How To Rescue Your Church From Bad Design

1. Use Canva.

Canva is free and super easy. With it, you can design blog graphics, presentations, Facebook covers, flyers, posters, invitations and so much more.

2. Borrow designs.

You don't have to design everything yourself. There are great church designers out there giving their designs away for free. Here are some great ones:

NewSpring Church Resources

Seeds Resources

Elevation Church Resources

3. Stop using cheesy stock photos.

Use these free resources:

Makerbook Photos

Freely Photos

4. Use Squarespace for your church website.

I really don't see why most churches use Wordpress. Yes, it is one of the best options for a church who has a designer on staff; however, the great majority of churches don't have access to a professional. Wordpress has so many plugins, themes, and templates; it's strength? Customization. It's weaknesses? A huge learning curve and lots of room for design mistakes. Squarespace is amazing, because it doesn't allow a great deal of customization. It doesn't allow you to venture too far from the template; in the end, this forces you to make good design choices. Also, Squarespace is $8/mo.

5. Be consistent. 

When people visit your church website, are they going to see current service times? The current message series? Is the calendar updated? Good design is consistent. If you don't have the right and updated information on your website and on the slides you show in church, they are essentially useless.

6. Minimize future work.

Don't create too many designs that you'll have to update each week. Be self-aware and realize - you're not going to have time to spend 5 hours per week on graphic design. Don't create a Small Groups design with just the dates for the upcoming week - instead, go with the 1st/3rd Thursday or 2nd/4th Friday method.

7. Ask for help.

Chances are, someone you know is a graphic designer. Ask them to design something for your church, or just ask them to proof and critique your designs!

8. Never stop learning. 

Listen to the Pro Church podcast. Sign up for Skillshare. Join the Visual Church Media Facebook group. Follow designers and big churches on Instagram.

How Your Church Can Stop Failing At Social Media

Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. LinkedIn. Pinterest. Snapchat. Like it or not, it's where people are spending their time and attention. 

Like most people ten years ago, you probably wrote social media off as a place where teenagers post mindless statuses and pictures (i.e. not a place where you wanted to spend your time); but recently, you've started to notice its incredible potential to reach people. According to TechCrunch.com, statistics tell us that 73% of adults use social networks. It's officially where people spend their time and attention. It's where people go to connect with others, to be encouraged, to find recommendations for restaurants, to be entertained, and to learn.

Social media is essential to any relevant church communication strategy; but chances are, your Facebook page isn't doing so well. You posted a few times, but didn't get very many likes or shares. You might have even paid for social media advertising...but that didn't work. No increased attendance on Sunday mornings. No engagement with your posts. Why did you fail? What went wrong?

How can churches win in social?

1. Give. Give. Give. THEN ask.

Come to our event! Come to our event! Come to our event! If this is you, then you need to stop. People don't like being bombarded with promotions.

People trust people. People are drawn to community. Community is built around the value they find there. Value starts with encouragement and engagement. Until you start providing value on social, no one will trust you. And if no one trusts you, they're not going to respond to your Facebook invite to your church service or Easter Egg Hunt. Don't promote till you've earned the community's trust. After you've provided value, don't be shy. Be clear and concise with your promotion (i.e. Tell them exactly what you want them to do).

Want to learn more about this specific concept? Read Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by marketing expert Gary Vaynerchuk.

2. Advertise in 2015, not 1990.

A lot has changed since the 90's. Most of us don't even remember what it's like to have dial up internet. How about this - when's the last time you actually watched a commercial? You just recorded it and fast forwarded though the commercials, right? When's the last time a billboard actually convinced you to buy something? When's the last time you actually kept the flyer on your doorstep for the pizza place down the street? I'm not saying that traditional advertising is dead - but it's definitely dying. 

We need to advertise like it's 2015. We need to catch up with the times. This means updating your website calendar. This means optimizing your website for mobile. This means spending time creating content for social media. This means you should stop spending your entire communication budget on print ads. 

3. Respect the platforms.

Every social media platform has it's own language and culture. You wouldn't go to Austin, Texas expecting the same culture as New York City or Tokyo, right? In the same way- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn are all different cultures with different rules of etiquette. Learn the language and respect the culture. Post encouraging video on Facebook. Post micro content on Instagram. Be concise with your twitter posts and join existing conversations by @replying others. Respect each platform. You won't regret it!

4. Listen.

No one likes a blabber mouth. People won't trust you until they know you care. And people don't know you care until you listen. If you do more talking than listening, you'll miss out on what your audience is saying (i.e. what their wants and needs are). Listen. Respond. Be authentic. Show them you care.

5. Be consistent.

An idea is only as good as its execution. If you want your social media plan to be successful, you'll have to create one and execute it consistently. One post on Facebook once per month is not enough to start and maintain an online community. Having a successful social media presence takes time, energy, and creativity.

By now, you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed. If you need help, I highly recommend signing up for Social Church Academy. Josh, Justin, and the team work with 100+ pastors and have years of experience managing social media accounts for churches. For $39/mo., you can be a part of their monthly membership program that delivers coaching, done-for-you resources, and real case studies to help your church communicate effectively online.

And that's it! If you implement these strategies, you will no longer fail at Social Media. In fact, you'll find yourself immersed in an authentic online community - one that naturally translates into face-to-face ministry.

 

5 Reasons Your Church Should Start Using Planning Center Online

PCO rocks. If your church isn't using it, then you're behind the times. Why?

1. It forces you to get organized.

Using Planning Center Services, you can organize songs by key or by when you last scheduled it for a particular service. It lets you schedule your volunteers like Bob and track when he served last. You can create different service types, and make templates for Sunday service, youth service, and everything in between. It syncs with CCLI/SongSelect, the largest library of worship sheet music and chord charts in the world. You can even add block out dates so that you won't schedule Bob on his vacation to the Bahamas.

2. It's easy to use.

PCO offers a bunch of tutorial videos for its services app. And if you're stuck, their support staff is incredible. Unless you're like Bob - who's a total computer noob - I guarantee you can learn the platform. Oh...and it works on all your devices.

3. It's a family of interconnected apps.

Planning Center Services is the most widely used app in the PCO family; but it's just the beginning. PCO offers a PCO Check-Ins, PCO Giving, PCO Music Stand, PCO People, PCO Projector, PCO Registrations, PCO Registrations, and PCO Resources. Phew! That's a lot of apps. All excellently designed for churches.

4. It's cheap.

I'm guessing your church doesn't have a whole lot of money to spend...How about free? If you're a church plant and you just have Bob and 4 other volunteers, you won't paying a dime for this PCO Services. Have more volunteers? Paid plans start at $14/mo. You can check out pricing options for all PCO apps here.

5. It's useful for every church.

Are you a part of a Lutheran church who sings hymns on Sundays led by an organ? Are you a part of a huge megachurch with hundreds of volunteers? Are you part of a church plant who meets in a home? PCO is super flexible and made specifically for churches. 

Save your church time, money, and lots of headaches. Join Saddleback, Willow Creek, and thousands of other big and small churches - Sign up for PCO today. 

You'll be glad you did.