Internet Marketing Experts

It was awesome reconnecting with some of my colleagues from around the globe last night.

Isn’t it amazing how much you can glean from folks who are in the same industry as you are? The Digital Marketing training doesn’t start for another hour or so this AM, and I already have collected some “golden nuggets”.

What to do with low budget ministries?

I have a dilemma, and maybe you do as well if you are a professional Internet marketer. What do you do when you want to help a church or ministry with Internet marketing and they don’t have much, or any budget to work with?

Maybe the first thing that pops into your mind is that you should do it pro bono. That is always a good idea, but you can’t build a successful business model doing that all the time.

My primary client base is business organizations that understand the need of marketing to drive sales for their businesses. The Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are different for churches of course, but I would contend that their need to get the message before as may people as possible is actually more important than what businesses do.

It would be awesome to hear your feedback. I have a sense of what I can do, but the additional insights wouldn’t hurt a bit.

Digital Marketing

I am in-flight for a Digital Marketing training event in Toronto, and I can’t help but wonder at how quickly the distinctions have blurred between Internet marketing firms and Traditional marketing firms.

When it comes to branding an organization, social media has become one of the primary tools to accomplish that work.

It will be interesting to see how other Internet professionals are creating a synergy for their clients in this area.

There is application in this area for churches and religious organizations. Think about it. You have a clear vision for accomplishing the work of Christ in your area. How do you communicate that to those outside the four wall of your building? Shoot, maybe even doing a better job of communicating it to your own members.

Brand building is important, but brand reputation is equally so. People are talking on the Internet. Would it be of value to you to get in front of negative, or misspoken information, and have an opportunity to engage with the truth? I think so.

Stay tuned for the reports. I hope you glean a golden nugget that you can use to build the kingdom of Christ.

Discomfort with Church Marketing?

There is a certain amount of unease, and possibly even mistrust when it comes to the subject of marketing and the church. I’ve wondered about this and have come up with two very unscientific conclusions.

1) Is it possible that Christians feel that marketing is in some way sinful?
2) Might there be a general reluctance to embrace something that is “new” to their concept to taking their message to others.

Like I said previously, this is just my wandering thoughts, but I have 15 ½ years in the trenches as a pastor, and now for the past 9 years in the Internet field, the last 3 ½ as the CEO of an Internet marketing company.

At the end of the day it is all about letting your neighbors know that you exist, and that you have ministries that can profoundly impact their lives in a positive fashion. Marketing can make the introduction, but then the life and vitality of your congregation takes over, and the Holy Spirit can continue the work in people’s lives.

I see the connection between a church and marketing, Internet marketing in particular. Maybe that is due to my own unique experiences, but I wish this medium were available when I was a pastor.

There are no cookie-cutter solutions for every congregation, but I challenge you to open your mind to the opportunities that Internet marketing offers for outreach.

Web 2.0 and the Church

“Web 2.0″ is commonly associated with web development and web design that facilitates interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design[1] and collaboration on the World Wide Web. Examples of Web 2.0 include web-based communities, hosted services, web applications, social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups and folksonomies. A Web 2.0 site allows its users to interact with other users or to change website content, in contrast to non-interactive websites where users are limited to the passive viewing of information that is provided to them. – Wikipedia

I recently read a blog by Beverley Head entitled, “Web 2.0 goes mainstream in Australian enterprises” that piqued my interest, particularly one sentence. http://www.itwire.com/content/view/28313/53/

“At a technology conference held by the Sydney Diocese of the Anglican Church last week the head of information systems and technology, George Lymbers, indicated that he believed Web 2.0 style communications both within the church administration, and outside with the broader community and congregations would be important for the church to remain connected and relevant.”

The last part of the statement about remaining connected and relevant really hit home. Leaders in the church have worked hard during the past decade to make the worship and service of God a natural extension of our lives. We have worked hard to meet the needs of people where we find them. The migration of people to the web has in some ways made that work easier to initiate.

It is our responsibility “to go”. Finding and interacting with people “where they are” is an effective way to introduce people to Jesus. Where do we find people today? Well … it really isn’t a trick question. For a marketer like me, we discovered a long time ago that the people we wanted to target for our business clients were on the Internet. People are looking for everything under the sun on the Internet. People want to be engaged through the Internet. That is why the potential for Web 2.0 to be utilized by the church is so potent. You give people a voice, while at the same time have a chance to introduce yourself and what you are all about.

My hope is that the church will fully utilize Web 2.0, and very soon Web 3.0, to achieve it’s mission.

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