The church is just as guilty as the rest of the world. In our effort to transform the world we think that if we bombard people with the same amount of information at least some of it will get through. It’s like we think that if people had a invisible force field and the sheer amount of information we throw at them a bit moves through that wall of protection then our job is done.

Kem writes about another age old problem that many churches face. I’ve faced it too. Everyone thinks that if only they can get the anchor or video news to announce their ministry event then it will be a success. Kem suggests that without a framework in place there is no way to decide what gets talked about and what doesn’t. Granger’s communications team has a set of values and priorities that determine what gets promoted and what doesn’t.

As she says, the question shouldn’t be who decides whether the event gets announced or not, but rather what drives it.

Kem recommends that you:

• Invest minimal resources into print materials.
• Identify one place to keep all information up-to-date.

So to honour Kem (yes my American cousins, that is how you spell it and her call to us all to reduce the noise, I’ve kept this blog post very short. I could give you a million solutions, but I don’t want to add to the clutter in your life.

Over to you: Questions to ask yourself before you communicate:

1) Will this information I intend to be helpful with just add to the clutter?

2) Is there any way to simplify what my audience sees to make their experience with the church easier and more rewarding?

7) Remove Barriers to Entry <– Less Clutter, Less Noise –> 9) Tell One Story at a Time

stevefogg

I’m husband to one, father to 3, Communications guy to a church called Crossway. You can read my blog or follow me on Twitter @SteveFogg

www.stevefogg.typepad.com

The post Less Clutter, Less Noise: 8) Reduce the Noise appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

At the end of our regular Saturday morning ride we stop at a new café that has recently opened which sells great coffee. Last weekend was a little different. We arrived 15 minutes before it opened at 6:45am, the staff were in the café and could see us but ignored us until 7am.

The waitress came out and said that she was sorry but if she had come out earlier to take our order everyone would come earlier. Wait. Stop. Let me think about that. If she served us they would have more customers (all be it 15 minutes early).

Is something wrong for you as well in that picture of customer service?

Churches and not-for-profits organizations can do the same in their online presence. Often they do the following:

1) If you don’t fit our system then you can’t come in. Fill out this very long and complicated contact form for a simple query.

2) You need to stay within our system if you want your point of need met. We’re sorry but our course started last week and you can’t register online any more.

3) It’s about us, not about you. Church websites are often written in an insider language that an outsider doesn’t understand. Here is one example on a church website for newcomers “discover your call and walk in it”. Now if you’ve been a Christian for most of your life you are thinking what’s wrong with that? But if you have never stepped foot in a church before you would have no idea what that means. Your message targeted towards that newcomer just got lost in translation.

Churches and not for profits need to understand, we may have a great offering, but if we create too many barriers people just won’t take that next step.

Have you had a similar experience? What barriers have you seen churches put up? Do you agree or disagree? Get commenting below.

stevefogg

I’m husband to one, father to 3, Communications guy to a church called Crossway. You can read my blog or follow me on Twitter @SteveFogg

www.stevefogg.typepad.com

The post Welcome To The Church of Bad Online Customer Service appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

This post is part 6 in the series 20 Ways to Share Your Faith Online leading up to Internet Evangelism Day on April 25. We encourage you to tweet, share, blog & discuss these ideas in your church & circle of influence.

The internet is well and truly part of the Aussie culture. In fact, Australia No. 1 in the world in time spent online on social media websites such as Facebook. You can either see that as a terrible waste of time or a huge opportunity to share the good news of Jesus.

The New Testament is replete with examples of the disciples sharing the good news where the people spent their time. Peter preached the gospel in a market place. Thousands responded. Paul preached the gospel at the centre of culture and influence in Greece. Influential people responded.

The internet is where people now spend an large proportion of their leisure time. It is definitely a medium where the church needs to be more proactively engaged.

Here are four myths that stop churches from having an online presence:

Myth 1: You won’t reach people on the internet – The internet is the new pub, marketplace or back fence. Time spent online on social media sites like Facebook is growing rapidly. A recent Nielsen survey reports that Facebook accounts for 29% of all time spent online by Australians. In October last year, Australian users spent 27.2 hours online – 7.55 of which were spent on Facebook. In the same month, Australian users uploaded 80 million pictures, wrote 32 million ‘wall posts’ and 45 million ’status updates’. Australia leads the world in time spent on social media sites. If you think Facebook is for the next generation, think again, the fastest growing user group is people over the age of 35.

Myth 2: Your church doesn’t have enough money or human resources – Wrong, the wonderful thing about the internet is that so much is free. YouTube, Facebook. Twitter. They are all free. There is a perception that only large churches that have dedicated staff like myself can do it. Crossway’s weekly online social media communication routine is done by volunteers. All you need is someone with common sense, who can spell, is reliable and understands how to use social media.

Myth 3: The internet is all hype and isn’t missional – James Farley who is the Chief Marketing Officer of Ford expressed it best in talking about the power of an individual opinion versus corporate message “You can’t just say it. You have to get the people to say it to each other.” In the post modern world we live in the most effective form of marketing and communications for any cause is when people tell other people their experience, rather than organizations telling people what to think or do. At Crossway we create opportunities to help people invite their friends to church. We have online e-invites for our congregations to invite their friends to church. We’ve also created YouTube video invites for Easter, Christmas or sermon series which people can share through Facebook with all their Facebook friends.

Myth 4: The internet is the devils playground which churches should stay out of –The internet is full of websites that many Christians rightly wouldn’t want to visit . However, church leaders have to make a call and decide whether they are going to be part of the solution to this massive online problem. I know of a large church that advertises on Google. A link on the Google site to that church pops up when someone is searching around the key words of pornography and other similar related searches. When the person clicks through to their site they have a targeted response to help that person move away from their addiction. Many people have clicked through to their website, committed their lives to Jesus and have been transformed as a result.

Four tips to help churches to get online (for free):

1. Start a Twitter & Facebook page for your church.
2. Promote church events regularly on Facebook & Twitter
3. Let your congregation know that they can invite their Facebook or Twitter friends to any outreach or community events you post to it.
4. Sign up to wufoo.com or Google Docs and create a simple form which can be embedded on your church website where your congregation can invite their friends to church. Tell your congregation about them. Don’t expect them to discover it.

Steve is the communications guy for Crossway in Melbourne, Australia. He gives tips about communications, strategy & creativity for churches at Clear & Simple. You can follow him @Stevefogg or say G’day on Facebook.

stevefogg

I’m husband to one, father to 3, Communications guy to a church called Crossway. You can read my blog or follow me on Twitter @SteveFogg

www.stevefogg.typepad.com

The post Internet Evangelism Idea #6: 4 Huge Myths Of Online Evangelism appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.