Few things are as motivating as being part of something bigger. For Christians, if you believe your new ministry or business is part of God’s calling on your life, you probably already feel inspired, excited and full of energy to get started.

Unfortunately, feeling motivated and called won’t necessarily be enough to make that faith-based project a success. You’ll face obstacles and competition, which could limit or even block the impact you want to have. For example, your still-unknown brand has to stand out among many other organizations’ marketing.

You need to implement wisdom and stewardship of all that’s entrusted to you to ensure your desired outcome in the long run. Jesus’ life actually carries many practical examples of how to do this correctly, even in business. 

Prayer and divine guidance will of course form part of your faith-based project. In addition, use these steps to guide you while building your brand among the challenges created by the current faith and business environments. 

Get Clarity on Your Audience and Your Competition

Knowing your audience’s needs is vital for branding in a commercial environment and even if your brand is focused on serving the community. You may think you want to engage with everyone, but your product or service is usually relevant to a specific group in terms of:

• Age
• Interests
• Needs
• Income
• Education
• Gender

When you study your target audience’s characteristics, it’s easier to create messages that resonate with their needs. Jesus is an excellent example of this. He identified and spoke to an individual’s unique needs, rather than offering a general piece of advice. 

It’s also important to research any competition for your organization. These organizations’ marketing will already give you insight into your audience’s priorities. Also, in order to have your brand stand out, you need to know what the opposition looks and sounds like. 

Decide What Your Brand Will Look And Sound Like

Based on the information above, you have a starting point for creating your own brand’s look, message and personality. To create a timeless brand, you need to keep your brand consistent for years to come. This requires absolute clarity on what you want to communicate in terms of your brand’s personality and the values that determine your brand’s decision making. 

Humans prefer building relationships with organizations and businesses they can trust. You have the benefit that Christian values, such as honest living, respect and love for others, will easily spark trust and loyalty in others. Now formulate a clear message which you can incorporate in your brand marketing going forward. 

Your look is as important as your message. In the same way Christians are supposed to be characterized by the love among them, you should easily be identified as being ‘different’ to others. Use visual aspects to your benefit to excel at this, such as designing a Christian logo that is relevant to your organization and picking brand colors that won’t be confused with your competition.

These visual elements should be used across all your marketing, both printed and digital. Whenever you share your brand’s message it will clearly be associated with your organization. 

Identify Your USP

When you start compiling your marketing content it won’t work to simply share all the benefits you provide. Here, once again, you need to focus on what makes your brand different. This will prompt others to choose your start-up rather than another brand offering similar services or products. 

Nurture Your Network

One can see Jesus’ journey as a metaphor for building a brand. After all, He wanted everyone to know about His message of salvation. To achieve this, Jesus joined hands with many people during his years of ministry on earth. Whether it was a few small fish and loaves of bread, or someone’s home to gather his disciples in, those resources helped Him fulfill His tasks. Make a list of individuals in your network with whom you can partner and enjoy mutual benefits. 

Make Use of the Digital Environment

You have divine inspiration for your start-up but you’re operating in a digitally driven world. Make sure you stay relevant by having a quality website and social media profiles that your audience can access.

Also create digital content on a continual basis. The way to impact others is to prove you’re relevant to their needs and needs can change over time. You must generate new, relevant content to keep on sparking their interest in your brand. 

Benefit from an Empowered Team

Another lesson from Jesus’ life is that He didn’t ‘go it alone’. He gathered 12 dynamic people around Him and made sure they understood His vision. Centuries later, their message is known across the globe, which proves the power of investing in your team. 

Talk to your employees about your goals, values and what you want your audience to understand about your brand. Having clarity about this makes it easy for them to include it in their communication with clients, partners and anyone they engage with. 

Final Thoughts

Your faith-based startup can become a beacon of light to clients and members of the community the way you dream of. Simply don’t forget to pair wise decision making with your faith-driven zeal. If you have any additional tips for other believers who own startups, please share your insight. 

Alicia Rother

Alicia Rother is a freelance content strategist who works with small businesses and startups to boost their brand reach through creative content design and write-ups.

about.me/alicia.rother

The post How to Build Your Faith-Based Startup Brand appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

Few organizations’ branding carries so much importance as churches’. After all, while most businesses’ branding can speak to an audience’s demands and preferences, you have an entirely different approach. Often, your marketing and messages must draw people’s attention who aren’t even aware they need the message or assistance you’re offering.

Along with this, you’re contending with the mass of information that society, social media and other organizations channel at people each day. While you’re busy with a spiritual fight for people’s souls, you also join the fight for people’s attention in the physical world. It requires a fine balance and proves why churches shouldn’t underestimate the importance of proper branding and planning their visual message.

So, how much time have you invested in your church logo? Knowing how to design a religious logo actually requires a lot of time and insight. You can start your journey by staying away from common mistakes many have made in the past, such as using the wrong or less effective styling approaches.

1) Saying EVERYTHING in One Church Logo

An easy way of losing someone’s attention is when you overwhelm them with information. In terms of a logo design style, this means you shouldn’t try and put too much into that one image. Clutter can be confusing and unsettling.

Finding the right emblem can be a challenge, since a church can play so many different roles in a community. Which message or focus areas should you prioritize in your logo? Our advice would be not to rush the process. Consider each element you want to represent and identify the most important as well as the central message that will still be relevant years from now.

2) The Latest, Trendiest Style

Since you’re hoping to influence every demographic with your message, it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to seem ‘trendy’. This is especially true if you feel called to impact the younger generation too. It may prompt you to pick fonts and imagery that seem ultra-modern. The problem with this style approach is:

• You may seem irrelevant within a few years or even months.
• You could harm your reputation if it seems you cater for people’s choices, rather than your value system.
• Focusing on one group could communicate to other groups that their needs won’t be met by what your church offers.

Yes, you may need to modernize any logo at some stage, as many leading companies have done over the years. But when you pick fonts and images, rather take a classic approach that will speak to everyone.

3) A Pictorial Mark—Using the Church Building

Many churches are tempted to use their buildings in their branding, because it can make it easy for anyone in the area to recognize your venue. Placing posters all over town will quickly tell people where to go for assistance, events and services. Yes, your church building may play an important role in what you offer your community, but in truth it’s never about the building. It should always be about people.

Many community members are very set on not making church about buildings. By using your building, you run the risk of losing these people’s trust in you.

Another problem is that you have no guarantee that you’ll always use that building. What happens if you move premises or open a second venue to serve a larger area? This will lead to unnecessary confusion, expenses for new branding and effort in marketing the new look.

4) Acronyms as Church Logos

If your ministry has been around for a while, there may be terms and acronyms that your community often uses. You could be tempted to include one of these acronyms in your logo, especially if it represents everything you stand for. But what will a brand-new member think when they look at that logo?

• Firstly, they’ll be confused and may be too shy to ask for clarification. So, you’re not communicating a message well.
• Visitors may feel excluded and this could lead to them not feeling comfortable enough to join your group in future.

Remember, people can use the smallest of reasons to stay away. Don’t give them any unnecessary excuse to miss out on your message.

5) Using Traditional Emblems Only

Let’s be clear: we’re not saying that you must never use a cross- or dove-style logo in your branding. But before you commit to one of the traditional emblems often associated with the church, make sure you pick the right one. You may forget about the many other powerful messages conveyed by emblems like fish, stars and more. Or, there’s an original emblem that perfectly sums up your message.

Once again, take your time to consider all your options, so your logo carries long-term value and is the most relevant to your vision.

You can use visual resources to the benefit of your organization so you can make an even bigger impact on your community.

Based on these five points you already know what not to do when designing a logo for your church or ministry. So, now you can get started using expert design guidelines. Combine practical advice with spiritual insight and you’ll have a powerful final result.

Church logo design is one of the many services OurChurch.Com provides for churches. Click the link for more info or complete the consultation request form below to schedule a complimentary phone call to discuss your logo.

Alicia Rother

Alicia Rother is a freelance content strategist who works with small businesses and startups to boost their brand reach through creative content design and write-ups.

about.me/alicia.rother

The post 5 Church Logo Design Styles You Must Avoid appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.