Over the past three months, the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross has reached over 1.2 million new people on social media.

The Diocesan Media Officer, Denise Stobart, says:

I am really delighted with the reach of our content on social media. Since August, we have reached 565k people on TikTok, 545k people on Facebook, and just over 100k on Instagram. Of course, Bishop Paul has really laid the foundation stone with his presence on social media and I am absolutely delighted to be working together with such a visionary. The Diocesan NewsBlog which he set up has now also had over 1.2 million visits, not to mentioned his various other social accounts.

Looking at Bishop Paul’s recent Episcopal Visitation, our current parish records show that we have just over 3000 households in this Diocese, which is just over 7000 individuals. It is really a rather small Diocese. If you put that into context, having 1.2 million people online that are engaging with our content is absolutely mind blowing! And that is just the past three months.

Doing the communications in our Diocese has really shown me the importance of a social media presence. I’ve been engaging with a lot of people online that for a variety of personal or logistical reasons are not part of a parish or church community outside of social media. I think it is very important to remember that online engagement has become a huge aspect of people’s lives. The positive impact you can have is not limited to churches or parish fetes, and the feedback we get from our online community is very encouraging. That being said, there have been a number of people that have come to my local church saying “I saw you on TikTok and I thought I’d call in”.

I want to express my enormous gratitude to everyone in our Diocese who so faithfully engages with us in person and online. Also, a huge shoutout to all the clergy and parishioners who so patiently let me film them for content! It is a message of inclusion, community, faith and love that we’re trying to spread, and without you that would not be possible. It is the people who make the place!

The Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross can be found on social media via the handle @coficork. Their content is Christian-themed, specifically from the Church of Ireland, with a quirky and informative angle. They focus on faith based education and community engagement, and their content often includes clergy and parishioners. Coficork adds a unique blend of faith and humour to social media, engaging with both believers and those curious about Christian traditions.