Episode #17 – Websites, Social Media, and Marketing in a Replant with Wesley Lewis from OneEighty Digital
It was great to have Wesley Lewis from our podcast sponsor Oneeightydigital.com talk all things Website, social media and all relevant topics.
It’s a good probability that one of the first things needing to be changed is the website of a Church needing Replanting.
The Website is the “front door” of your church.
Things to avoid your church website:
-Using stock photos
-Representing something that you are not
-Not including contact information, address, email and a map
The web is the “yellow” pages of today-you want to be found, you want to provide good information that helps people know who you are.
Things to make sure your website has:
-A good header image (you have 5 seconds to make a good impression)
-Where you are, your service schedule, how to contact your church
-A brief description about what your church is like (using language that any outsider who si not part of your church could understand)
-All this needs to be available within one scroll
Is it important to have sermon archives/sermon podcast on your website?
-Definitely, your members are most likely to listen to the entire message, guests will listen to clips.
-Consider transcribing your sermons this creates more hits on search engines.
-Use key words to give an SEO boost.
Should a Replant or Normative Size Church “live stream” their services?
-Livestream is mostly likely for your members or attenders who cannot be there
-Guests will most likely watch clips
-One positive is that live streaming extends your ministry a bit beyond your local area.
-In some cases this allows for you to reach out to those who might want to partner with your church financially.
-Mark Zuckerberg has said that the future of Facebook is video.
Is there a way to get the passwords from someone who may be disgruntled and won’t give them?
-Yes, you’ll need to contact Wesley to find out how.
What kind of person should run your website?
-Someone who knows how to connect with your community.
-Someone who possesses a missions mindset that desires to reach people with the gospel.
-They don’t have to be the most tech-savvy or the most social media savvy, but someone who knows how to tell stories well-people really respond to stories.
What can you do if you struggle to think about what to put on the website?
-Tell good stories
-Celebrate your strengths
Should you work with a company or just use a site builder?
-You always get a better product when you work with a team to develop your sites through a creative collaborative process.
-Predefined sites which you can customize are good but may limit what you can do in terms of telling your stories.
Wesley’s toolbox recommendations for your website
-Develop a good content team: to capture and write up stories for your site.
-Use a social media scheduler
-Invest in marketing: understand that you are marketing even if you don’t market. Empower people to share news about your church through good content.
-Develop a google my business page: make sure it’s accurate and up to date.
-Get info from a professional: even if you just buy someone lunch-pick their brain, get their opinions about marketing, sites and how your church can connect with the community.