Church Marketing - Facebook and Your Church - Is That a Good Thing?

Church Marketing - Facebook and Your Church - Is That a Good Thing? If you are like most citizen that are on this Earth and have a little number of computer ability, you probably have a Facebook profile.

Facebook (Fb) provides a great way to keep up with current friends, reconnect with old ones and generate new friends all at the touch of a mouse. The setup is minimal and you are precisely out there in the social media mix within minutes. Churches have a few more hoops to jump through to generate a profile, but nothing that is onerous. Your Church's Fb Page There is a saying on the internet; you don't go where the traffic is. You get out in front of it. As a effect of Facebook's popularity, having your church on Fb is a great way of getting you out in front of the traffic. Your Fb page is different than your church website, although it is not a bad alternative. It is a great way to have your church actively partake in social networking. What are the Benefits to your Church? Fb is going to make your marketing efforts more effective. As such, either folks are a full/part time staffers, a volunteer or run a ministry, they will have greater involvement than they currently do. But you know what? They are going to have a lot of fun with it as well! Because so many citizen have their own Facebook pages, their non-Christian friends are going to see that they are attached to your church. The effect being they are going to get an insight and maybe an excitement about your church! In this day of email overload, emails have a tendency to be overlooked. Phone calls are not even an option. Fb makes it easy for prime citizen to make up to the little updates about your event or what is going on in your church. Truly a single source of information. That sounds great, but I want my church to be good at this! Fb is just like any application. The more you use it the easier it becomes. But if you want to get the most out of your Fb experience, here are some things to consider: Think of Facebook like Twitter or voting in Chicago. Do it early and often! (Just kidding on the voting issue.) Interest and therefore page views of returning visitors will growth proportionately to the number of updates you provide. After all, if the site is only updated once a week (or worse yet...once a month), then you haven't precisely given anything a calculate to return. (Keep that in mind with the updating of your Sunday Services as well...people like fresh!) By having church members post on your page, it provides fresh content (the thing that keeps citizen arrival back and hopefully interested enough to come on Sunday) and also make it more personal. As I am want to say, it starts (and in this case) maintains the relationship. And that is what folks want these days. That is why Web 2.0 is so huge! Your willingness to become personal makes both you and your church more human especially to those who are reluctant to become a church goer. Basically, it changes how folks view church in normal and your church in particular. Does that mean you have to update regularly with events or photos? The posting of pictures and videos provides a great insight into your church and precisely adds a titanic benefit for members and visitors by letting folks know what is going on. But are they mandatory? I don't think so. You can do something as easy as putting a motivational/inspiration quote, a picture or a video on your wall (don't worry about that single term, it will make sense soon enough). It can precisely be anything that is reflective of either what is going on at your church (either past events or upcoming) Even if the minister or man who heads a church ministry talks about something they are doing at the church, it creates excitement. Michael Beckwith with his Agape Church does an awesome job of this. Check out his Fb page to see what I mean. What about maintenance? Do you have to be a geek? All applications have become highly user kindly over the last few years. You precisely don't have anything to worry about, because if you can move a mouse, you can update Fb. And the best part is that it can be done by anything in your congregation! Whether you are posting an event, what is happening at your church, what has happened, or wanting to keep up with friends, Facebook's Wall give you the ability to do it all in one place. It gives any visitor the ability to see what has gone on and what is the most current content. Posting updates regularly is integral to getting the word out. That may be true, but I want to post pictures and videos! Is that going to be hard? If you know where to find the file on your computer or thumb drive, you can post either of these with ease. Will they get our church greater exposure? Absolutely! How much is going to depend on what you put into it. But it is total upside. Twitter is great for pushing citizen to your site. So if you have a Twitter catalogue and want to post a picture or video, Fb is a great place to do so. Then tweet away and have citizen come to your Fb page to check it out. And there are other cool features with the apps that can set your church apart and give it the attentiveness it deserves. The only downside to your church having a Facebook page is the act of not holding it up. If you do, then you are going to benefit in ways you never could imagine. Church Marketing - Facebook and Your Church - Is That a Good Thing?

Church Marketing - Top 10 Items to contain in Your Church Welcome Packet!

Church Marketing - Top 10 Items to contain in Your Church Welcome Packet! So, you put a marketing plan together, even got a funds that didn't have "shoestring" connected with it, ran your campaign and guess what? It all came together. Population have started to flow into your church. And if you have read my past articles, you are saying that you are done and have done the warm hand off to others as these folks are on their way to becoming regular visitors and possibly even members. You job is done.....almost!

Let's face it, marketing's job is never done, but there is one thing that you should give some understanding to before the marketing team's job is thought about done. And that is a good welcome packet. Why have welcome packets? A welcome packet can be a marketing tool to contribute new visitors facts about your church, its' doctrine or belief's and some of the ministries or activities that go on there. It gives the guest something to chronicle when they have left the church and have some time to reflect. There are several objectives of insuring your guests are given a welcome packet when they visit: * Makes them feel welcome! You want to express your gratitude for allowing you to share and to also indicate that they are welcome to return * Understand your structure. One of the reasons visitors come is to learn something about your church. How it is organized. What sets you apart from the other churches in the area. Welcome packets can achieve that. * come to be familiar with your worship style (is it more singing then they would like?) and church beliefs. * chronicle activities calendar. Visitors want to know the upcoming agenda of events and ministry meeting times. What should go into the packet? While there is no absolute must have list, here are some ideas that will help to make a great impression and give guests a reason for returning: 1. Video or Dvd of your organization - It could be a video tour of the whole grounds or maybe just a 30 second clip that tells about each ministry in the church. possibly it is the vision for where you want to get to. 2. Refrigerator magnets Are you finding for an cheap marketing tool that has long term staying power? This may be best than you think! agreeing to a study at Purdue University, the median American visits their refrigerator 22 times a day. What else could you get that is going to get that much exposure? And strange as it sounds, even if Population don't like them, they tend to put them on their refrigerators. 3. Letter of Greeting from the Minister Perhaps a personalized message with an invitation to return the following week. Studies have found that a personal interaction with the priest can have a dramatically definite succeed on whether man returns or makes a church home. (So, don't forget about the priest production a personal phone call to succeed up the next week either!) 4. facts on the membership process of your church. Some visitors are ready to come to be members from day one. They may have just moved and want to keep their denominational affiliation intact. Others just feel good and know when they have found their new church home. It takes the awkwardness out of them having to ask. 5. Invitation for on-line survey. A quick contemplate of a visitor's church contact is good. But they may feel uneasy filling out one in church especially if they are the only guest that day. Online surveys contribute an easy way for you to resolve how things unquestionably are since they are truly anonymous. 6. Audio recording - Could be a modern Sunday Message or possibly something more of an invitation. Keep in mind that at the least we are a Cd world. Cassettes are dead. Podcasts or downloads are a great way to get them to your website. 7. Informational brochure - normal info about the church and its' ministries (if you can't do a video or want to cover your bases). It could also contain a brief history of the church, or the denomination if that is deemed important. 8. Calendar of events - Announcement flyers of social events such as fall festivals, Christmas programs, etc. 9. Coupons! A coupon to turn in at the church book store or on the website for a free token of appreciation or a discount. I love the coupon that entitles the user for a free cup of coffee with the minister! 10 Tote bags or bookmarks - Both of these have come to be very cheap and help to keep your church in the guests mind. Be sure to contain your website address on these! While these are not all-inclusive, they do make a convenient impression on any church guest. A good welcome packet can make the distinction if a visitor comes back for a second look. It can contribute the answers to some of the questions that arise after they have left the church. Of course, nothing beats a personal note or phone call from the minister How do they get distributed? Don't leave it up to chance whether a visitor gets a welcome packet or not. While my contact has gone from having to look for them myself or being told to pick one up on the way out, anything short of personally handing one to me loses some of the welcome packet's purpose... To make me feel welcome. Make sure your church doesn't make that mistake! Church Marketing - Top 10 Items to contain in Your Church Welcome Packet!