Humans have long been visual creatures, as the discovery of ancient cave paintings attests. Instagram, the photo-based social media platform, is simply the next product of the human desire to express.

With more than 800 million registered users and 92 percent of those users under the age of 50, Instagram has become the platform of choice for a generation, especially the influencers and tastemakers. This provides the church an opportunity to build community and reach people using the lingua franca of today: pictures.

Here are four tips to help bolster your church’s Instagram presence:

1. Keep it in perspective. Instagram has a reputation for being the cool, hip platform of socialites, pro photographers and lifestyle bloggers (whatever that job title means). Your job is not to compete with them. On one hand, it is important to understand that the defining element of Instagram is beautiful, curated pictures, which the influencers on Instagram have mastered.

Instagram has become the platform of choice for a generation, especially the influencers and tastemakers.

On the other hand, church leaders should acknowledge that their role is not to get 100,000 followers, build their own personal brand, or sell a product and lifestyle. Your job is to love your community, share the gospel and encourage your followers wherever they are.

2. Pursue quality over quantity. At its core, Instagram is a place to share beautiful pictures. Thanks to advancements in smartphone cameras, it’s easier than ever to shoot incredible pictures in the blink of an eye. This means every account is competing for users’ attention with thousands of other pretty pictures.

This shouldn’t scare you away from using Instagram (see tip No. 1), but it does mean that everything you post is important. Rather than posting two photos a day, consider strategically posting three times a week.

3. Variety is your friend. There are countless types of posts you can use to engage your community. Snap a few pics during the service and use them next week to remind people about service times. Gather photos of great volunteers in action to honor workers and highlight opportunities to serve.

Help newcomers get a glimpse into what church will look like when they attend. Share a picture of a church member, along with a testimony of how God is working in that person’s life. Repurpose your preaching through quotes and sermon clips.

4. Leverage your people. Constantly creating content can be a challenge for even the savviest of social media gurus. Nearly every congregation has someone with an eye for photos. Lay out a simple set of guidelines for that person to follow, and turn him or her loose. Empower this individual to take ownership in telling the story of the church. This will diversify your content and allow church members to operate in their gifts.

This article originally appeared in the January/February 2018 edition of Influence magazine.