flock:ology

Ready or Not...Mobile is Coming!

Ready or not, mobile is a growing trend that your church needs to deal with. Many churches have barely launched websites let alone reach out to those in your community using mobile messaging and applications.

Many people in the church believe this it is unnecessary. Many people believe it is just a fad.

The data suggests otherwise…

Mobile usage is growing….and getting smarter.

According to a presentationgiven at Google’s Thinkmobile conference in February 2011, mobile platforms are hitting critical mass across the globe. According to Cisco Visual Networking Index, they forecast that global mobile data traffic should grow 26x over the next 5 years. Smartphone penetration is growing exponentially across the globe.

Here are some trends going on across the globe…

Explosive growth of Mobile in Africa: Africans are buying mobile phones at a world record rate, with take-up soaring by 550% in five years, research shows. Growth is expected to remain robust, says the Information Economy Report, published by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). The regional mobile operator MTN forecasts an average mobile penetration of 80% by 2012 in its 15 African markets. A 2009 ITU report provides details on the explosive growth trends in Africa.

A Move to a “Smarter” Asia: According to a report from “M-Commerce Trends,” the smartphone market in Asia will reach 200 million users by 2016, double that of the 100 million level in 2010 and growing at a compounding annual rate of 12 percent. This constitutes over 32 percent of mobile subscriptions in the region, which is expected to increase to 54 percent penetration levels by 2015. In a region where PC access is limited, web-connected devices are the great enabler – giving Internet access to people even while they are on the move.

A “wireless”connected Latin America: Mobile Connections in Latin America exceeds half a billion or 88.2 percent of the population vs. 6.4 percent for fixed broadband and 23.4 percent for fixed line telephones. Latin Americans’ love to text with nearly 200 billion mobile messages weresent over Latin America carrier networks in 2008. 68 percent of wireless subscribers in Latin America use their SMS functionality at least weekly; nearly double the rate in developed nations.

Rising Smartphone penetration in Western Europe and U.S. According to Nielsen Research, show 40% percent of mobile consumers over 18 in the U.S. and Western Europe now have smartphones, according to July 2011 data. Fifty-five percent of those who purchased a new handset in the past three months reported buying a smartphone instead of a feature phone, up from 34 percent just a year ago.

U.S. Youth text more than text or watch TV. According to Nielsen research, today’s youth out-text all other age groups. In Q1 2011, teens 13-17 sent an average of 3,364 mobile texts per month, more than doubling the rate of the next most active texting demo, 18-24 year olds (1,640 texts per month). They also talk on the phone 32 percent less than older groups and 40% less television.

Mobile serves as a key source of connectivity within the U.S. Hispanic community. According to a Nielsen report called “A New Digital American Family,” U.S. Hispanics are more likely than the average household to have cell phones with Internet (55%) and video (40%) capabilities and text more than any other race or ethnicity, sending 943 texts per month. With smartphone penetration of 45 percent, Hispanic cell phone ownership matches that of Asians.

“Apps” over the Mobile Web show the future of smartphone usage. The average Android consumer in the U.S. spends 56 minutes per day actively interacting with the web and apps on their phone. Of that time, two-thirds is spent on mobile apps while one-third is spent on the mobile web.

African-Americans and Latinos continue to outpace whites in their use of data applications on handheld devices. According to PEW Internet, Latinos and African-Americans in the US are more likely to own a cell phone than white Americans, and they are more likely to use their device to access the mobile Web, email, social networking or to purchase a product.

The results are in…ready or not, your church needs to jump on the “mobile bandwagon.”

Whether it is teens in the U.S. or people in the street in the Philippines, mobile communications is becoming the de facto method to connect, communicate and relate to one another. Mobile provides real-time connectivity, 24x7 in the palm of someone’s hand.

Are you ready to place your church within an arm’s reach?

If this is not a call to action, I don't know what is!

Going through my morning reading routine caused me to stumble across an article called "Organized religion 'will be driven toward extinction' in 9 countries, experts predict" on CNN Belief Blog on CNN.com.

Organized religion will all but vanish eventually from nine Western-style democracies, a team of mathematicians predict in a new paper based on census data stretching back 100 years.

It won't die out completely, but "religion will be driven toward extinction" in countries including Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands, they say.

It will also wither away in Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland and Switzerland, they anticipate.

They can't make a prediction about the United States because the U.S. census doesn't ask about religion, lead author Daniel Abrams told CNN.

But nine other countries provide enough data for detailed mathematical modeling, he said.

"If you look at the data, 'unaffiliated' is the fastest-growing group" in those countries, he said.

via religion.blogs.cnn.com

For those of you who are interested in the academic paper that was presented, here it is.

Given the decline of the mainline denominations in the United States, this is a deadly serious trend that most have been ignoring.  We have been burying our heads in the sand for too long.  We have ignoring the problem and hopin it goes away.  We attempt to blame others for the decline, instead of taking a long look in the mirror.

Christ called us to "make disciples of all nations."  We are in the process of losing nine countries.  What are you willing to do about it?  Or will we do nothing and fade into obscurity?

Let the children lead...

As I think about the church, I get a little discouraged by the manuevering and the politics, expecially as we think about the 2012 General Conference for the United Methodist Church coming next year.  The caucuses are already positioning themselves to make a run at establishing their agendas, and people are all ready to fight.

Then, my wife posted the following on Facebook:

"As we think about prayer this lent and going to God with an honety and open heart ... let the children lead the way. Look at these kid's prayer from Granger Church. It will touch your heart."

  

Are we willing to go to God with our toughest problems?  Are we willing to be this honest?  What would be the result?  

What if we as the church stopped whining about our specific agendas and focused on answering these children's prayers.  How can we help those who hurt, feed those who are hungry and work to eliminate suffering? 

Are we willing to turn our churches over to God?  Are we willing to listen to the voices of children to discern God's small, still voice?

If so...let us pray.  Let us listen.  Let us follow.

Piecing together a story using "Storify"

 As we start to see information distributed through social media, there are new tools to help us to tell and spread the story.  One tool that I found is called Storify.  It allows people to turn what people post on social media into compelling stories.  You can use it to collect the best photos, video, tweets and more to publish them as simple, beautiful stories that can be embedded anywhere.

I first learned about Storify from Mashable's article "Use Social media to Tell Interactive Stories."  It also provided a code for me to get into the private beta.  (FYI...do a google search of "Storify.com invite code" to find yours.)

Here is a quick explanation:

 

Here is a story I built using Storify to give my take on this year's Super Bowl 2011 commercials.  It allowed me to piece together Facebook posts and Twitter streams along with video to tell a story.

Think about this as a well to consolidate all of the buzz about your event, marketing campaign and news into a single place and then be able to have an integrated post.

You can share the story via Facebook, Twitter or even embed the story on your website or blog.

Here is a story I created based on my digital fundraising article that I created in less than 3 minutes.

I still need to figure out the embed function, but all in all, I really like it.

What do you think?  Is this a new way to aggregate news and information?  

How can you use this to create a conversation based on what others are saying and what others have shared on the web?

 

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Show me the VISION (vs. money)...The Art of Digital Fundraising

In a training last week, I learned that 50% of churches do not have an annual stewardship campaign.  Whether it is the pastor who is afraid to ask or the congregation who is afraid to give, I think this number is absolutely shocking and appalling.  Why are churches afraid to talk about money?

What's the hang-up about money and giving to the church?

In today’s world, not a day goes by where people aren’t saying “Churches only care about money” or “Why should I give my hard-earned money to the church.”  People are reluctant to hand over the fruit of their labor because of the many church scandals caused by televangelists or not understanding what the church does with it.  It makes people upset, a little angry and always uncomfortable.

The same was true in Jesus’ day. 

Jesus pointed out how the widow and the rich gave to the church. (Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4)   He asked a rich many to sell everything he had and give it to the poor, but couldn't it.  (Mark 10:17-31).  

We can take the wrong meaning from the stories.  It isn’t about money, but the focus of our heart.  Are we willing to “sell-out” to God or do we want to maintain control?

Giving is a matter of living in a "God-Centered" vs. a “Me-Centered” Universe. 

Are we willing to give thanks to God for what we have?  Are we willing to grow towards the tithe?  Are we willing to be good stewards of our resources that God has given us.  It shows where we put our faith.  It acknowledges everything we have comes from God and we have the choice to give a portion back.

We fail help people recognize the difference between a "Me-Centered" and a "God-Centered" Universe.

Even when people realize this and want to live generously, the church does a horrible job in telling people what they use the money for.  Many people are under the impression that all th giving goes to pay the pastor's salary and keep the building up.  We fail to provide a broader vision of how giving helps to make a difference in this world.  We don't show them the lives that are changed by their faithfulness.

We fail to explain the WHY?

The Art of Digital Fundraising

Today's technology allows us to better cast the vision of why to give as well as allows us to broaden our ability to collect it.  We can reach more people, better explain the why behind the giving and set out more "collection plates" in more places.

Here are a few ideas:

Step #1 - Create a blog or microsite dedicated to the effort (if a special cause) or a section of your website if giving is related to your church.  One reason people do not give is that they do not understand what the money if for.  We need to be very clear and transparent on why the money is needed, how it will be used and by when.

The Sudan Project by Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church is a good example of telling people why the money is needed, how it will be used and providing a call to action by a specific date.  They collect a Christmas offering every year for Sudan to help the Christians in Dafur with basic needs.  Every year, the campaign is targeted at a specific need (Agriculture, Water, etc.).  They explain why it is important.  They provide a specific date to act.

Step #2 - Cast a compelling vision and create materials to support it.  Going back to the Sudan Project example, Rev. Mike Slaughter is an excellent communication who made no bones on why this is important.  He also pulled people out of their "Me-Centered" Universe by saying "Christmas is not YOUR birthday.  It is Jesus' birthday."  

Ginghamsburg and United Methodist Communications created videos to explain the cause and created professional communication materials to explain the cause.  It makes the case very clearly and tells people directly how the money will be used.

Here is their 2010 Project Overview video:

 

Crystal clear.  Compelling.  Meaningful.  Spend the time to tell a compelling story and then create the materials to support the re-telling of it.  We need to move beyond a simple "ask" and provide a medium that allows people to experience the need.

Step #3 - Make your message sharable.  Allow people to share your story on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr or anywhere else.  Post your videos on YouTube.  Have a Facebook page that people can "Like" and get plugged in.  Have your congregation share the message with their friends.  If the message is compelling enough, people will want to spread the word and share the message.

Post early and often about the project and its results.  Keep people in the loop and don't be afraid to ask people to share with their friends.

Step #4- Create digital collection plates.  Always provide people a way to act immediately.  Set up ways for people to recognize the need an act upon it.  It is completely OK to want people to bring a commitment card to church on a specific Sunday as part of worship, but biblically, that is not required. It does not invalidate the gift.

We are called to be cheerful givers that seek to give back to God.  In 2 Corinthians 9:7 it says:

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

I really don't think God is all that caught up in how we give. It is more about the status of our heart.

There are a couple options most churches can use to take advantage of "digital collection plates."  This list is by no means exhaustive and feel free to add more in the comments:

A. Automatic Withdrawal.  This is when an individual wants to give on a periodic basis.  People can fill out a form to ask a bank to transfer a set amount on a certain basis.  Think of it like putting your tithe on auto-pay much like your mortgage or car payment.  Most people under 35 would prefer this and it helps people incorporate tithing as a long-term lifestyle.  Talk to your bank about services they provide.  See if they can help you or refer you to a credible partner.

B. Donate Now via a Website.  Make sure you give people an option to donate on your website.  It gives them a chance to act immediately and become part of the vision.  One web service I particularly liked was Missionify.  Missionify allows you to create a beautiful webpage for your cause and provides an update on reach your goal.  It can even be used by individuals for raising support for a mission trip or others.  It is pretty simple and can work for a basic "donate now" option.

Facebook Causes is also a toll that you can use to collect money for your cause.  You can create cause and spread the word via Facebook.  When people "like" your cause, it also allows it to be in their newsfeed, they can share the information and spread the word to possible donors.

A third option is to connect a donation engine directly into your website.  I found a few services on-line (like SimpleGive or ACH Direct) but I never used them so I can't endorse it. If you have experience doing this, leave a comment and tell your story.

C. Text Message Fundraising.  A new option that has started to pop-up is collecting donations via text messaging.  One option (and there are many others) is called mGive.  mGive allows you to set up a text messaging service pretty quickly and allow people to make a mobile payment via their cell phone bill.  (mGive can also support much broader giving efforts on Facebook, on your website and others, but it can get pretty expensive.)

The Red Cross used this very effectively during the Haiti crisis and people are very comfortable making donations this way.  You can publicize the text message number and keyword with both traditional and digital marketing.  Make sure to look closely at the costs and put a plan in place to spread the word broadly.

Step #5 - Report your progress early and often.  People want to know that their donation matters.  Show pictures and videos of the results of their giving.  

Step #6 - Be transparent.  Show your progress toward the goal (or toward your quarterly budget numbers).  Publish reports that people can understand.  Are you on-track or off.  Where did the money go?  How much went towards administrative costs vs. accomplishing the mission?  Transparency is key to long-term committed giving because it builds trust.

The vision, not the collection tactics, will determine your success.

I believe people are not naturally stingy, but want to know what they give to will make a difference.  Look at how fast people will open their wallets for the Sudan or an issue in Haiti.  They will also donate to needy children in schools or helping the poor.  They want to be part of something bigger than themselves.  They want to make a difference.

Many church stewardship campaigns go wrong because they focus on "keeping the lights on" activities vs. "why we make a difference in the world" activities with their gifts.  A church can save a marriage.  A church can help someone in recovery.  A church can teach a child about Jesus.  A church can bring hope to the hopeless.

How much is that worth?  It's priceless.  So why don't we tell the vision and reap the harvest?  What holds us back?

 

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Invite people home... a strategy to create digital relationships with your church.

It is very easy to get lost in all the social media tools out there.  We here about Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, YouTube and every other social tool out there and want to use them all.  That's good.  Go play.  But don't forget your purpose.

The purpose of all these activities is to call them into a relationship with you.  While part of the conversation can take place directly on the social media sites, it is also important to have your community get to know you.

In dating, a relationship may start by meeting at some "3rd place" (not work and not home).  You go out to dinner, maybe see a movie or do some other activity outside the home.  You may pick someone up at their door, but it is a change in the relationship when you are invited inside to meet the "family" and see life behind the "door."  It is a new level of intimacy and you can get a true sense of the person.

For churches, conversations at the social media sites are like those first dates.  You talk, you share, but it is still a little at arms length.  As you interact, you want them to feel comfortable enough to visit your home, meet the family and see what you are all about.  You need to invite them "home" so they can get a better sense of who you are and see how it may be a good fit to further explore the relationship.

Think about your home vs. outpost strategy...

It is important to think about the series of steps in the relationship to go from an initial meeting to a deeper relationship with those you are trying to reach.  This means that you are going to need to put in some hard work to get your website in shape (the home or hub), focus on getting links in and out of your site (connectors or spokes) and get other sites that you or someone else manage to post about you and link back to the site (outposts or rubber on the wheel & the tread).

Here are some things to ask yourself:

1. Do I understand my audience?  If not, get busy learning about my community.

2. What outposts are most relevant with people I can trying to reach?  Different people use different social media tools.  Focus your energy on who you are trying to reach.

3. What content is relevant to them?  Content is king.  We have all met people who looked like they had it all together until they opened their mouth.  The same is true here.  Content is your voice to connect with others.  Fill it with self-centered praise, manipulation to "come home baby" or seeking only what is best for you will lead to an #EPICFAIL!  Just like any relationship, spend time to know others and offer things of value.

4. Have you "mapped" the way home?  Always contain links for more information leading back to your digital home.  it provides a clear call to action and Google will index your site higher.

5.  Is my house in order?  What does your digital house look like especially from people visiting it for the first time.  What's the "curb appeal" or graphic design?  Is it easy to know where the "front door" or entry point for first time visitors is?  What about the "doorbell" or how to contact someone?   Is it easy to take a tour of the house and get to know the family?

6. How do you take the next step?  Someone comes to your home, now how do you invite them over for dinner.  You need to have a clear way for people to respond after they have gotten to know you better.

Is your digital house in order?  If so, what are you doing to invite people to your home?

 

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Egypt & Social Media...the blueprint of creating a digital movement (even for your church.)

Over the past two weeks, I watched Egypt's digital revolution unfold in awe.  As a Middle Eastern studies major in college and as one who has spent a significant amount of time in the region, I saw events enfold that I thought would never occur.  Common people, finally fed up with the corruption, self-organized using social media, planned demonstrations and effectively brought the country to a standstill.  They exercised their voice and were finally heard.

Even when the government tried to shut the various social networks down, people found other ways to access them and continue to both organize and share their story.  The world watched YouTube videos and looked at pictures from Al Jazeera that provided a human face to the struggle.  Even from half a world away, we were connected to the struggle for freedom and became part of their voice.

One example of others joining in the struggle was a a YouTube video from Juju, an 8-year old girl in Saudi Arabia.  In the voice of a child, we heard a truth that was hard to deny.

 

Juju expressed a truth we all felt.  We watched images and  videos flow out of Egypt from Flickr and YouTube.  Google provided a voice to Twitter service so people could still speak out when the Egyptian government shut down Twitter and Facebook.  And many of us spread the word through our own networks and curation efforts.

CNN provided a nice recap of the digital revolution.  Emily Banks from Mashable, summarized at the end of her article "Egyptian president steps down amidst groundbreaking digital revolution."

"Without a doubt, social media, mobile devices and the web have brought the stories from Egypt closer to home. And conversely, the events in Egypt have shown the strength of these tools for both organizing and informing people. The Egyptian people and reporters alike found ways to share their messages even when the government tried to stop them. Using VPN, proxy sites, third party apps and other tools, they were able to continue sharing news with those of us on the outside. And at the same time, the rest of the world found ways to use tech to curate and disseminate information."

We were all touched (and a little surprised if you know much about Middle Eastern politics) when Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down after 2 weeks of protests.  

We all know there is a long road ahead, but we can be thankful it did not escalate further than what it did.  Now Egypt has a chance at true democracy if the Army is willing to make it happen.

Looking back, we can see how social media played a critical role in creating a movement toward freedom.  But can this work for the church?

The Blueprint of a Digital Movement

Churches can learn how to create movements of social change by learning from our Egyptian brothers and sisters.  It is not about looking for ways to market our specific church or saying "look at me!" but identifying a key social concern and rallying people to the cause.

1. Identify the movement.  We need to identify a common cause that unites us, whether it is helping children succeed in school, eradicating hunger in your city or ending domestic violence.  People want to be part of something bigger than themselves.  By connecting with your community, you should be able to see what resonnates with a broad group of people.  By examining your church's calling, you can find a cause the resonnates with your congregation and its purpose.

2. Connect via Facebook and other social media.  The Egyptian dissenters used Facebook to organize and to connect with large groups of people.  They found current Facebook groups and joined them as well as created new Facebook groups, invited a group of activists and then encouraged them to spread the word by inviting their friends.  Churchs can do the same by identfying groups fighting hunger in their community, joining those groups and and creating their own group that their congregation can invite people to join.  Educate people on the issues through posts, videos and pictures.

3. Focus the movement on a specific call to action.  While the Egyptians ultimately wanted to remove President Mubarak, they created specific calls to action to focus effort.  A call to demonstrate in Tahir square after Friday prayers creates a specific event people can join.  It is specific, immediate and actionable.  The same is true for ending hunger in your community.  It can be a "one day collection" event where every business on Main Street is collecting food as well as church members ar key intersections.  A two week campaign is a food drive that isn't that compelling.  A one-day event is an event everyone can join in and create an atmosphere that is newsworthy and memorable.

4. Leverage Twitter as the news distribution engine it was meant to be.  Twitter was defined by its founders as "as an important news-bearing medium in this any many other situations of global portent."  While many people us it to report what they had for breakfast, it is important information that will break through the clutter.  The infographics shows how Twitter was used during the Egyptian crisis.

Use Twitter to get the word out and connect your Twitter feed to your Facebook groups to broaden the distribution.  Share early and often as well as make sure that you create a "hashtag" for the event. (A hashtag is a single word after a # that everyone puts at the end of their post (ex. #endhunger.))

5. Provide photos and videos via Flickr and YouTube.  One thing that made the Egyptian demonstrations so compelling is that we saw what was going on directly.  It wasn't filtered by news agencies in a cute 2 minute segment.  We had the opportunity to engage directly.  Grab your flipcams and post live footage with some on the street commentary.  Take photos and post them to flickr.  Share the links on Facebook and Twitter.  Always include the hashtag.

6. Aggregate and curate.  With some much being posted (as well as blocked) it was important to create curation sites to get the word out.  Here are a list of the top "curators" durign the two week uprising.  Identify one or two people to curate the event and gather everything that was posted.  Repost with attribution.  Provide summaries that can be shared and push them back out to the network.

7. Recap and write summary press releases.  While the news agencies did this for the Egyptian revolt, you may need to help your local media sources to publish the story.  Reach out to them ahead of time with an "announcement" press release and then provide a "summary" press release and recap summary with links to the top stories. Most smaller town media outlets need stories to fill the weekends, so get to be friends with your local media and feed them with information, videos, photos and content to help them help you to spread the word.

This is not a fluke, but a glimpse into what is to come.

We can see this pattern starting to emerge across the Middle East with people finally being able to organize and create a movement digitally when it was near impossible physically.  The same is true for other social movements, whether it is focusing on the need for clean water, wiping out malaria or ending hunger.

Learn from the Egyptians example.  God calls us to transform the world.  Are you willing to use the tools He gave you to do it?

 

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Show me the benefit... the obligatory Super Bowl 2011 commercial roundup and what churches can learn from them.

Last night, we celebrated that fine American holiday called Superbowl.  While my heart still aches for the Steelers loss (full disclosure: I'm a diehard Pittsburgh fan and a lifelong citizen of SteelerNation), life goes on.  So, like everyone else this week around the watercooler, we won't discuss the game.  Instead, we'll talk about the commercials.

At close to $3 million a pop, these advertisers took a swing for the proverbial business fence by throwing out their best and funniest, trying to engage America (sidenote:  when I saw the Superbowl in Singapore, they showed "local" commercials) to buy their products.  Some good, some bad, and some were an epic fail.

Every year, bloggers, Advertising magazines and people critique these ads and talk about the winners and losers.  Each and every one of them are posted on YouTube and hit counts tend to follow public opinion.  AdAge posted all of the commercials in one place and also provided their critique.

Let me share some of my thoughts and how they apply to churches:

Best Buy - Things Change Fast (Ozzy and Bieber)

 

While I am not a Bieber fan (but like Ozzy), the ad delivers on both providing a bit of surprise humor while clearly expressing the benefit of Best Buy's technology buy back program.  Worried technology is moving too fast, Best Buy provides you an out.  Best Buy clearly shows the pain people experience and a way to avoid it.

Church Application:  Best Buy clearly understood the technology buyer's dilemma and created an offering to solve it.  Churches need to understand their communities pains, issues and dilemmas and clearly articulate a solution to solve it.  For example, live in a poor community where people want to work but can't afford child care, start a subsidized pre-school.  Live in an expensive suburb with people with their houses "underwater" (owe more than worth), bring in a Christian financial expert and help people through their needs.  Find a need and fill it.  Then tell everyone you can...

Chrysler - Imported from Detriot

 

Chrysler combined patriotism and a bit of swagger from Eminem to try to reframe Chrysler cars coming out of Detroit. I think AdAge frames the commecial up best:

"What starts out as a down-on-our-luck tribute to a broken city morphs into a defiant, we're-back rallying cry faced by none other than Eminem, another broken thing out of Detroit who happens to be staging a massive comeback."

After two years of being battered by a bad economy, many Americans may relate to this captivating Detriot homage by Chrysler and the car they made together.

Church Application:  Chrysler shows the power of authentic storytelling.  Most commercials show cars driving at insane speeds down a desert road or a closed track.  The commercial focusing on telling a story about people, a town, the hardships they endure and the car they created.  Stories are powerful things.  What is your church's story?  Why should people pay attention?  How do you show a transformation from brokeness to wholeness?  How can you tell it in a captivating way that expresses why your church may be the best fit for them?  Authenticity is the key.

Motorola - Empower the People

 

Motorola does a fine job beating up Apple using their own framing in their 1984 Super Bowl commercial.  Apple has turned us into the very thing it railed against...a bunch of drones without choices, without the freedom to express and create outside their "walled garden" and without our own identity.  Motorola shows how it breaks through those walls to touch someone else and help them "unplug."  It provides wonderful competitive framing vs. the market leader while using the story to show some of the cool features of the Motorola XOOM.

Church Application:  I have spent some time in the past talking about the Apple Catholicism and what churches can learn from it.  The arrogance of Apple and turning into what they once vehemently opposed has created the opening for competitiors to exploit.  Denomination arrogance has led to decline because they were unwilling to change.  We need to reexamine what we are doing and be willing to admit we're wrong and adapt where it does not violate our principles and theology.  We need to be able to articulate what empowers our mission to reach others for Christ and show it in a clear, compelling way.

Bridgestone Tires - Carma

 

Bridgestone plays off the idea that "one good turn deserves another" where a man who was able to avoid hitting a beaver ends up getting saved by the same beaver 6 months later.  Why could the man stop in time both times...his tires.  Bridgestone plays off the "common belief" and then relates it to their product and product benefit.

Church Application:  Bridgestone combines a common belief with an outstanding use of drama and clear demonstration of the product benefit.  What are the common beliefs in your community?  Do onto others?  Welcome all?  One good turn...?  Any of these commonly held ideas can be framed in the context of Christianity and your church.  Don't overdue it and don't get hokey.  This approach can be done very badly, so let's be careful out there with this one...

Doritors - "Crash the Super Bowl" series

 

Doritos and Pepsi have used consumer generated commercials over the past couple of years to express the benefit of their products in a humorous way to "Crash the Superbowl."  They allowed consumers to submit ads and then allowed everyone to vote on the commercials they would show.  Some (like the Doritors Commercial "The Best Part" show the extreme lengths people will go for the extreme flavor of Doritors.  My personal favorite of the bunch shows what the extreme flavor can do...

 

Doritos (and PepsiMax) allow consumers to create their own commercial and use humor to express the benefit.  The company narrowed down the submissions and allowed people to vote on their favorites.  The result:  cheap to produce, yet effective commercials every year.

Church Application:  The power of the approach is that Doritos and PepsiMax allow the consumers to take control of the message and express the benefit based on the brief provided by the company.  How can a church allow people to "make their own commercials" that may be more compelling than what your internal creative team can create (blashemy! gasp!).  It will likely feel more authentic.  I know of one Annual Conference that is working to leverage this approach to connect with youth.  I'll blog more about that one once it is announced.

Volkswagen (VW) - Going Cute to Connect

Volkswagen has a long history of creating commercials that connect with the emotions of consumers.  It tells a simple story that connects with the consumer on an emotional level and this year was no exception.

 

"The Force" combines kid cuteness and pop culture power of Star Wars to make an engaging spot.  It works to emotionally bond with their target consumer (young families) and create a moment of lightheartedness.  The same is true for the "Black Beetle" 

 

Most car commercials look the same.  These are uniquely VW.

Church Application:  VW uses emotions to bond with its consumers.  They are willing to invest with in a relationship with their consumer and reinforce those feelings over time.  Churches can do the same thing.  We can evoke a feeling in a unique, creative way and slowly shape a relationship with our congregation and our community.  It is not just about articulating a "benefit" like we care about kids, but doing it in a way that creatively connects our message with our intended audience.

OK...what can churches do with this?

I am not advocating churches to make TV commercials and air them during the Super Bowl (but it could be interesting to buy one of the local Super Bowl spots next year and try it.).  What we need to do is examine the best Madison avenue has to offer and understand how we can apply it to our context.

Storytelling, emotional connections, humor, consumer generated content, competitive framing and focusing on the benefit are powerful tools to spread the message of Christ and the relevance of your church to someone's life.  

Is your church willing to learn to relevantly connect with your community?  Are you willing to learn from Madison Avenue to learn how to connect with people from Main Street?

 

Related Posts:

The Pride before the Fall...What churches can learn from the "Google Reformation" vs. "Apple Catholicism."

Monkey + Amazon = Recall...The Power of Humor in Press Releases.

Goodbye "Get A Mac" - Learning the power of "contrast" for church marketing

If a mini-van can have "swagger," why can't the church?

Don't sell to me...tell me a story (communication tips for non-creatives.)

Singing from the same sheet of music... Using Dropbox for Worship planning.

Many times, getting all the materials ready for Sunday Morning worship can be a hassle.  People are e-mailing songs, announcements, sermon outline changes, slides or any number of things or running around with USB drives to get everything ready.  From bulletins to worship PowerPoints, this can be a nightmare of versioning and keeping everyone in sync.

As a quick fix, do yourself a favor and set up a Dropbox account.  Dropbox is a way to keep all of your files across multiple computers in sync (even with different people).

Check out this video explanation:

 

Dropbox allows you to access files from any PC, mobile device and websites.  You can also share folders with others and that is the powerful thing for worship planning (and any other effort that requires sharing lots of materials with a team.)  

Dropbox creates an icon on your desktop.  Set up a Dropbox folder for worship, bulletins, newsletters or any other effort and invite people to share.

Look at the thumbnail gallery below that shows you creating a new folder and sharing that file with others.

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Make a folder for all of your worship assets (songs, etc.) and then create a new folder for each week.  If you run out of space, archive the old materials or buy additional capacity.

Start off by using a personal account and have others on your team do the same.  If your church really likes it, it may make sense to upgrade to a business account to keep everything in sync.

It may be a simple "HOW-TO" but it answers a problem that I here a lot from many churches.  Give Dropbox a try and let me know what you think.

Let me know how Dropbox works for you.  What other collaboration tools have you found that can help keep your church in sync?

 

Related Posts:

Download free e-book "Connecting with Your Community"

Avoid the "field of dreams" syndrome... How to plan and promote church events with Social Media.

Getting Started in Social Media - Start by Listening

 

Avoid the "field of dreams" syndrome... How to plan and promote church events with Social Media.

I often get asked about how to use digital tools to support churches in their efforts to plan worship, mange events and even raise funds.  Over the next couple of blog posts, I'll try to get savagely practical in how churches can use digital tools to help them be more effective.

Outreach events can be some of the most complicated efforts a church can manage.  I think of outreach events very broadly, from the annual Vacation Bible School to Family Financial Conference being held at the church.  It tends to involve lots of people, lots of different activities and a need to reach a broad community.

The declining church event...

In the past, churches assumed if they built it, people would come.  A Vacation Bible School only required that the church change the sign to reflect the dates and viola! Everyone would show up.  Many churches have seen significant declines in their overall attendance in the event and number of "new people" who show up.  A church spends thousands of dollars to hold and event, but many times they do not see the same return as before.

Why?  In many communities, churches have shifted from the center to the periphery of influence.  Many churches took the community for granted and assumed people would keep showing up.  Unfortunately, the competition for people's time and attention has skyrocketed.  Children have just as busy schedules as their parents.  There are more options.  

Churches cannot take attendance for granted.  We need to become more focused on delivering a high quality event, marketing it and create connections afterward.  

We no longer live in the "field of dreams" world where we build it and they will come. 

Plan, Invite, Promote, Execute, Connect...

I was inspired by a very nice article on Mashable that provided a "how-to" plan and promote events using social media.  It provided some thoughts on how your team could leverage technology already available (and most of the time free) to coordinate, advertise and host the event.  Over a year later, many of the technologies have changed, but the concept remains the same.  Let me throw in some ideas and add my two cents.

Step #1:  Plan with social media tools.

Planning goes beyond simple logistics - it is about locations, agendas and finding volunteers.  While it is wonderful to be able pull everyone into a room once a week and discuss it for two hours, most people do not have the time to do so.  We need to keep everyone in the loop and determine a way to keep everyone on the same page.

Set up a GroupMe account and team. GroupMe is a new online tool that will allow you send set up a group of 25 people and allow group text messaging and conference calls.   It also allows for photo sharing too.  Four to ten people is the best group size and you can create several groups to make it manageable.  As an example, for your VBS, you can set up groups for worship, teachers, crafts and food as well as a leadership team so everyone can stay in the loop.

Use Google Docs and Google Calendar to stay in sync.  Google Docs provides an MS Office-type of capability without everyone needing expensive licenses.  Working documents, presentations or spreadsheets are pretty easy and you can create forms for people to fill out.  Going back to the VBS example, you could include meeting notes, a spreadsheet containing volunteer information or an overview presentation of the event.  Google Calendar provides a basic calendar service that can be shared across the team.  

Use Dropbox to share files.  Many times we try to share large files via e-mail.  People can't download them or it is blocked by their internet provider.  Dropbox allows you to share folders across a number of people and computers and keep them in sync.  You can share any type of file as long as everyone has the right application to open and view it.  For VBS, you could share PDFs of the lessons or craft instructions, music or video files or pictures while still keeping them private.

Skype can help provide face time digitally.  Need to work with an individual but can't find time to get together in person?  Use Skype to hold a face-to-face video call.  This can be very helpful, especially if you are trying to work with someone who travels a lot or is a speaker coming into the event.  70% to 80% of communication is non-verbal and Skype helps you "see" what is going on.

Step #2:  Organizing and Inviting people.

Once you have the basic plan in place, you need to start inviting people.  This is different than promotion - you're making sure key guests, speakers, church members, family, volunteers and whoever else is important shows up.  You need to invite key people into the conversation, keep them up-to-date and ensure they are ready for the event.

Set up an event blog or micro-site.  Set up a separate blog or micro-site for the event will allow you to provide focused communication on the event.  Make the URL short by creating a new domain or sub-domain or creating a short memorable link like mychurch.org/VBS to help people remember it.  You can use Wordpress or Drupal blog, a Google Site or even Tumblr to create a "home" for your event.

Create a Facebook Event.  Facebook is a simple way to create a way to invite people to an event.  The ever expanding popularity of Facebook makes it easy for people to find the event and share it with others.  You can create a Facebook event for your VBS, invite everyone at your church that is on Facebook and then ask them to invite their friends.  Digital evangelism with just a little work!

Provide an "engraved" invitation. You can also take your invitations one step further by using tools like Anyvite and Eventbrite.  They are two solid solutions for inviting guests that include RSVPing and customization features.  Think about taking your membership directory and past VBS registrations to create a customized invitation for people you want to reach out to.

Step #3:  Promote, Promote, Promote...and when you think you are done, promote some more.

 As stated in the Mashable article, "Promotion is the key to any successful gathering."  There are tons of social tools available to spread the word on your event.  The important thing to do is pick the tools that you want to leverage (and that are relevant to the community you serve) and do it well.  

Publish meaningful content on YouTube and Flickr.  Your church needs to have a YouTube (for videos) and Flickr (for photo) accounts.  Create an event video that you can post on Facebook and Twitter and allow people to share it.  Provide a link to last year's photos on Flickr and make sure to show the highlights of why people should come this year.  It helps take the fear out of the event and allows people to know what to expect.

Encourage sharing and invitations via Facebook.  Facebook's focus is on your friends, colleagues and personal connections. It is who you want to have a relationship with.  Make it easy for your congregation to spread the word to their friends.  Create an Facebook page to keep everyone in the loop and also create an event linked to it.  Invite everyone in your congregation to "like" the page and then encourage them to share it.

Spread the word using Twitter. Twitter focuses on distributing and consuming information.   Make sure your church has a Twitter account and following people in your community.  Spend time publicizing your event as well as linking to blog articles talking about it.  Encourage others in your church to re-tweet your tweets to let more people know.  Create an event hashtag and promote it to help you follow the conversation.

Link to community calendars and event websites.  Most local newspapers, radio stations and TV stations have community calendars on-line.  Find the ones in your area and register your event (and direct them to your event site.)  Also use social calendars like Upcoming, Meetup.com or others to make everyone aware of the date.

Tie everything back to your event blog or micro-site.  Point all the promotion activities back to your central site and create a way for them to register for the event.  Make sure a new visitor can gain a clear understanding of the event, when it is and why it is important.  Then make sure to have a strong call to action to register so you can follow-up periodically leading up to the event.

This is not a matter of throwing everything against the wall and see what sticks, but being very intentional to use the tools that your community connects with and creating a drumbeat of communication leading up to your event.

Step #4:  Optimize the event for social media sharing (and listening!)

While this may feel a little strange for churches, make it easy for people to talk about the event while at it.  Historically, churches are some of the worst connected places in the world (in my experience).  People cannot get access to free WiFi to talk about the event.  Even when it is provided, slow speeds and failing networks squash any potential buzz you can generate.  MASSIVE FAIL!

Several studies show that allowing people to "talk to each other" during the event connecting people who couldn't make it physically to your event  and enabled participants to engage in deeper discussions than the person on the stage.  While some people are afraid it pulls people's attention away from the event, research shows it increases engagement and retention of the material.  So, let people engage!

Make high speed wireless available.  It you are at your church, try to work with some IT smart folks to have a couple of available wireless routers open for people to use.  Either make them open (no password) or provide a password for everyone coming to the event so they can jump on-line.

Create a hashtag.  A hashtag is a way to allow people to find the event.  You need to make one up, ensure no one else is using it and then publish it everywhere.  So, for example, I could create a VBS hashtag called "#ElidaVBS" named so by our community (Elida, OH) and the activity (Vacation Bible School).  I can add the year or not.  It doesn't matter.  I need to publish the hashtag to everyone at the event and encourage them to tag any blog post, tweet or comment using the hashtag.

Think about streaming the event.  This depends on the event, but it may be worth considering, especially for District or Conference events.  According to Mashable, "Live video services like Ustream make it possible to stream out key portions of events. You don’t have to stream everything – just the good stuff. If you can’t stream, upload videos to YouTube afterwards."  This does require a lot of bandwidth so test it thoroughly if your want to try it.

Listen and engage to the conversation.  Assign one person to track the conversation (using Twitter Search or other monitoring tools) and join the conversation.  If there are problems, address them.  If there are questions, try to answer them.  Also feel free to ask questions of your own to get insights to what people are thinking.

Step #5:  Keep the connection going...

The event is not done when the last person speaks and everyone goes home.  This is a chance to turn your event into a life long connection.  Ask for people's social media and e-mail contact information to stay connected.  Send them a thank you note, provide updates and questions and promote friending or following of your social media accounts.

Send a thank you note.  Mom always wanted me to send a thank you note when I received a gift.  People attending your church event are a gift of their time and energy.  Send a electronic or handwritten thank you note or postcard.  Make sure to include a strong call to action to engage with your church by visiting Sunday morning, attending the next event, etc.

Post a video highlight.  Turn the pictures you took at the event and turn it into a 2 to 3 minute video highlight reel.  Show some of the key moments and make sure to have some good music in the soundtrack.  Say thank you  and create a strong call to action at the end.  Post it on YouTube, include it in your thank you e-mail and post it on Facebook and Twitter.

Share photos and videos.  Share photos via your Flickr account and post videos on YouTube related to the event.  Make sure to tag them with relevant key words in increase your search engine ranking.  Post key videos from the event, but keep them short (2 to 5 minutes with a focused point).

Keep communicating.  Add people's information who reply to your thank you note into your e-mail list and keep communicating.  Use Constant Contact, Blue Sky Factory or other e-mail engines to provide a relevant newsletter to the attendees.  Use your list for the next event and invite them (step #2).

It's not the end...it's just the beginning.

Good communications can turn an OK event into a significant outreach effort.  It takes time to plan, invite, promote, execute and connect with others, but isn't that the goal?  Aren't we trying to connect others to Christ?  If so, why are we so unwilling to spend time spreading the good news?

You cannot build it and expect people to come.  You need to spread the good news to get people connected to your church and Christ.  Are you willing to do so?

 

Related Posts:

Getting Started in Social Media - Start by Listening

Need more proof Facebook is critical to your church outreach efforts? 

Download free e-book "Connecting with Your Community"

The road ahead...what churches need to know about the next 5 years in social media