Our Biggest Steps Online in 2010. And Yours?

The world of online communications continues to grow and change rapidly.  So, as we continue to look back on 2010, here are 7 of the biggest steps forward we made in our online communications at OurChurch.Com:

1. Began measuring everything – There’s an old saying, “I know half my advertising dollars are wasted. I just don’t know which half.”  This year we placed a huge priority on getting analytics data on everything so we can determine the results of every marketing and communications initiative we take.  We’re not quite there, but we’re close.
2. Got serious about social media – A year ago we were still pretty much in the experimental stage with Facebook and Twitter.  Now we’re very serious and strategic about our social media use.  As a result our Twitter followers and Facebook fans have increased 8 fold this year.
3. Stepped into video – Video production is not our specialty, but we recognize that online video is continuing to grow in importance, so we created a video for our custom web design services, we started asking our clients for video testimonials, we experimented with a series of “quick tips videos” and we put all of those videos into our YouTube channel. We still have a long way to go when it comes to video, but we’ve made significant progress.
4. Redesigned Christian Web Trends – We introduced a new design here at Christian Web Trends, one that’s simpler and highlights images and social media more.
5. Simplified login & dashboard – For our clients, we introduced what we call our “universal login.”  Each client has one username/password for all their NE1 websites, forums, etc.  Along that we also launched MyOCC, a dashboard with links to all websites, search listings, invoices a person has.
6. New Servers – Just a couple months ago we moved to all new servers, which has made our services faster and even more reliable than ever.
7. 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Project – This group project was the most ambitious and most successful thing we’ve ever done on Christian Web Trends.  It helped a lot of bloggers and helped us build relationships with a lot of bloggers which has been a tremendous blessing.

How about you?  What was the biggest step(s) you took to improve your online communications this year?

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication.