GUIDE TO  
SOCIAL MEDIA  
FOR PARISHES  
PREPARED BY THE AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC MEDIA COUNCIL  
CONTENTS  
Foreword  
3
4
4
Why social media matters to your parish  
The challenges of conflict and oversharing  
Before you start  
Facebook  
5
6
Facebook Groups: a more private online forum  
Advantages of Groups  
6
7
Disadvantages of Groups  
8
Get started: creating a Facebook Group  
Facebook Pages  
8
8
Advantages of Pages  
8
Disadvantages of Pages  
9
Get started: creating your Facebook Page  
Facebook: Live  
9
9
How to get parishioners to use your Facebook Page or Group  
10  
Instagram  
Audience  
11  
11  
Advantages  
11  
11  
11  
11  
Disadvantages  
Getting started: creating an Instagram account  
What are “hashtags” for?  
What are Facebook and Instagram “stories”?  
Risks moderators will need to manage  
12  
12  
Administrators and Moderators  
Other social media platforms  
12  
13  
What’s next?  
13  
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GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PARISHES: Australian Catholic Media Council:  
FOREWORD  
“Stories leave their mark on us; they shape our convictions and our  
behaviour. They can help us understand and communicate who we are.”  
- Pope Francis, message for the 54th World Communications Day  
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,  
In his message for the 54th World Communications Day, which is celebrated in Australia on May 17,  
2020, Pope Francis reflects on the rich tradition of storytelling, drawing from the Book of Exodus: “That  
you may tell your children and grandchildren.”  
Indeed, storytelling has been central to the Christian life since the time of Jesus Christ and extends  
back through Jewish history in the Old Testament and in many other faiths and cultures. The Gospels  
have been described as “the greatest story ever told”, and certainly must be the story told most often.  
But the story of the Gospel today isn’t told only through those ancient texts. It is told in the life of our  
Catholic families and communities. It is told in the vibrant life of a parish.  
Social media is a tool through which the stories of our communities can be told using a range of  
mediums. At its best, social media helps build human relationships, augments the human interaction  
that we have IRL – “in real life”.  
This social media guide was developed over several months, incorporating feedback from people  
working in parishes. It couldn’t have been foreseen just how much technology would become central to  
the life of our Church and our worship.  
The COVID-19 experience has, in some ways, necessitated a journey into digital communications that  
had previously been slow to develop. Since early this century, three successive Popes have spoken  
about the opportunities that the internet, social media and other digital platforms provide for the Church.  
They’ve also noted that those platforms can be used for destructive behaviours like trolling, the sharing  
of illegal and immoral content, and the spread of “fake news”.  
The Church is called to harness the good of social media, being faithful witnesses in the content we  
share and in the ways that we use digital technology.  
This guide focuses particularly on the use of Facebook and Instagram – the two most used and, we  
believe, the most practical social platforms for parishes. It is designed to be a practical and living  
document, so parishes and other ministries are invited to offer feedback on the usefulness of the guide  
and also ask questions about other aspects of online communications. Please email media@catholic.  
org.au with that information.  
As we celebrate World Communications Day, I leave you with another quote from Pope Francis’  
message for this year:  
“With the gaze of the great storyteller – the only one who has the ultimate point of view –  
we can then approach the other characters, our brothers and sisters, who are with us as  
actors in today’s story.”  
May we be worthy communicators of the life-giving story of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which is  
also our own story.  
Yours in Christ,  
Bishop Patrick O’Regan  
Bishop Delegate for Media, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference  
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GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PARISHES: Australian Catholic Media Council:  
WHY SOCIAL MEDIA MATTERS TO YOUR PARISH  
Social media is the number one internet destination for millions of Australians today, with almost 80 per  
cent of Australians using the platform – including 99 per cent of those under 30, but also almost half of  
those over 65.  
Source: Sensis - ‘The must-know stats from the 2018 Yellow Social Media Report’ (2018)  
Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram let you both reach new people and  
strengthen relationships with and between current parishioners. Digitally sharing photos, videos  
(including live streaming) and articles through social media can translate to real-life conversation-  
starters between parishioners who might otherwise never talk, despite being in the same congregation  
for years.  
Social media also allows you to reach those who are less socially connected, including those who can’t  
get out of home often – something the COVID-19 experience has given us all a taste of.  
The challenges of conflict and oversharing  
Of course, social media has limitations and challenges too. Its success is driven by how much you can  
convince people to use and try it.  
Typing or reading text on a screen – the most popular form of social media - eliminates the facial  
expression and tone of voice that we normally take for granted when interacting in person, which can  
bring out a side of people that could make social media counterproductive to your mission of using  
digital means to strengthen your parish spirit. Always encourage civility and mutual respect, and be  
prepared to stop discussions that become antagonistic.  
Its relative anonymity can also encourage “oversharing”, where some people may share deep personal  
issues, conflicts and complaints that are likely better managed face to face or by phone, rather than  
publicly. Again, encourage those with such troubles to raise these privately – but don’t be so heavy-  
handed as to discourage openness.  
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GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PARISHES: Australian Catholic Media Council:  
Before you start  
● Form a social media team: many hands make light work, but also ensure someone is always  
keeping an eye on the page if things go awry. You don’t want to rely on just yourself, nor only  
one enthusiastic millennial who may leave or become too busy to run your social media. Too  
many parishes have seen their social media wither because of a lack of succession planning and  
sharing of work.  
Similarly, you’ll want to ensure some form of oversight from senior parishioners and the parish  
priest to prevent conflicting messages.  
● Decide on your decision-making process: agree on how you will make decisions within your  
social media team eg via email, a group Facebook Messenger/WhatsApp/SMS chat.  
What will be the approval process for each “post” (things you put on your official social media  
accounts)? Is your Parish Priest digitally active enough to approve each post, or will he need to  
allow some discretion by other team members to approve posts? Unlike, say, weekly newsletters  
and bulletins, social media posts both allow you to reach people faster – but their expectations of  
timely posts are also higher.  
● Resolve to be conversational: It’s crucial to understand social media is inherently  
conversational, so the formal tone we inherently use when writing official materials will be a turn-  
off to your audience, regardless of age. Write as you would say it in real life.  
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GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PARISHES: Australian Catholic Media Council:  
FACEBOOK  
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2.23 billion active users make it the world’s most popular social media platform.  
About 80% of all men and women who use the internet are on Facebook.  
Appeals to all ages: 62% of online seniors aged 65+ are on Facebook, 88% of online users aged  
18-29 (although the youngest users prefer to use Instagram).  
You can create both a Facebook “Group” AND Facebook “Page” for your parish - we’ll now explain the  
pros and cons of both.  
Facebook Groups: a more private online forum  
Facebook Groups are the equivalent of classic internet discussion forums, which you may have come  
across for your other areas of interest such as sport, parenting, cameras, technology, culture etc. Unlike  
those forums or Facebook Pages (more on those later), Facebook Groups allow more frank and honest  
conversation as they are more private – not everyone can see inside them.  
Discussions on Facebook Groups take place in “threads” attached to an original post. Someone will post  
a question, photo or link and everyone else will react and comment on that original post.  
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GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PARISHES: Australian Catholic Media Council:  
Advantages of Groups  
● Conversation starters: they  
encourage digital discussion between  
parishioners about parish matters that  
can then prompt more face-to-face chat  
after Mass.  
● Relatively low maintenance:  
discussion topics are decided by  
people in the group, so parish social  
media teams need only post if they  
want or need to (such as in the early  
days to get things started).  
● People can post and discuss almost  
anything:  
○
Photos of parish events and  
parishioners.  
○ Photos of a parishioner  
including a little story about  
them.  
○ Links, including to online articles  
about their faith.  
○
○
Event pages for parish events.  
Live streaming video such as  
Masses, Q and A sessions at  
home etc.  
○ Discussion about homilies,  
world events or news that affect your parish.  
○ Non-religious but useful content that can help fortify community spirit, for example, asking  
for tips on restaurants or schools, ideas for parents to entertain kids from the parish school  
during holidays etc.  
● Easy to control who can participate: Unlike Facebook Pages, which are public, the social media  
team can control who can come in or out of the Group, and also choose to approve posts. When  
setting up a Facebook Group, you can choose whether it should be:  
○ Closed: a moderator (priest or otherwise) must approve every person who enters the group.  
This ensures privacy and thus open conversation. A moderator, however, can also delete  
posts and comments by parishioners, which may become necessary if discussion becomes  
acrimonious (see below).  
○ Secret: will be hard for people to join, unless invited by other parishioners.  
○ Open: anyone can join and participate in discussion - not recommended as it may deter  
activity since the whole world can see everything in the group.  
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GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PARISHES: Australian Catholic Media Council:  
Disadvantages of Groups  
The potential for acrimony and people taking offence can be a major challenge for a moderator/  
admin of a group to manage.  
● Keyboard anonymity = emotion: Without face-to-face contact, people can be emotional and  
even hostile in a way you would not expect them to act in real life. If you have ever participated  
in online forums for your hobbies, work, politics, religion etc, you will be aware of the likelihood  
a discussion can become heated, which could potentially cause rifts between people in real life  
and deter people from participating.  
●
Moderator/Admin responsibilities: as the creator of the page, you will need to take  
responsibility for removing offensive posts or even users altogether, while explaining such  
decisions. Only delete or block people as a last resort, as this discourages openness.  
●
Conflict resolution or inappropriate posts: if people’s disagreements or sharing of personal  
issues gets out of hand, personally message or call them to ask them to stop and possibly  
discuss in private instead. If someone is a serial offender, you may need to remove them from  
the Group – though this should be a last resort.  
● Prevention: set “Group Rules” in your Group Description (which everyone will see) that people  
should only write things they can visualise themselves saying to a fellow parishioner the next  
time they see them at Mass (which they will!).  
Get started: creating a Facebook Group  
Simply follow this link for instructions on how to create your Group. https://www.facebook.com/  
help/167970719931213?helpref=about_content  
Facebook Pages  
Facebook’s version of a brochure and newsletter, Pages are your “official” and public presence. People  
follow them by “Liking” a Page – essentially a free subscription. Any member of the public can do so  
and see all comments and posts within, which gives them unique advantages and drawbacks.  
Advantages of Pages  
● Makes it easy for new people to “discover” your parish. You can link to your Facebook  
Page from emails, messages etc knowing people can instantly see all the (hopefully appealing)  
content that is on them, and follow the Pages easily.  
● Can be boosted (ie advertised). Unlike Groups, you can pay for Facebook to advertise your  
Page ie by inserting it into people’s Facebook feeds. Given budgetary constraints faced by  
some parishes, this may not be an option for many.  
● You can post content that you’re happy to be public. Examples of good Facebook Page  
content:  
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Updates about changes in Mass times and other public information.  
Photos and videos (including live streams of Mass) of your services.  
Photos and videos of those parishioners and public representatives such as priests who  
are happy to be seen by the public.  
○
○
Links to your official Parish websites.  
Facebook Events that are open to the public, such as Christmas and Easter services,  
First Holy Communion dates etc.  
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GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PARISHES: Australian Catholic Media Council:  
Disadvantages of Pages  
● They are public, not private: any photos you put up will be viewable by anyone who “Likes”  
your page. You have no control over who can “Like” your page and thus anyone can see what  
is on it, which makes them more open and easier to discover than Groups, but you may want to  
avoid putting more intimate content on it eg photos of families, children etc.  
● Not very visible unless people go looking for the Page: while Pages show up in Facebook  
search, which is a big way people find things on Facebook, they are not prominent in people’s  
feeds (a “feed” being the stream of automatically curated stories and posts Facebook users see)  
unless you pay for them to be “boosted” ie Facebook can make money.  
Get started: creating your Facebook Page  
Follow the instructions here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/creation/  
Facebook: Live  
Many of you may have come across live video streaming of Masses even before COVID-19 eg live  
televised Masses from the Vatican via YouTube. Facebook Live allows any user to stream video live,  
and audiences to react publicly in real time. You don’t need expensive video cameras and equipment –  
literally just a mobile phone with Facebook installed on it can do the job.  
Unlike YouTube, it has the advantage that its videos appear in people’s Facebook feeds live ie the video  
is already playing as people scroll through their Facebook content, which makes it far more likely for  
people to stop and watch than a YouTube video, which requires people to actively start playing the video  
and visit the YouTube page.  
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GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PARISHES: Australian Catholic Media Council:  
● Video has always  
been one of the most  
compelling forms  
of content on the  
internet. A single,  
well-advertised stream  
(ie live video post) can  
generate a huge amount  
of comments and  
discussions as the event  
is happening — far more  
than most text or photo  
posts.  
This is very useful for  
events besides Masses,  
such as a Q and A  
session or fireside chat  
with a parish priest  
from the presbytery.  
The social isolation  
rules of COVID-19 and  
the enormous boost  
in Facebook viewing  
time has seen many creative uses of Facebook Live such as home concerts that recognise  
traditional, polished expensive video setups are no longer necessary to attract an audience.  
● Promotion is important: Masses in particular lend themselves well to live streaming because  
they are at a set time that all parishioners know, so it’s easy for people to remember when they  
are being broadcast. Otherwise, in the lead up to your live event, publicise it via social media,  
newsletters etc.  
This won’t always be possible and you can often have luck with spontaneous Facebook Live  
streams during, say, the evening when you can expect many people will be home and on  
Facebook.  
● How to use Facebook Live: Facebook provides a simple guide to how to stream Facebook  
Live video but for more detailed instructions about how to live stream Mass and maximise the  
quality of the video people will watch, see the guide to live streaming produced by the Catholic  
Diocese of Parramatta.  
How to get parishioners to use your Facebook Page or Group  
●
Advertise your social media accounts regularly in Parish Bulletins, existing email  
newsletters and Mass announcements.  
●
Give the right instruction for how to find you: in your print publications, ask people to  
Search for <name of Parish Facebook Group> on Facebook. Facebook Group URLs (website  
addresses) are too long to feature in parish bulletins or posters.  
● Always try to use photos or even videos, not just text, as they stand out far more in a social  
media feed and Facebook tends to “elevate” such posts compared to plain text.  
● Post frequently to grow your Facebook Groups, especially in the early days when  
parishioners may need some encouragement. Remember, your Facebook Page is more like a  
public brochure; your Facebook Groups are where people connect more deeply.  
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GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PARISHES: Australian Catholic Media Council:  
INSTAGRAM  
A positive social media platform focued on photo and video (owned by Facebook)  
Audience:  
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1 billion active users  
68% are female  
72% of teens on Instagram  
Skewed towards youth: 59%  
of under 30 young adults  
use Instagram and 33% of  
internet users aged 30-49  
Advantages  
●
Heavily image based, which  
are easier and quicker to  
share than a written post  
●
Extremely positive culture,  
with limited conversation  
- thus limiting risk of  
acrimonious arguments and  
debates  
Disadvantages  
● Focus on imagery means  
it’s not good for detailed  
discussion or sharing  
information such as links to  
articles  
●
While very popular among  
the youth, Facebook is still  
utilised much more by older  
parishioners  
Getting started: creating an Instagram account  
https://help.instagram.com/155940534568753 (Note: Instagram accounts can only be created on, and  
content can only be posted via, a mobile device eg a phone or tablet).  
What are “hashtags” for?  
These are popular on Instagram (and Twitter, but not Facebook), and are crucial for attracting new  
people to your page. Simply include a hashtag (#) symbol for each post, followed by words you think are  
popular or searched for eg #sydney #Aussie #church #Catholic #faith #Christ.Your post will then appear  
in the feeds of Instagram users browsing that category.  
It would also be good to align your content to existing trends. For example, posting #MerryChristmas  
during Christmas or #PrayForAustralia during times the nation is affected like the bushfires or  
coronavirus will give your post more reach.  
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GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PARISHES: Australian Catholic Media Council:  
WHAT ARE FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM “STORIES”?  
Both Facebook and Instagram pinched an idea from their competitor SnapChat: to allow people to  
post content that was temporary.  
While most posts are there forever unless their creator deletes them, “Stories” are less polished,  
short-lived but popular posts that disappear within a day or two from your account.  
“Stories” are popular because they allow mobile phone users to create fun, simple additions to their  
photo and video such as circling text, making short video montages, drawing etc.  
RISKS MODERATORS WILL NEED TO MANAGE  
While social media provides a new avenue for previously unengaged parishioners to communicate  
with you, there are risks:  
●
People may publicly argue via the comments section of your page or group. Resolving  
disagreements via writing online, rather than face to face or phone calls, is generally difficult  
and can create awkward or even acrimonious feeling between more opinionated parishioners.  
●
Your page or group may be “trolled” - whereby strangers write negative, even nasty comments  
on your public posts. This may follow negative stories about the Catholic Church as a whole,  
all the way down to simple personal disputes.  
● As with any publication, there is a small chance of legal risk - for example, if someone is  
defamatory within your group.  
Administrators and Moderators  
Resolving these risks is up to the Administrator (“admin”) of the page (the person who originally  
created the page), or Moderators (“mods”) whom the admin appoints. These people have the power  
to remove or even ban users from a page, as well as prevent further comments on a post or page.  
Choose these moderators carefully - they should be calm, impartial and mature enough to treat  
everyone with respect, and strike a balance between allowing free discussion while also ensuring  
discussion and comments do not get out of hand.  
Given how quickly arguments and criticism can get out of hand, it’s best to have as many moderators  
as you can trust, ideally people who are digitally engaged.  
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GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PARISHES: Australian Catholic Media Council:  
OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS  
LinkedIn: basically Facebook for While not useful for Parish communication, it can  
professionals. There’s minimal value in LinkedIn  
for parishes given it is primarily geared towards  
be a valuable tool for parish priests and staff to  
connect to Catholics beyond their parishes and  
job searches and discussions about corporate and internationally.  
economic matters.  
By following high profile Catholic individuals  
and organisations, you can stay across the very  
latest in Catholic news around the world - and of  
course, the same goes for other topics you may  
be interested in such as national and international  
politics.  
Slack, Yammer etc: workplace  
based platforms that are useful for committees to  
discuss internal issues in well organised threads  
for different areas.  
Beware that everything on Twitter is visible to the  
whole world, so take care what you write - if at all.  
You may simply use it to follow other people rather  
than engage in discussion. Twitter is famous  
for often acrimonious debate given its focus on  
controversial news topics.  
Snapchat: A popular platform  
with teenagers and young adults in particular,  
Snapchat posts are all temporary. Facebook and  
Instagram Stories have become more popular  
recently, particularly with adults, so we don’t  
recommend Snapchat accounts unless your social  
media team is eager to use it.  
WeChat: popular with Asians,  
especially Chinese, because Facebook and other  
platforms are banned in China. Most Australian-  
based Asians use WhatsApp and Facebook  
extensively, so there’s relatively little need to start  
a WeChat account.  
Twitter: focused on news, posts or  
“tweets” appear in real time.  
WhatsApp: a globally popular, secure  
(data is encrypted) private chat/messaging  
platform - arguably the most popular in the world.  
It may be useful for smaller groups who need to  
communicate with more immediacy, eg Young  
Adult groups or Committees at your Parish.  
Tweets are limited to 280 characters (or clicks  
of a keyboard), which is why the platform caters  
more to quick updates and quick reactions. Thus,  
unlike Facebook and Instagram, the focus is on  
discussion, though photos do appear. “Tweets”  
also often use hashtags, like Instagram.  
WHAT’S NEXT?  
If you’re new to social media, join a few Facebook Groups and Pages yourself - there’s plenty out there  
- to get a feel for how they work. There are many Catholic groups such as Catholic Geeks, and many  
large parishes have a Facebook Page.  
Then simply use the links above to get started. And make sure you have fun!  
If you have questions, email media@catholic.org.au  
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GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PARISHES: Australian Catholic Media Council: