One of my coworkers and I joke about starting a company called “Youth Pastor Shirts” to capitalize on the youth pastor fad of wearing untucked, button down shirts with grunge floral. You should take note, after this moment, should a site like this pop up, you stole my idea and I will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. Or not. But it’s a great idea.

So many churches adopt another church’s culture because they see something working across the country. Don’t get me wrong, seeing success and trying to replicate that success is great. But what works in NYC may not work in Sandusky, OH. What works in Miami, FL may not work in Austin, TX.

Jesus is Jesus. Truth is truth. If you build your ministry around the core of the Gospel, then let the culture emanate from that thought… That is when we all win. Don’t lose focus. Shatter through the idea of building a ‘church culture’ and build a ‘Jesus culture’. The rest will follow.

1. 10 Tips for Having a Great Church Blog
2. Audio and Video Recording in Worship Services- Part 1
3. Creating a Winning Team from Dysfunctional Members
4. How to Get Guests to Give you Their Information
5. Social Media Demographics

Using Media During Worship Service

Closing the Back Door

Presentation Software Review

faitHighway offers new website solution with WordPress themes

faithHighway Go Live: Christ Alive Church

When to Use Technology and When to Say No

Social Media Resolutions for 2012

Facebook New Apps for the Timeline

1. Make sure your service times are available on the home page. Your online guests will want that information as well as a map (or link to a map) so don’t make them click around forever to find it.
2. Have a Christmas Invitation front and center. Not only should service times be readily available, any graphics you are using for your Christmas series should be the first element visible in your web design.  This ensures that  if your members are referring friends/family to the website, there is no question where special Christmas information is located. Contact faithHighway if you need help getting seasonal graphics up.
3. Scan copy on your site and update as necessary. With all the web visitors you’ll have this holiday season, it’s imperative that your website acts like the front door to your church (since it’s going to be visited prior to the guest’s attendance to your church).  No one likes walking through cob-webs when they visit somewhere new…
4. Have a mobile friendly homepage. If guests are coming for the first time, a mobile friendly page or site can be the difference of them attending or not.  In the event that they get lost along the way, they can turn to your mobile site for directions or a phone number.
5. Improve your SEO. Make sure the bridge has been created from search engines to your website.  If someone has passed by your church in the car or seen an ad somewhere for your church, there are many variables they will try utilizing in the search bar. This Entrepreneur article can help with your checklist. faithHighway also offers help with SEO in the case that you are looking to boost your SEO performance.

With 5 million spiritual searches online each day, we know our world is in need of the Hope and Light of the world.  Here’s one small step in making sure we are using every possible tool to engage our culture with the ultimate gift this Christmas.

A recent study shows that social media does work as a means to increase your brand, but that “you shouldn’t put all your eggs into one basket.”

While this study was specifically for fast food chains, the data is very telling of our culture’s consumer mindset.

Found on Entrepreneur.com, we can learn a lot about the idea that our marketing needs to be spread across multiple channels.  While we don’t want to engage in channels we aren’t going to excel in, make sure that social media is a complement to your other efforts, suchas your website, mailouts, website banner ads, event marketing, etc.

While 24% of those in this study reported customer purchases based on social media, 69% responded when exposed to TV as well.  According to the survey results by Ogivly & Mather, “Those who experienced social media exposure along with a TV ad were two times more likely to purchase more that they did the week before.”

Here’s what Ogivly & Mather concluded their research with:

5 Things You Should Know

1. Social media exposure is directly linked with increase in sales.
2. Integration matters.
3. Social media is a top driver of impact.
4. Social media exposure is directly linked with changes in brand perception.
5. Brand exposure in social media is low.

So what does this mean for you?  While social media should definitely play a role in your marketing and reach, be sure that it is only one piece of the puzzle. One healthy exercise is to place yourself in the shoes of your audience.

What are all the ways they can encounter your brand?

Are you easy to find?

What channels are you investing the most in?

Photo by HeyRocker.

“There should be no guesswork in your content-creation process.”

We all know that content is king.  A beautiful website with awesome interactivity is worthless without the meat and potatoes – the content.  When creating your website, utilize keywords that you know your audience is searching.  How do you find that out?  Go to the Google Adwords Keyword tool and you can find out how often that phrase is searched, allowing you to choose between global/local searches.

“Simply writing content based on the keyword you have researched is not enough.”

Just the text in your website alone isn’t going to drive people in droves to your site.  There are many facets to search engine optimization.  Get nitty gritty with intentional web filenames, meta tags and page elements.  Your Client Relationship Manager at faithHighway can offer you guidance on many of these elements.  Check out the article as well for detailed instructions as well.

Website traffic is a tricky thing!  But, one great point is that you always have a team of consultants ready and waiting to help you increase your reach, both on the web and into your community via TV, radio and/or print.

Photo By: starmist1

What is a custom Facebook page? It is a great way to enhance your presence online, especially when it comes to social media. By customizing Facebook, you create better opportunities to make connections with your audience and have a better chance of grabbing their attention as well as driving traffic to your website. For churches and ministries specifically, you can highlight specific events and use the most visited website in the world as a way to increase awareness about what is going on in your ministry. Much of a custom Facebook page has to do with continuing the brand that you have running through your website.

If you have a specific brand and target audience on your website but don’t continue that to Facebook, oftentimes people can get confused. People might not trust your Facebook page or won’t see it as the “official page” if there is not a consistent brand from website to Facebook. Also, a Facebook page for a church that looks the same as every person has a tough time standing out from the crowd.

Many ways a church can continue their brand into a custom Facebook page is by using the church logo, a banner or header, or a prominent picture from their website, as the Facebook profile picture. Another important part is creating a welcome page or landing page that people will visit when they come to your Facebook page, especially from external links. This is a great area to include a video or some flash that will get people excited about the ministry and even provide a direct link to the church or ministry website.

A custom Facebook page comes down to the “feel” a visitor will have and ultimately the feelings they have towards the ministry. What a church does on Facebook, now says a lot about what kind of ministries they have going on and the overall quality of the ministry. Since more than 750 million people are now on Facebook, you have an almost limitless supply of eyes to catch. If networked properly and with a member base that is committed to using Facebook as a means to market your church, you can draw more people to your church website through a custom Facebook page than from any other source.

One of the phrases he mentioned is still resonating loudly in my mind.  The notion that our culture often times defaults to “create average products for average people.”

“Mass is built into our culture.”  As he mentioned, this is affecting our products, services, politics and more.  Instead of “revolutionizing” something by doing things that are “perfect and impossible” we just do what we need to in order to get by.  We do as many tasks as we can to meet the minimum requirements. Yuck.

BUT, what if we chose fewer tasks and did them with excellence?

What if, we stopped trying to please EVERYONE with our ministries, sermon series, or organizational vision, and chose to perfect what we are gifted at?

Would it leave some people dissatisfied? Most likely.  But remember – 20% of your clients provide 80% of your revenues.   I know we aren’t looking for revenues – but the big truth remains the same.

If you make that 20% of people, 50% happier, what does that do to your ROI (a church’s investment is in people…by the way…)?

My recommendation is to STOP, DROP and ROLL.

STOP – Stop trying to please everyone. It’s impossible. Plus it only makes your end product weak – and ugly.  We know that the “manufacturer’s color” of carpet is beige because it is the most neutral.  Who really wants a beige product?

DROP – Drop the excess ministries, services, and initiatives that aren’t in your wheel house.  Despite great intentions, it’s causing you atrophy.  Keep what you are great at and hone those areas.  As God entrusts new people to your leadership with great skills in other areas, the Body naturally is able to offer more without compromising quality.

ROLL –Roll out your services with confidence. A perfect product is something to be proud of – not to apologize for.  Even if it doesn’t apply to everyone – it will enhance the lives of the few far greater than barely affecting the lives of many.

So thank you Seth Godin, for teaching me to stop pleasing everyone and make my own revolution.  Is it time to start yours?

Photo by Amber

pic By The Library of Congress

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