CONNECTING WITH VIEWERS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

There is an increasing thirst for Christ in the Middle East and North Africa, and this is evident in the rising correspondence on SAT-7’s social media. Viewer questions are steadily streaming in since the relaunch of SAT-7’s Arabic social media pages, including several new brands that cater to viewers’ needs.

A man in a North African country responded on the SAT-7 Daily Bread page, which offers spiritual content for viewers asking for help. “I feel very lonely and want to get closer to God. I am in search of God and truth, but I do not know where to start,” he wrote. SAT-7’s Arabic Audience Relations (AR) team guided him on a journey to open up and ask his questions about the Gospel. They prayed with him and assured him that he never needs to feel alone because Jesus never leaves us.

“We want to build a strong personal relationship with our viewers, showing them love and acceptance at a time where people are obliged to be isolated and disconnected. One of our main goals in the AR department is to be a friend to the friendless at a time of isolation,” SAT-7’s Arabic Audience Relations Manager, Marianne Awaraji Daou, said.

A teenage boy from a different North African country contacted SAT-7 through Facebook, asking to learn how to pray to find spiritual freedom in his life. “We listened and talked with him for a long time, and he said he wanted to accept Jesus as his Savior. We prayed with him and sent him a Bible,” Marianne said.

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A woman who contacted us through the SAT-7 Woman Facebook Page changed her life, going from struggling with life and faith to accepting God’s love for her. “Thank you for listening to me, especially at this time when people are disconnected from each other and are sick because of COVID-19. Your presence has made a difference in my life,” she said.

From June to August, the new social media brands have received thousands of messages from viewers. These different pages have specialized focuses—for example, SAT-7 Youth shares content for young people, while SAT-7 Free Souls caters to our North African viewers who often experience isolation as believers. Click here to read more about the thinking behind SAT-7’s new social media strategy for Arabic-speaking viewers.

“Every month, we create a new messaging campaign for each brand. For example, we created a messaging campaign on the SAT-7 Daily Bread page that reached out to people who needed help in overcoming certain struggles or wanted to get closer to the Lord,” shares Shady Francis, SAT-7’s Arabic Digital Director.

“We want to inspire our audience to ask us about the hope that we have, to open up about their problems, and ask for a solution to help them get closer to God. For example, we hope that someone struggling with a pornography addiction would take positive steps to get help, or women who see themselves through society’s limited perspective would understand their value is in God’s eyes,” says Francis.