TO:  Dr.  Matt  Cox,  Professor  of  English,  East  Carolina  University  
 
FROM:  Brittany  Rogers  
 
DATE:  October  4,  2018  
 
SUBJECT:  Social  Media  Proposal  for  Winston  Salem  First  
 
Executive  Summary  
Over  the  past  several  decades,  church  attendance  has  rapidly  decreased,  causing  many  churches  to  close  
their  doors  permanently,  unable  to  sustain  the  upkeep  of  a  building  and  salaries  of  a  staff.  Research  has  
show  that  this  regression  has  less  to  do  with  what  the  church  is  offering  and  more  about  how  the  church  
is  offering  it.    
 
At  the  core,  the  decrease  in  attendance  and  disenchantment  with  “church  culture”  has  to  do  with  
relevance.  One  of  the  ways  in  which  the  church  can  stay  relevant  is  to  optimize  its  online  presence;  and  a  
huge  tool  at  its  fingertips  is  social  media  and  other  web-­‐based  applications.    
 
The  key  to  an  effective  social  media  presence  is  consistency  in  identity,  engagement,  and  connectivity.    
This  proposal  serves  as  a  recommendation  for  the  enhancement  of  Winston  Salem  First’s  (WSF’s)  social  
media  presence,  and  is  based  on  an  evaluation  of  the  following  current  social  media  platforms:  
• Organization’s  Website   • YouTube  Page  
• Organization’s  Mobile  Application   • Instagram  Account  
• Facebook  Account   • Twitter  Account  
 
The  previously  submitted  recommendation  report  advocated  for:  
• Disabling  the  organization’s  Twitter  account.    
• Connecting  all  of  the  media  platforms.    
• Ensure  all  branding  is  cohesive  not  only  within  each  platform,  but  between  the  platforms.  
 
These  recommendations  have  been  revised  and  rearranged  as  follows  for  this  proposal  to  deliver  a  more  
methodical  plan  of  action:  
• RECOMMENDATION  #1:  Strategically  reduce  the  number  of  social  media  platforms  to  maximize  
efforts.  
• RECOMMENDATION  #2:  Create  consistent  branding  across  all  social  media  platforms,  specifically  in  
reference  to  organization’s  name,  logo,  and  key  phrase.  
• RECOMMENDATION  #3:  Provide  a  link/reference  to  all  other  social  media  platforms  within  each  
individual  social  media  outlet  to  increase  connectivity  and  engagement.  
 
Enclosed  are  proposed  tasks  and  timelines  for  achieving  each  recommendation,  as  well  as  financial  and  
personnel  considerations.  
 
 
   
 - PROPOSAL -
 
Discussion  
The  key  to  an  effective  social  media  presence  is  consistency  in  identity,  engagement,  and  connectivity.  In  
order  to  achieve  this  consistency  across  all  social  media  platforms,  an  organization’s  purpose  and  
audience  must  be  clearly  defined,  and  the  goals  of  social  media  as  a  tool  must  be  explicitly  understood.  
 
In  the  case  of  Winston  Salem  First,  the  following  is  true:  
Ø WSF’s  mission  for  its  members  is  to:  Know  God,  Connect  with  Others,  and  Transform  their  City.  
Ø WSF’s  target  audience(s)  is:  current  church  members  &  attendees,  prospective  church  attendees,  
and  the  strictly  online  campus  viewers/attendees.  
Ø WSF’s  social  media  outlets  should  provide  each  of  the  following:    
ü A  way  to  contact  the  church  
ü A  way  to  watch  and/or  listen  to  a  message  and/or  worship  service  
ü A  way  to  identify  the  physical  location(s)  of  the  church  (address/map)  
ü A  way  to  learn  about  upcoming  events  
ü A  way  to  give  monetarily  to  the  church
 
Problems  and  Recommendations  
Problem  #1:  Numerous  social  media  outlets  with  little  impact  and  low  engagement.    
Recommendation:  Strategically  reduce  the  number  of  social  media  platforms  to  maximize  efforts.  
 
Winston  Salem  First  currently  uses  6  social  media  outlets,  all  with  minimal  impact  and  low  engagement.  
In  order  to  maximize  efforts  put  into  social  media  strategy,  I  recommend  reducing  the  breadth  of  social  
media  outlets.  The  table  below  lists  the  number  of  subscribers  and/or  followers  of  each  social  media  
outlet.  
 
Social  Media  Platform   Followers  
Website   Unknown  
Mobile  Application   Unknown  
Facebook   2,510  
YouTube   526  
Instagram   1,223  
Twitter   1,288  
 
 
Problem  #2:  Inconsistent  organization  branding  across  social  media  platforms.  
Recommendation:  Create  consistent  branding  across  all  social  media  platforms,  specifically  in  reference  to  
organization’s  name,  logo,  and  key  phrase.  
 
As  seen  in  the  tables  and  graphics  below,  Winston  Salem  First  is  inconsistently  referenced  by  name,  logo,  
and  visional  key  phrase.  First,  the  organization’s  name  can  be  seen  in  an  array  of  formats  with  a  mixture  
of  uppercase  and  lowercase  letters.  Second,  the  organization’s  logo  is  consistent  throughout  all  platforms  
except  for  the  website,  which  is  arguably  the  backbone  of  all  the  other  platforms.  And  finally,  the  
organization’s  vision  statement  is  inconsistent  through  all  platforms  and  does  not  match  the  known  
mission  statement.  
 
Organization’s  Name  
Social  Media  Platform   Organization’s  Name  
Website  (wsfirst.com)   WinstonSalemFirst  
Mobile  Application   WSFirst,  wsf  
Facebook     WSFirst,  wsf  
YouTube   WSFIRST,  wsf  
Instagram   WinstonSalemFirst,  wsf,  wsfirst  
Twitter   wsfirst,  wsf  

 
Organization’s  Logo  
Website:   All  Other  Platforms:  

 
 
 
 
   
 
Organization’s  Key  Phrase  
Social  Media  Platform   Key  Phrase  
Website   We  believe  when  a  community  gathers  to  worship  and  seek  after  God,  atmospheres  shift,  hearts  
are  moved,  and  miracles  are  bound  to  happen!  
Mobile  App   We  are  a  diverse,  experiential  church  that  desires  to  share  the  message  of  hope  in  God.  At  the  
core,  we  just  want  to  be  a  group  of  people  who  reflect  the  kind  of  church  God  talks  about  in  the  
scriptures,  that  is,  we  want  to  be  a  biblically  functioning  community.  We  are  a  church  of  
substance,  helping  believers  grow  deeper  in  their  faith  in  order  to  bring  renewal….[continues]  
 
Facebook   We  are  a  diverse,  experiential  church  that  desires  to  share  the  message  of  hope  in  God.  
YouTube   We  are  a  diverse,  experiential  church  that  desires  to  share  the  message  of  hope  in  God.  At  our  
core,  we  just  want  to  be  a  group  of  people  who  reflect  the  kind  of  church  God  talks  about  in  the  
scriptures,  that  is,  we  want  to  be  a  biblically  functioning  community.  We  are  a  church  of  
substance,  helping  believers  grow  deeper  in  their  faith  in  order  to  bring  renewal  to  the  people  
and  places  around  them.  There's  a  way  for  you  to  connect,  understand,  and  contribute.  
 
Instagram   A  diverse,  experiential  church  that  shares  the  message  of  hope  in  God.  
Twitter   A  diverse,  experiential  church  that  shares  the  message  of  hope  in  God.  
 
 
Problem  #3:  Social  media  platforms  do  not  consistently  reference  each  other.    
Recommendation:  Provide  a  link  to  all  other  social  media  platforms  within  each  individual  social  media  
outlet  to  increase  connectivity  and  engagement.  
 
Most  people  are  active  users  of  more  than  one  social  media  platform.  Thus,  it  is  to  an  organization’s  
benefit  to  provide  links  to  their  other  social  pages  from  each  source.  For  example,  an  organization’s  
website  should  provide  icons  that  link  viewers  to  all  of  the  organization’s  social  media  accounts.  The  
organization’s  social  media  accounts  should  reference  all  other  platforms  that  are  used  by  the  
organization  (i.e.  YouTube  channel  should  provide  Twitter  and  Instagram  handles,  Facebook  links,  etc.).  
It  is  important  to  establish  connectedness  between  platforms  for  users.  
 
 
 
Proposed  Tasks  
In  this  section,  tasks  are  provided  for  achieving  each  recommendation.    
 
Recommendation  #1:  Strategically  reduce  the  number  of  social  media  platforms  to  maximize  efforts.  
• Task  1:  Assess  the  number  of  followers,  subscribers,  and/or  viewers  across  all  platforms.  
• Task  2:  Assess  the  function(s)  of  all  platforms.  Do  they  meet  the  social  media  goals?  
o A  way  to  contact  the  church  
o A  way  to  watch  and/or  listen  to  a  message  and/or  worship  service  
o A  way  to  identify  the  physical  location(s)  of  the  church  (address/map)  
o A  way  to  learn  about  upcoming  events  
o A  way  to  give  monetarily  to  the  church  
• Task  3:  Take  into  account  redundant  functionality.  
o Example  1:  YouTube  allows  subscribers  to  view  previous  messages  and  worship  services.  
However,  so  does  the  organization’s  website,  mobile  app,  and  facebook.  Out  of  those  4  
platforms,  YouTube  has  the  fewest  subscribers.  Consider  deactivating  the  YouTube  
channel.  
o Example  2:  Twitter  allows  followers  to  see  written  posts  from  the  organization,  but  so  does  
Facebook  and  Instagram.  Twitter  may  have  more  followers  than  the  other  two  outlets,  but  
Facebook  and  Instagram  allow  for  visual  communications  as  well.  Consider  deactivating  
the  Twitter  account.  
 
Recommendation  #2:  Create  consistent  branding  across  all  social  media  platforms,  specifically  in  reference  
to  organization’s  name,  logo,  and  key  phrase.  
• Task  4:  Determine  organization’s  brand.  This  includes  name  (and  perhaps  a  singular  nickname  or  
abbreviation),  singular  logo,  and  color  scheme.  
• Task  5:  Update  name  and  logo  across  all  platforms.  
• Task  6:  Meet  with  organization’s  leadership  to  clarify  and  finalize  the  mission/vision  statement.    
o Consider  how  the  mission/vision  statement  will  affect  all  audiences.  (For  example,  the  
current  mission  statement  is  to  Know  God,  Connect  with  Others,  and  Transform  our  City.  
How  does  Transform  our  City  impact  the  strictly  online  audience  who  does  not  live  in  the  
same  city  as  the  organization?)  
• Task  7:    Update  the  mission/vision  statement  across  all  platforms.  
 
Recommendation  #3:  Provide  a  link  to  all  other  social  media  platforms  within  each  individual  social  media  
outlet  to  increase  connectivity  and  engagement.  
• Task  8:  Beginning  with  the  organization’s  website,  go  to  each  social  media  platform  and  determine  
how  to  best  link  viewers/followers/subscribers  to  all  additional  social  media  outlets.    
 
Proposed  Timeline  
 

 
 
  
Projected  Budget  
 
Personnel   Hours   Hourly  Rate   Cost  
Communications  Director   360   $30   $10,800  
Social  Media  Strategist   360   $18   $6,480  
Graphic  Designer   180   $18   $3,280  
    Total   $20,560  
 
 
Experience  
 
The  Communications  Department,  consisting  of  a  Social  Media  Strategist,  Graphic  Designer,  and  the  
newly  hired  Communications  Director  are  equipped  to  move  forward  on  this  proposal.  The  
Communications  Director  brings  15  years  experience  to  the  team  in  web  design  and  social  media  
strategy.  With  the  new  director  at  the  helm,  the  current  communications  team  is  capable  of  making  the  
appropriate  enhancements  to  Winston  Salem  First’s  social  media  use.