Hello, Elder and Sister ____________ We would like to take a moment and provide some training on our social media efforts. First we would like to welcome Jim Anderson to the Visitor's Center team. He will be helping to use social media such as facebook and google+ to raise awareness of your center and events, and will be reaching out to you personally in the coming weeks to give training and instruction on using the internet to further the work. We have a new email address. In order to facilitate posting on facebook we have created the email address vcmedia@ldschurch.org. Please send your visitor center media to this address for publishing. Here are the top 5 things that we would ask you to send in to the above address: #1 Photos, Photos, Photos! We are always looking for great photos of your center. These will keep people excited about what is happening at the center and can be a great way for nonmembers to see what the center is all about and generate interest. The main thing is to create beautiful content that friends of the center will want to “like” or share on their own wall. The more friends who share, the more people who will come in contact with the Visitor Center online.

As you take photos, portrait oriented photos are great for events and happenings,

but for featured photos like your official cover photo (see the Temple Square tulips above) you’ll want to think landscape oriented images. The web is much more conducive to landscape photography, especially when publishing photos of Temples. #2 Special Events We want people to know about your local events at the center! Put them on facebook. Maybe you have a special Open House, or a musical group coming to give a concert. Perhaps it is a traveling art exhibit. Whatever the case, this is the perfect kind of thing to share on facebook. Below is a great example of a facebook event. Notice the nice, beautiful image and text describing the event. You may even choose to put in a few relevant links to help those who are learning about the Church for the first time. In the example below, because the event is a celebration of the 183rd anniversary of the first printing of the Book of Mormon, links teaching about the Book of Mormon are used.

Remember that in order to publish your event, we’ll need the following:

• the name of the event

• the date and time • the location if other than your center • some descriptive text • an image that best represents your event if you have one

#3 Videos Video is a wonderful way to allow people to experience your center and its happenings. You may have a video of an invitation to attend an event or footage of an event that recently took place that you would like to post as an update. Here is an example of a creative video that was done by the Atlanta Temple Visitor’s Center after the rededication of the Atlanta Temple in April 2011:

 Click  to  view  Atlanta  Temple  Open  House  video

The video could be edited together by one of your Missionaries or by a local member or friend of the Church. If you only have raw footage you can send that in and we can edit it for you! Let Jim know and he can share a DropBox folder with you where you can upload your video footage. A couple of things to remember about video:

• High Definition is an unspoken requirement these days. People expect to see a large, high quality image. If you are able to shoot in HD 1920x1080, please do not compress to a smaller file format.

• Good lighting is essential to good video. If you do not have good lighting, move to someplace that you do. Natural lighting is wonderful.

• Shaky cams are only good for earthquake videos! We want the shot to be as stabilized as possible. If you are able use a tripod or other means of stabilizing your video.

• If there are people speaking in the video, we want to be able to hear them

clearly. Ideally you are using a microphone and trying to film in a quiet area away from the gardeners and other people who are talking.

#4 Status Updates

Maybe there is not much going on at the center other than open hours. That’s OK, consider sharing a status update. The Church’s mormon.org facebook page at facebook.com/Mormon does a great job of status updates. Follow those updates for great examples of what you can post. They are very simple and uplifting and often have a link where interested readers can go and read more. #5 An Invite/Call to Action A call to action is a great way of inviting someone to engage in a conversation or to take some kind of action online. Be specific. You might want someone to “like” or “share” the post, or you may be interested in feedback. In this example, we have asked friends of the Laie Hawaii Temple Visitors Center to comment with examples of how they have seen God’s love for them evident in their lives. Be creative! This is a great way to get people sharing their faith and experiences and building on common belief.

Conclusion Have fun with social media! Remember, it’s social; it’s meant to be very fun, and engaging. In the same way that the saints established themselves in communities all over the world, we are established in communities online. They are increasingly interested in who we are and the truth that we offer the world. For some more great tips on sharing the gospel online please visit: http://www.lds.org/church/share?lang=eng If you have any questions please reach out to Jim Anderson, who will be managing our social media content strategy and publishing. His contact info is as follows: Jim Anderson vcmedia@ldschurch.org 801.674.7650

“With so many social media resources and a multitude of more or less useful gadgets at our disposal, sharing the good news of the gospel is easier and the effects more far-reaching than ever before.” - President Dieter F. Uchtdorf