It is true that you’re a church leader and not a marketing expert.
But if you’re keen on improving the attendance of your church, you’ll need to pay attention to this area as well. In determining which marketing methods will be most effective for your church, you must consider your target audience. There is no one-fit-all strategy for all churches. Instead, each church must develop a church marketing plan that appeals to different levels and ages of the population which they are targeting. In this article, we’ll discuss five strategies for building a church marketing plan.
Let’s dive right into it.
Branding
Branding is an easy way to establish a highly recognizable identity that will help your members as well as the public directly associate with your church. If it does not already have one, your church should develop an easily recognizable brand that will trigger familiarity, trust and even memories amongst those who have attended your services. Your church should be easily identifiable to the majority of the people in your local community; if this is not the case, perhaps it’s high time you reconsidered your branding efforts.
Having a strong brand makes it easy for you to reach people in your community. For example, you can create and send paper pamphlets or invitations directly to homes throughout the community, confident that your church brand is a recognized and trusted one. It is also an excellent way to ensure that the older population of your community who may not be tech-savvy are in the loop about your church’s happenings.
Utilize Social media
As you know, social media is the wave of the future, and it is not slowing down any time soon. So it is in your best interest to begin putting your church on all relevant social media platforms if you are yet to do that. Social media is another useful marketing tool as it allows you to advertise events and create a virtual community with parishioners. You can also have your followers share it on their social media platforms.
Facebook is one viable platform on which you can establish an online community for your church and keep members updated on upcoming events or specialized sermons. With Facebook’s ability to market to a broader audience, this is one of your best bets to get heard and draw people in. Subsequently, you can include other social media platforms to complement your social media marketing. Many of these platforms offer free live-stream features where you put up your services in real-time. The good thing is, with an excellent church management tool like ChurchPad, you can manage live broadcasts on all platforms from a central point. It also means that your members and visitors can access your live streams and video sermons on these social media streaming platforms through ChurchPad management software. It is an excellent way to expand your reach.
Marketing and Advertising
Despite the necessary tilt towards tech, marketing will always have its place. Top multinationals, as well as small businesses, recognize this, hence the consistent incorporation of offline advertising in their overall marketing plan. A study once showed that personal referrals and direct mail, such as a flyer advertisement, proved more effective at bringing in new members as well as retaining old members than face-to-face home visits and telemarketing strategies.
There are various offline advertising forms — newspapers, magazines, radio, yellow pages, TV commercials that can help you market your church well enough. They may cost way more than online marketing; however, if your church can afford it, it can prove itself an excellent benefit.
Email marketing
Email marketing is one of the most effective methods of outreach for any organization. Many churches are now giving more attention to email marketing to increase church newsletter subscribers. This method not only saves costs but also extends its reach as wide as possible.
A simple way to increase newsletter subscribers for your e-mail list is to ask for it simply. How? A practical method is creating a pop-up on your website or announcing at the beginning or end of services, simply asking people to sign-up for your church newsletter. You also want to make your emails shareable on social media. You can include your social media links at the base of the page to make it easy for your users to share it.
An email marketing tool enables you to track the effectiveness of your campaigns, curate your subscriber list, and set up autoresponders. Popular email tools like MailChimp and GetResponse offer free plans; you can utilize that for starters.
Set Up a Fancy and Detailed Website
Having a website for your church should be a significant part of your church marketing plan. It is a fundamental tool on which the bulk of your online presence will hinge on. Not every church may have an experienced web designer on board, or financially buoyant to hire one. However, it doesn’t change the fact that your website is often the first impression (and experience) potential visitors will have of your church.
If you do not already have a website for your church, it is time to create one. Your church’s ability to be found via a web search is essential to staying relevant and active in the community and the world at large. When it comes to marketing a church event, having a website becomes even more critical.
Your church marketing strategies should focus on the growth of the church in all areas. In addition, take advantage of ChurchPad management software to channel your marketing plans.
