Nowadays, organizations are encouraged to utilize digital marketing because it’s an easier way to target prospects, especially if they’re looking for new members. No exception to this is churches, which can now reach people near and far through the digital world. However, this is easier said than done because not everyone who runs a church is tech-savvy.
While marketing a church seems no different from marketing a company, there are still stark differences. For one, churches are often community-oriented organizations. This means the marketing strategy should also focus on how the church can help those in the community. For this reason, churches should be wary of making certain mistakes that hinder them from getting new members and their community efforts. These include:
#1 – Creating a Blog with No Clear Goal
A blog is an excellent tool for marketing a church’s events or community efforts because it helps guests become familiar with it while on the website. However, a church blog is only as good as the content posted. If the church promotes services, it’s essential to make it an engaging experience that leaves visitors wanting to attend the service. If the church is just promoting a community effort, it’s necessary to make the post something that will go viral and help spread the word about their cause.
#2 – Not Having a Website Address
A church must have a web address because this is what people will use to look up information about the organization. If they want to find out the church’s location or look at the service schedule, they will need a web address. If they’re looking for the community outreach they can do, they will also need the web address. Visitors will not find a church without a web address, meaning the church is cutting off a lot of potential members.
#3 – Disregarding SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial to any website owner because it increases the chance of their site appearing on the first page of search engine results. Churches should not overlook this because it would mean they aren’t trying to get new members.
Furthermore, SEO is important because it helps the church’s web pages rank higher on search engines while also providing higher rankings on social media. Without SEO, a church may never become popular on the web, especially if they only have a few people checking their church website.
#4 – Not Giving Links to Prospects
A common mistake that organized churches tend to make is not giving out digital information to prospects. If the church is holding an event or a community effort, it’s a good idea to give people options to contact them. This doesn’t mean the church should give out just the phone number and address. Instead, they should give out the phone number, a link to a sign-up page, and a link to an email address that can be used to contact the organization.
#5 – Forgetting to Include Contact Details
In addition to giving out contact information for the community events, the church should include their contact details on the website. While no one wants personal information such as their address and phone number on their website, there are other ways, such as by providing an address where they can be reached. This can be done by giving a form where people can leave their phone numbers and the specific information they want to be contacted.
#6 – Lousy Web Design
Good design is essential to a church website because it tells visitors that they’re serious about their website. A good church website should have an attractive homepage that explains what the church is about. It should also include the church’s mission statement so people would know what the church wants to achieve.
Conclusion
Marketing a church can be challenging because it has to be done more cohesively than traditional marketing strategies. Ideally, the church’s website should have an attractive homepage that states the church’s mission and give the church’s community efforts. All that matters is ensuring a church is noticed by its prospects to ensure that its efforts won’t go to waste.
ChurchCandy provides top-quality services for digital marketing for churches. We know that marketing a church and its congregation has unique needs, so our marketers can develop solutions to ensure yours is seen and heard. Simply go to our website to schedule a strategy call!