How Best To Promote Your Church Online.

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It’s an area that more and more small churches need to be aware of which is how to promote your church online and spread the message in the digital world. Yes we can all agree that the internet can be a place where many of the wrong temptations in life can exist but it’s essentially just a tool and like any tool can be used for good or evil purposes.

Website

An absolute must is to get a good website professionally made, this is effectively a 24/7 online advert for your church and a wealth of crucial information can be posted on here, from service times to contact information, event times and dates and also information for people who may be in need of help as to where best to find it. Let’s look at how some of the biggest churches brand their message online we can see from these examples that two themes repeat time and time again such as the websites are very heavily visual, as we know images can be so much more powerful than words sometimes to draw people in, at least initially. The other recurring theme is mention of events, these big churches know the importance of events and to give people things to do you give the community a real feeling of togetherness and this helps your congregation thrive.

Blog

A blog is another great idea, it helps keep you up to date with and continually in contact with your parishioners, you can use this to provide commentary on how events went, can post prayers, gospel readings or thoughts and sermons so that although you flock may not physically be in the church building seven days a week you can be there for them as a constant, daily source of guidance and support for them. It’s not that difficult to learn how to start a blog  as this handy guide shows.

Social Media

Social media is another powerful tool and works slightly differently to the website or the blog but should be used alongside these other tools. Social Media for Churches is an ever increasing tool used in ministry, you can reach a huge number or people, and when your message hits the mark, users can discuss and share this message meaning that it involves the church community in spreading the word. There are also other side benefits such as promoting events, selling church items beyond the store at the back of the church, Facebook has a marketplace feature so you can increase church funds this way as well.

Events Sites

It’s an idea to post your events and groups on websites designed for people who are looking for social activities, if your church has a toddlers play group for example, or if you hold a seasonal fair or picnic, advertising these things can bring new people into the church who can then see for themselves how much you have to offer. Sites such as MeetUp are perfect for this.

So don’t be left behind, plenty of churches are now making full use of the opportunities afforded  to us through the internet so get up to speed and you’ll see the full benefits.