simple but strategic steps. Listen Here Sponsor: Bluehost promotional offer. Set up a new account with Bluehost for only $3.49 a month (regular $5.99 a month). Click Here. Show Notes In this episode I elaborate on these 10 strategic steps that will help you get the most out of Facebook: Post frequently (but not too frequently) Invite your fans to select to “get notifications” Leverage your stats Schedule your posts Share on your personal profile Like and comment on your own posts Use images Make sure your content is relevant to your audience Complete your page Leverage a Facebook Group Resources Facebook Zero – Considering Life After The Demise of Organic Reach 2 über reasons your church Facebook Page is not enough How often should you post on your Facebook Pages? Should you Like your own Facebook posts? What’s the Difference between a Facebook Page and Group?  Love and Share If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. The higher the rating of this podcast on iTunes, the more visibility it’ll receive and the more people I can help. And you can be a part of that simply by going to iTunes and giving it a rating. Your Turn: Share with the community the secret to your success on Facebook? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Welcome to Season 1 Episode 0 (as in, zero) of my brand new podcast titled “Inspire: Faith and Leadership Online.” In this introductory episode to my new podcast I outline the three main themes or subjects that I’ll be podcasting about and I share with you what you can expect from me here. I also give you a sneak peek into the first episode. Listen Here Note: Because this is the first episode, it will take about a week before it shows up in iTunes. Show Notes Inspire is a podcast for leaders online and those who aspire to me one. Keep in mind that a leader is not necessarily someone who holds an official title. In fact, if you’re a follower of Jesus, then you’ve been called to make disciples. And that means Jesus asks you to be a leader. You are a leader. And this podcast is for you. 3 Main Themes My podcast will be driven by three main themes or subjects: 1. Social Media and Technology I’ll help you navigate social media with tips and advice to get the most out of it and it’ll point you to tools and ideas for you church, ministry and life. This will include how to make quality YouTube video for your ministry on a low budget, how to get the most out of Facebook and so on. 2. Leadership Online There’s a lot of leadership podcasts out there. But this podcast is specifically about how to be a leader in the digital space. How to conduct yourself. How private or public should your digital life be. How to engage online with integrity. 3. Pop Culture and Current Events We’ll be discussing books, movies and other pop culture related stores as they pertain to the Christian faith. It’s really important for Christian leaders to be engaged and informed about what’s going on in the digital space and in pop culture. And we’ll be discussing why in a future episode. Incidentals Just a few notes going forward. First, podcasting is a new venture for me and there will no doubt be a learning curve. Have a little mercy. Second, my podcast will be streamed to iTunes. This is for your convenience because it allows you to subscribe just to the podcast if you wish so that every new episode can be streamed directly to your smartphone device. (Of course you can also subscribe to this blog and I’ll notify you every time a new episode is published.) Third, I would really appreciate it if you could do two things for me. 1. it would really help if you could go to iTunes and rate my podcast. The higher my rating the more visibility it will receive and this means it’ll reach and help more people. You can partner with me simply by rating it in iTunes. 2. A second way you can partner with me is by sharing this episode on a social media platform of your choice or even by emailing it to a friend. Question: What questions and subjects would you like me to tackle in an upcoming episode? You can leave a comment by clicking here.