Build an Internet presence with your local community several months ahead of a church launch. Here’s how:
Write.
At least once per month, write a blog post (and post on your church’s website) to provide your family, friends, and potential attendees with an update on what’s happened in your church plant over the past month. Planting a church is a fascinating story and an important way for you to start planting seeds in your local community. Include things like what’s new, where you’re struggling, where you need help, and opportunities to connect. Be authentic. This is not a sales pitch for your church, but more like a journal entry that you allow others to read.
Shoot.
Shoot a video of yourself that basically recites what you wrote in your blog post. Take the video using your cell phone and don’t worry too much about production quality. The goal is to let people see your face, hear your voice, and connect with you as a human being. Upload this video to your church YouTube channel. Make sure the title and description includes the name of your church and the city/state.
Tie together.
Your blog post and video update need to co-exist. Embed the video in your blog post. Don’t worry if you duplicate information. Link to your blog post from the YouTube video. Any time you post content to YouTube it should link back to your website. You can add a hyperlink in the video description by typing http://www.yourwebsite.com in the description. YouTube will automatically create the hyperlink even though you won’t immediately see it while you are typing.
Share.
Any content that you develop should be distributed using a marketing plan. Consider an email distribution list, your personal Facebook page, your church’s Facebook page, personal Twitter account, church’s Twitter account, and Google+. Alternate—one month share the link to your blog post and the next month share the link to your YouTube video.
—Kris Neese, ChurchPlantMarketing.com
