How likely is someone to share physical mail with their friend? Is written communication in letter format the best way to describe ministry initiatives? Is there another communication method that can assure you that a piece is read, that can track the message, and even develop responsive messages that change with the audience's specific needs? Paying your digital postage is the modern equivalent of using the printing press.
When we think of advertising, we think of TV ads or items that clog up our mailboxes. Digital advertising now accounts for 88.4 billion dollars, more than TV, print or radio advertising (Mullin & Flint via Comscore, eMarketer and Interactive Advertising Bureau, 2019). The number of Americans who read a newspaper daily has declined from 41% to 23%, while the number of Americans who use social media for information has risen to above 70% (Pew Research, 2018).
Email systems like Constant Contact and Mail Chimp are the most common ways that ministry organizations pay their digital postage. Using an organized email system allows you to:
- Design emails that are eye-catching, visually interesting, and therefore more likely to be read.
- Measure whether an email message has been opened by your audience.
- Track which links your readers find interesting and which online action steps they actually take.
- Analyze the regularity, length, and format that your audience prefers.
- Prevent messaging people who do not want it and avoid your primary email from being blacklisted as spam.
Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms originally carried a church's or school's message alongside that of any individual who posts information. Now ministry organizations, like any corporation, must pay for digital postage if they expect their organization's message to be carried far. Yes, your message can still be viewed by a few of your core followers without a monetary investment. Yes, interesting and emotional content is always more likely to go viral and be spread. However, a huge shift has occurred in social media platforms. If you want people to see your ministry's message online, your organization must budget accordingly and pay digital postage.
Facebook offers an easy way to reach users on both their platform and Instagram. Boosting a post is a simple way to pay digital postage, but you can always get more message reach and dollar-for-dollar impact by visiting the top right arrow drop down and working through the manage ads tab. Within the manage ads tab, you can target people by interest, affiliation to your organization, age, geography, and many other areas. You can send your message out in ways that focus on those most likely to click and visit your site, or most likely to view it, or simply reach as many of your targeted audience as possible, one time per day. The manage ads tab in Facebook opens up a world of possibilities for targeting your message and extending your reach.
Google AdWords has become an incredibly complex tool with an infinity of possibilities. How often do we marvel at all the things Google can do? Doesn't it make sense for your ministry organization to invest in learning to use this great tool of communication? There are ways to direct ads to visitors of specific web sites, Youtube channels, or by various interests, and target through an infinity of other possibilities. If "go and make disciples" is a core part of your ministry focus, an investment in Google Adwords has become the next wise step. Because of the complexity, it may require working with an outside vendor.
Optimizing your website is another way to pay your digital postage. While a focus on search engine optimization (SEO) can be free, there are costs that can ensure you do it well.
- There are assessment tools which determine the best layout, links, and effectiveness of landing pages.
- Domains, labels, and keywords can be adjusted to encourage traffic to your site.
- Mobile-friendly, loading time, and easy navigation are key and their mastery is an important science.
- Welcoming content which can communicate grace and truth is an art form and a blessing from our Lord.
The next time you review your ministry's annual budget ask "Are we paying our digital postage"? Consider what Martin Luther must have thought when he first saw the printing press. The Lord's richest blessings in your efforts to use all of our Lord's wonderful creation to proclaim His grace.
Dr. Jeff Lemke, Vice President of Admissions and Enrollment, presented at the 2019 WELS Leadership Conference on the topics of "Best Marketing Mediums for Outreach" and "Reach New Families with a Sustainable School." Dr. Lemke is scheduled to present in January of 2020 in Chicago at the WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership on the topic of "Financially Sustainable Models for Schools." Contact him through this website.
Return to original language with "show original" button at top left.
Discussion
Thanks for the great real world application and story. It makes such a difference to have real life examples like this. I do want to warn people who view this that some of the best results can be difficult to track. Word of Mouth is essential and unifies all good marketing, but these paid for social advertisements is an amazing mix of worlds. I hope your ministry has found it to beneficial to invest even more in digital postage.
Great to hear from you Phil.
It is wise for all of us to remember that what we put up on the internet is usually available to the masses. But as I reflect, I may have been too conservative in that regard. There have been opportunities in the past to share my faith with my network that I did not take advantage of because I was concerned people would take it out of context or that it would be around on the internet forever. Now I pray that I act, knowing that I am saved from sins of commission and sins of omission.
I've found your article very insightful due to the fact that I'm a PR major at WLC. Currently, Nathan and I are taking a PR class in which we had to create our own organization. Nathan's group created a hypothetical Lutheran School. Our teacher had given us insightful information regarding different forms of media advertisement, some of which included references to Mail Chimp. Our recent assignment was to plan a special event for our organizations. That meant we had to think about the strategies and tactics of getting the word out about the special event. It has become very relevant in this day and age for information to be exposed through digital media, especially those forms of Facebook and Instagram. In both of our organizations, we discussed using forms of Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to spread the word about our events. One of our key targets in the WELS is towards millennials and potential pastors and teachers, which we are in need of. In order to reach this target public, we can begin to connect on forms of social media because the world is becoming more and more tech-savvy. Facebook ads are becoming a popular thing, and as a member of the WELS, I think it's a vital tool for us to use in order to spread God's gospel. We should optimize these media tools to benefit our Synod in the best ways possible.
Thank you for your contribution!
What a great project for your class! There are many who dream of what our schools and ministries would look like if we built them from scratch from the ground up. Would we name them the same and so forth? Particular with the younger generation, I get mixed signals of if good calls to action are moving toward events or toward other action items? That may be a good question to debate with some PR majors.
Blessings on your studies.
I am overjoyed to see that you are encouraging churches to make use of social media and online mailing (without skipping the postage). It is valuable to note that you brought an applicable historical situation with Luther and the printing press. Using the press cost money, but it was well worth it. In the same way Instagram and Facebook promotion and boosting can make a church's message go from only the congregation to the rest of the world! Your presentation was encouraging for me to read also, as a young person to know that focus is being put onto to reaching my age group as well as older age groups (teens and twenty-somethings do not typically take the time to read a piece of paper in the mail). Amen, and well said!
How would you advise a church to use social media, and to what extent?
As one preparing to go into the teaching ministry, I found your suggestions for digital communication particularly interesting. I have recently become familiar with Facebook ads and Mailchimp through running the social media for a small business. I think that the ability to track and target posts and emails translates well into social media use for churches and schools to open “up a world of possibilities for targeting your message and extending your reach.” It is exciting that a church or school’s posts can reach such large audiences to both invite and inform.
I did have a question while I was reading your article. Social media ads have easily accessible pages to back them up, and emails are usually signed up for by the recipient. Your mention of Google ads had me wondering how viewers respond to Google ads for a church or school. I am usually wary to click on an internet ad. If using Google is a “next wise step” what are some things that churches or schools should consider doing to make their ads credible?
Thank you for the article you presented!
Great question regarding the use of Google ads.
Staying true to your message is a good way to keep ads credible. For example, I now see churches sharing publicly that worship will be either a contemporary style or traditional style. Some churches formerly took the stance that it should not matter if church is traditional or contemporary and would not communicate in advance about the style. Whether with Google Ads or the style of worship to expect, be upfront with who you are (who your church is) and people will click if interested.
More often, people will not click on the ads but the advertisement will still have some branding affect for the future and hopefully a visit to church.
Thank you for your suggestions for Google ads. I like the idea of sharing the worship style; that is just another thing that people can look forward to when they come to church. Your response reminded me of some comments I read on the "T-Shirt Evangelism" post - even if people don't respond to outreach right away, the fact that they have seen it gets them thinking.
Thank you for the examples and suggestions!
Great use of social media is coordinated with old-school media and direct mailing postcard campaigns. If the two have related messages, branding and images, it has a magnified impact. Your father's role in it all is still a critical one, what a blessing the organized mail system of the USA is and what an opportunity for outreach.
Do you think that we have a greater advantage being able to optimize our reach, and if so, what do you think is the greater impact? Do you think there are any pitfalls with online marketing? Do we run the risk of overstimulating even in evangelization?
Thank you once again for your contribution.
That's a good question and could go a philosophical route rather quickly.
Some may say that America is full of over-stimulation, whereas you go to locations like some areas of Africa or Vietnam, the environment is much less noisy. People in America are much more familiar with their being a welcoming church at every corner, where other countries can have more of a spiritual void or vacuum. Brazil is the only other market that I know of that seems more "noisy" in terms of marketing than the USA.
In marketing they talk about "meeting your saturation goals." Thus, you pick an audience (demographics) that you want to get your message to and then pick saturation goals. For instance, in the three weeks of our digital campaigns we want our ad to reach 90% of the market (often called "reach") with an average of 15 impressions.
Back to your original questions - Yes, just like in the Pax Romana of the time of Christ, the Pax Americana or Pax Technicana (I just made that one up) produces some unique evangelism opportunities.
- Yes, misinformation of online marketing is concerning. Also, the online marketing world fuels the "feeling of spirituality" that can be void of truth and depth.
- I don't think we run the risk of overstimulating as much as we run the risk of being elbowed out because of all of the noise and political correctness that tech companies are driving.
Thank you for your time,
Al
Yes, Youtube Ads are a tremendous tool, yet a little more challenging for some churches and schools to execute. The Google Ads forum delivers Youtube Ads at a reasonable cost and expertise. But most ministries may still need a Consultant or Vendor to navigate the Google Ads system, or a very gifted church member.