Part of my personal philosophy is never to stop learning.

I know that I know a lot, but that I don’t know even more —although sometimes that’s difficult to admit. I’m always looking for ways to do my job better, learn new skills and tackle new challenges.

While at the Catholic Media Conference last month in Buffalo, N.Y., I met a bunch of other people who are social media coordinators or editors in archdioceses, dioceses and Catholic publications across the United States and Canada. We took part in a roundtable discussion one morning, and had the opportunity to ask questions, bounce ideas and share success stories with people who do what we do on a daily basis. It was great.

So here I am now, ready to share some tips I learned in Buffalo that I think can be of use to you in your parish or ministry.

The easiest trick I picked up, which makes a world of difference in the amount of engagement I see on our text-based posts, is to use Canva (www.canva.com). Canva has been around for a while now, and is a web-based app that allows you to very easily use beautiful typography and photos — many of them for free! — to create nice images for social media. The app has specific templates that size your images for optimal presentation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You also can choose templates for posters, business cards and flyers, among many others. And, you don’t have to be a design whiz to use the app.

For the past several months, I’ve been sharing the daily Scripture readings that are compiled by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. For the past week or so, I’ve been taking part of a given day’s reading and turning it into an image. You can see what I made from the Responsorial Psalm for July 14, the Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, in the photo with this column.

The Scripture posts with photos are seen by hundreds more people than the same, text-based posts. More eyes on the images mean more people reading at least part of Scripture that day — a win for everyone.

Another type of post that coordinators in the roundtable had success with on all social platforms was asking for prayers for specific priests on their birthdays or ordination anniversaries. I love the idea of reminding the faithful to pray for our parish priests who serve and guide us every day.

Vocations stories of priests and men and women religious also resonated with audiences across social networks. We’ve had success with those, too.

 In observance of the Church’s Year of Consecrated Life, The Monitor is featuring stories of individuals in our Diocese who have committed their lives to serving God as a religious priest, brother or sister. It gives the faithful of the Diocese who might not regularly interact with a religious priest, brother or sister a chance to get to know those who are part of religious orders and how they responded to God’s call. (You can read the series, beginning with the December edition by Bishop David M. Connell, C.M., by searching for “Consecrated Life” at TrentonMonitor.com.)

Lastly, some of the coordinators asked families to submit photos or testimonies of their experiences with their parish or Catholic school communities. They then compiled the photos into slideshows to share with those they connect with on social media. People love to see photos of themselves, their families and their friends, and are likely to share them with people who might not otherwise be connected with your parish, school or ministry.

If you have any tip, tricks, success stories or questions, send them my way. I’m happy to learn more and hopefully help you pick up something new, too.

Brittany Wilson is the social media coordinator for the Diocese of Trenton. She can be reached at [email protected].