People are in a hurry…all the time! People who are in the thick of parenting children are even more busy trying to juggle both their own work obligations with the responsibilities of their children’s school schedule. Churches and Catholic schools need to adapt their communication strategies to reach modern adults and parents who are constantly on-the-go.

Church bulletins, phone call “prayer chains”, and weekly school backpack communication (think “Friday Folders”) do not effectively communicate with people who are always rushing from one place to the next. When churches and Catholic schools do not adapt their communication strategies to meet the needs of their constituency, they lose members and students. This article aims to provide a brief overview of effective modern communication tools and strategies that can help churches and schools retain and grow their community populations.

Website:

The primary communication tool that churches need to start with is a very clear, very fast-loading website. The top of the homepage needs to answer critical questions in seconds, and it needs to clearly point viewers to additional pages for more detailed information. For churches, the “top of the fold” should answer the following questions:

Mass/Confession or Worship Service days and times
Who to contact for weddings/funerals
Religious Education or Bible Study days/times
Online giving/donation links

Each of these categories should be easily answered on the homepage and be menu bar links for further details at the top of the page. The footer on every page of the website should clearly list the church’s name, street address, phone number, and an email address that is actively monitored and answered daily.

Catholic schools should have similar clear menu heading that are also reflected in the initial top-of-the-fold buttons on the homepage. Some example main heading that will help both current families and potential students are:

School calendar and arrival/dismissal details, and principal name/contact
Academic/curriculum links and a student log-on button for the learning management system needs to be front-and-center for current families
Admissions information and links
Parents information links
Online giving link

Again, the footer on every page of the website should clearly list the school’s name, street address, phone number, and an email address that is actively monitored and answered daily.

Social Media:

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Email Service Provider:

Finally, churches and schools need to set-up regular email newsletters and communication through a professional Email Service Provider. Companies like Constant Contact, MailChimp, Active Campaign, and ConvertKit, enable organizations to actively communicate with both small segments and the whole group in timely ways that are also compliant with national email communication regulations. More importantly, churches and schools can monitor which members are opening emails and what they are consuming. Those that are not actively engaging with email communication can also be monitored. When in-activity is noticed over a prolonged time, it can trigger the leadership to reach out to those members in a more direct and personal way.

Creating Meaningful Digital Content for *Connection*

Once the tools of a robust website, a Facebook page, and Email Service Provider are firmly established, a Digital Content creation strategy needs to be established to foster meaningful communication with existing members, and actively seek-out new members.

Strategies for Existing Member Communication:

The Facebook page is a great place to promote upcoming events and celebrate exciting experiences that church members have at regular gatherings. Assuming that church members have given permission to have their photos shared, posting pictures of the community is a great way to foster connection. Encourage members to share pictures and content to their own personal pages.

Developing private groups for online bible-study or as an augmentation to in-person bible study is another way of deepening existing community connection using digital tools. Similarly, streaming formal Masses or church services on the Facebook page is a great way to both grow new members and support existing members who may not be able to attend church in-person for health or other reasons. Be sure to have the communication leadership team actively monitor comments and questions live during the service so that viewers online feel connected to the in person event.

With a professional email service provider, churches can make email communication the primary method to share news, events, spiritual guidance and education with their community members. Email newsletters can share all of the same information that is housed in a printed bulletin, but in a way that is easy for people to read and engage with while they are on their mobile phones.

Weekly email communication should also be the primary news-sharing platform for Catholic Schools. In addition, many ESP’s have a texting feature that users can opt-in to be connected to the organization. Schools in particular can use text messaging to communicate with busy parents about short updates– such as weather cancellations or delays, or all-school sporting or music events, etc. Emails can provide an overview of life in the church or school community, with links to additional information that is found on the website, or direct email contact information for group leaders, school teachers, etc.

Strategies to Attract New Members or School Families:

Digital Communication tools like Facebook and the website are excellent ways to help spiritual seekers and parents find your organization. The first step is for churches and schools to identify the key words or phrases that potential new community members could be searching on Google in your community. This is market research. A great place to start is by talking to your newest community members and asking them how they found you. Then try to use the words they used to describe their experience as focus keywords for your website. Keyword research that is specific to your school or church community can also be done with Google “Keyword Planner” or other SEO research tools (like SEMrush). Start by researching keywords associated with your primary ministries to see what are the most popular words people use when looking for that particular service need.

Once you have a list of the top 5 to 10 keywords that people in your community use to search for spiritual guidance or private school information, use those strategically on your website and Facebook page. The best way to boost SEO ranking is for church pastors or school principals to write and post a weekly blog on the website that appropriately uses those keywords in the text. When posting on Facebook, be sure to use the # with the keyword that is most relevant to whatever image or information is being posted to the page. That way when potential new members are searching that topic, the # will help them find your page with the information they are seeking.

It is very important for churches and Catholic schools to commit to their digital communication strategies for both existing and potential new members. Emails, blogs, and Facebook posting need to be done on a weekly basis to be relevant and helpful to your community. Social listening needs to be done so that Facebook comments and questions are responded to in a timely manner. Emails need to be regularly checked and responded to. Finally, the website needs to be updated constantly so that old information is removed and new information is added on time. Modern digital communication is not set-it-and-forget-it.

Overcoming Common Digital Communication Challenges

The most common barrier to establishing and maintaining effective digital communication is typically the technology requirements. However, in the digital era, the Tech really can be the least of your church’s worries!

There are many, many do-it-yourself website design and hosting platforms that make creating and maintaining a fast-mobile friendly website easy for in-house administrative professionals to do. Squarespace.com is a secular platform that offers a 10% discount for nonprofits. Its designs are gorgeous, and they connect easily to all the social platforms, YouTube, Google products, and they can enable online giving. There are also church specific website platforms such as eCatholic and The Church Co that have a variety of pricing and management packages.

For Catholic Schools, a Squarespace website or other drag-and-drop platform may not integrate with your Learning Management System–such as PowerSchool or Canvas– without professional assistance. Finally, WordPress.org websites are excellent options for Schools and Church. There are so many integration options for additional tech software programs with WordPress.org, like Learning Managements Systems. However, a WordPress.org site will most likely need a professional developer to set-up and maintain, because they can be very complicated.

Beyond the website technology, another Tech hurdle that churches and Catholic Schools face is human resources. Most faith-based organizations do not have many full-time staff members, and many of those do not have tech training or experience beyond using Microsoft Word or the Google Workspace platforms. Churches often ask: “who will maintain our website, FaceBook page, and take care of all of those emails that we need to send?” Often, there are volunteers who are very capable of taking on the Tech tasks, however maintaining a consistent “brand voice” or approved use of church messaging platforms can be challenging when multiple volunteers are running the digital platforms in their spare time.

One solution is to hire a specific “Communications” employee, either part-time or full-time, who has a college degree and specific experience in: website management/development; social media management; and Email marketing. This person could report specifically to the pastor or principal to make sure the messaging is “on brand,” but they handle all of the Tech as their specific job-task. Another option is to hire a freelance company. It may be more cost effective for Churches and schools to pay an outside vendor to handle the tech and have monthly virtual meetings with the leadership team, rather than to bring-on a new staff member.

In order to survive and thrive in the modern world, Churches and Catholic Schools must have an effective digital communication strategy and high-functioning software tools to deliver their message. A simple look around the local community will show that the Churches and schools with the largest population groups and the broadest ministry impacts have robust digital communications systems established, regardless of denomination. By committing to developing and enhancing your church or school’s Website, Facebook, and Email Service tools on a consistent basis, your community will grow and thrive too.

*****

If you would like a free Digital Communication Audit with Strategy Recommendations, contact: carly@CreativeChurchCommunications.com

From Bulletin to Breakthrough: Reimagining Church and School Communications