13 Fun & Creative Ways to Engage Your Jewish Community with Facebook

June 28, 2017

By Jen Lieberman

[Written with synagogues in mind, but applicable for all.]

Your synagogue is already on Facebook, but figuring out what to post can be a challenge. It’s easy to fall into the trap of only using social media to promote your upcoming events, but it can be used for so much more. Think of it as a casual environment for you to strengthen connections with your members and build community. Feeling stuck? Here are 13 creative ways for how you can use Facebook to engage your Jewish community.

  1. Participate in #TBT (Throw Back Thursday) and share a retro photo of your congregation.
  2. Post a childhood photo of your cantor or Rabbi. Have your congregants guess who the mystery child is in the comments.
  3. Link to an article profiling your community that was originally published in a local paper.
  4. Preview the weekly Parsha portion. Get a jumpstart on Shabbat by spotlighting what’s to come.
  5. Run a weekly series of quotes from your members on why they love being a part of your community. Think “Humans of New York,” – the synagogue version.
  6. Celebrate the people who make your organization run. Take a photo of staff members and use Facebook to thank them for their hard work.
  7. Plug your live streaming schedule. Bonus points for using Facebook Live to live stream to your online audience!
  8. Grab and feature and interesting quote from your members on when they knew they had to join your synagogue.
  9. With permission, announce births, weddings, and other happy events.
  10. Celebrate Jewish cooking with a “what’s cooking!” series. Photograph and post the yummy delicacies being cooked up in your kitchen.
  11. Generate interest and enthusiasm in your next major event by stating the number of weeks, days and hours until the festivities kick off.
  12. With parental permission, run a “my favorite part of religious school is…” series. Have kids finish the above statement. Post the best responses over the course of a few weeks.
  13. Post funny or poignant quotes about being Jewish from famous Jews.

Social media is a great way for synagogues to stay connected to their members, build community, and attract prospective members. Definitely use Facebook to spotlight upcoming events, but don’t stop there. Experiment, have fun, and see what works best for your community.

Jen Lieberman is the client relationship manager at Jvillage.

Cross-posted on Jvillage Network’s blog.