The Hallelujah Challenge: Nathaniel Bassey

How Nathaniel Bassey ‘broke’ social media & what you can learn from his ministry!

Every Minister needs to learn to ride the waves of social media (I mean there are like 1.6 billion people on Facebook, don’t let that be a wasted opportunity), and over the last two days, as I joined over 50k people (YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT), I was in awe at how one man had honed the skills of social media to become the talking rave of this online revival and what has been labelled a “movement”.

Joining the Instagrammers online; the community, union and social atmosphere were amazing. It was very fulfilling spiritually, but the Social Media Consultant in me couldn’t help but wonder how this man managed to gathered over 50,000 people online from all around the world, consistently for days in a row. Friends were joining the broadcast and even celebrities – WOW. Mind you there were some 17k people watching on Facebook and more on YouTube.

See whilst Nathaniel Bassey may have originally been known for his music, with songs like ‘Casting Crown‘, and more recently ‘Onise Iyanu‘, he has allowed his gift to make room for him on a much larger scale.

With inspiration from God, he spearheaded a number of online spiritual challenges, with the recent one, the #HallelujahChallenge being the most successful and most engaged. Even with segments of the broadcast disrupted by the poor network, Nathaniel Bassey’s ministry was still able to “break” social media, as he (& his team) leveraged the various networks and the people (congregation) switched platforms during the hour, to find the most stable.

Whilst some Christians are using social media to love themselves, to complain, to bully, to argue unnecessarily or even boycotting the online realm altogether, Nathaniel Bassey is using it to the glory of God (Col 3:23)

Here are five things that I instantly gleaned from his online social media strategy and success:

1. Take Advantage, leverage every opportunity! Be visible online, not just when you have an event coming up but regularly. Develop a strategy. Share posts, pictures, videos, and best of all ‘Go live’. Prior to this recent success, Nathaniel has been a visible encourager of the people and a supporter of Jesus Christ online. Not just through music but also with statuses which champion godly living with no compromise.
2. Word of mouth: This has ALWAYS been the number one marketing secret. Let it start from you, tell your friends to tell their friends about Jesus and about that ministry that you are using to proclaim Him. Then let the mouths of others praise you (Prov 27:1) as I am doing now and as others who have taken to social media to speak about Nathaniel – now out of curiosity people are typing in that name to find out more.
3. Connect: Who knew #Olowogbogboro before today? Even if you are from the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria, how much meaning did you give to that word? Now the non-naija folk are hashtagging and sharing this word amongst many more; wouldn’t surprise me if it made the social media dictionary 😊. Hashtags are powerful, not just on Instagram but Facebook too. Just one click on a hashtag reveals so much more. That’s a social media tool you must not overlook. Find hashtags and use them to your benefit.

   

4. Go Live: If you don’t know, know today! Facebook and many of the other platforms give preference and exposure to videos in their newsfeed and so much more – live video. Instagram is yet to feature live videos in newsfeed but trust me it’s not far behind and I’ve no doubt that Nathaniel’s posts are getting more exposure because of the way he manages his account.
5. It’s not about you – put God first: You’ve probably heard this many times, but hear it again! IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU! 😄 The thing about social media is that it can be a very self-centred, narcissistic platform with all the selfies and self-promotion opportunities. Don’t fall for it. Yes proclaim Jesus in your life, but leave out any arrogance and pride. Talk to the people, about the people. Let them see what you proclaim – God – in you. Nathaniel hardly ever blows his trumpet online 😄😄😄 okay, I don’t mean the physical trumpet, cause that’s part of his ministry, but he is not about the “I”. Even in the challenges, you’ll find he doesn’t promote his music and recently promoted others above himself.

So the story continues tonight (and every night in June at midnight, UK time), and I will be watching eagerly both to worship and to learn more from the ministry of Nathaniel Bassey.