Media Outreach

Last week, I was informed by our Production Coordinator, Greg Johnson, that I had volunteered to write a blog entry about creative solutions. Immediately the creative juices began to flow. I grabbed my trusty pen and paper (laptop), threw on a pot of coffee (Coca Cola Zero) and lit a candle (florescent table lamp)… all prepared to spend a long night (15-20 minutes) composing a stirring literary masterpiece the likes of which had not been seen since Calvin & Hobbes.

In all honesty, I didn’t even know what Greg meant when he asked for a blog about creative solutions. To me, it sounded a bit like one of those business terms that no one really knows the real meaning of… such as presumptive positives, unilateral negatives, or chicken pot pie strategic planning. Though the more I thought about it, I realized that in order to stand out, it’s important for a website to use the tools available in a creative fashion.

For example, faithHighway’s editor is extraordinarily diverse in what it can be used for.

1. Instead of just putting text on a page, why not embed images within that text?
2. Furthermore, why don’t we make those images clickable links, which is much easier to do than you might think.

• If your site has 1 staff page and a few unused floating pages, why not use that staff page as a graphical splash page? All you’d have to do is take some pictures of your staff members, use a basic graphics program to put that person’s name on the picture, upload it into your image library, embed it into the staff page, and turn it into a link to a floating page. Congratulations, you’ve just created your own graphic navigation!
• But why not go one step further? Instead of writing up a short biography on the floating page, why not film that staff member talking a little bit about his or herself? Then you can upload the video into Sermon Connect, and embed in directly into the floating page.
• With just a few easy steps, we’ve gone from a blurb on a page to a fully interactive medium that will undoubtedly draw the viewer in deeper to your site and will allow them to see and hear an actual person associated with your church

This is just one example of what you can do. To be a truly creative solution though, you’ll have to think of your own methods in how to best utilize your site to meet your own unique needs. In the 17 months 6 days, and 24 minutes I’ve been with faithHighway, I’ve seen some truly innovative uses for our sites. I have every confidence that our client base will continue to do amazing things with the tools at their disposal. If you ever find yourself stuck in a rut and unsure of what to do, ask around! It’s amazing what two people batting an idea back and forth can come up with. I’m pretty sure that’s how Ultimate Frisbee was invented, because one person couldn’t possibly have come up with that by his or herself.

In closing, don’t be afraid to try something new and inventive with your site. Even if you do something that has people scratching their heads and you end up falling flat on your face, remember one thing. You can always tell your congregation that your CRM told you to do it. After all, that’s what they’re here for!