Whether it's a newsletter article or a news release to the local paper, it's pretty hard to get people excited about reading what you have to say.
I read a blog post today about writing "news releases" for social media. The author interviewed another blogger about how he writes press releases and he said, "It should be presented as a story that has value to readers first, because if it happens to be picked up by a journalist, you’ve just made his job easier by presenting an angle."
To put it another way, ask yourself why what you have to say is unique, interesting, and important to your readers, whether they're your members, followers on social media, or the secular media.
Frankly, even an exciting worship service (ex. First Lutheran to Host 80's Themed Worship Service!), it's not really that interesting and is really more "selling" than engaging. Something more like "Generations Bridge the Style Divide, Go Back in Time at 80's Worship Service." Ok, so that's not a great one, but I don't have any actual content to go on here!
The point I'm trying to make with my bad title examples is that if there is a story there, something different than what's always done (worship services happen every week, congregations frequently try to get creative).
Need help determining if your angle is unique? Ask someone outside the congregation! You must have a friend who doesn't go to your congregation. Even better, ask someone who doesn't participate in any faith-based organization to get a totally outside perspective.
I was looking through a newsletter the other day and saw a word that I believe was the name of a group. I have NO idea what it is. This seems especially true with youth group, that they take totally uninformative names and then turn them into an acronym so that a non-member has NO idea what they are.
If you have groups like this in your congregation, one approach is to simply yell at them and make them change. Assuming you'd rather not stifle creativity, instead just include a description somewhere in your newsletter, website, etc. (wherever the name appears). Here are some options:
include an * after the name and put the explanation at the bottom
put the descriptive words right after it (WOW women's group - where WOW stands for "women on Wednesday")
if they're all on the same page, either a "small groups" page or a "youth" page or something of that nature, put a little box explaining the ministries referenced
or just do the typical practice of spelling it out and putting the abbreviation in parenthesis - ex. Lutheran World Relief (LWR)
Before publishing a group name, consider if you would know what it is without the background experience you have. If not, tell people! Even members of your congregation might not know!
If you're like a lot of people I know, you use the internet, but don't know what the "techy" types are talking half the time. This may mean that you've come across the term "2.0" but don't really know what it means.
1.0 - Traditional stuff like websites and e-mail. You put it there, people read it.
2.0 - Users interact with your content for all to see. The most common sites include Facebook, Twitter, etc., but it can also include features you provide without another site.
3.0 - Brings the content to mobile devices. Cell phones, smart phones, and tablets are often used in different ways and in different places than computers. Also, they display differently so design has to be done differently.
What does this mean for you? I would argue that most of our users expect 1.0 content to be available for quick reference and enjoy using 2.0. Of course there are still members who don't have e-mail or haven't jumped on the Facebook bandwagon yet, but many people are there. Fewer people are at 3.0, but the success of the Red Cross's recent campaign to collect funds for Haiti by text message is one example of the reach and power of web 3.0.
We've passed the point where simply having a web presence is enough. People do or are starting to expect more and the business world has already jumped in head first. Will the church follow? What are your 2.0 or 3.0 strategies?
The January 2010 Synod Communicators' meeting was a 'How To' on Social Networking. Beyond being a basic tutorial, we also talked about the why's and why not's of using services like Facebook and Twitter. It ultimately means that each situation - congregation, organization, group, etc. - has to evaluate the situation.
If you're still exploring the "To Tweet or Not to Tweet" (or Facebook...or MySpace...etc.) question, here is some more food for thought.
Joshua-Michéle Ross, in "Why Social Media Isn't for Everyone," warns that an organization should know what they're getting into and be willing to accept the "consequences." Writing from a more corporate standpoint, Ross says the catch 22 of social media is that of word of mouth feedback. Social media puts it right at your doorstep, both the good and the bad. Good is obviously good; bad could be harmful or at least bruise some egos. It can, however, be responded to and dealt with transparently if it's right there for all to see. If an organization is prepared to take all forms of feedback and proactively use it to their benefit, do it!
Another gem of information is a blog post that summarizes a webcast from the Emerging Media Research Council, the research arm of Three Ships Media, on how little-known Senator Scott Brown used social media to win. This presentation gets more into the "what to do with it" end of social media. In his summary, Len Mason writes, "When tweeting, ask yourself, 'Does this help my constituent become better, smarter, wiser?' Substance trumps the mundane every time. This can be applied to all social media, as well." Posts should be positive, useful, proactive, interactive. Make your posts matter!
Join us at the July 8, 2010 meeting at Faith, Dodge Center to further discuss how to engage audiences in your online social networks.
Have you ever noticed that when you create something, you get so personally wrapped up in it that you fail to see glaring mistakes? It's especially easy to miss "mistakes" in layouts, which are meant to quickly draw attention to the most important features. When you know every bit of the design intimately, it's hard to look at it with fresh eyes.
If you're looking for fresh eyes on your website, try a site called fivesecondtest. This site allows webpages to be loaded and other users to complete a test involving clicking on what they notice most in the span of just five seconds.
My disclaimer is that I have not yet uploaded a page to it, so I can't speak to the pros or cons of it as a designer user. I did perform a few tests for other designers. It's kind of fun! Take a look, help someone out, and consider using it next time you take a look at your site's overall layout.
Today participants in the web sessions of the annual synod communicators' workshop heard and discussed some thoughts on using Facebook in communicating to members and the public. Besides being assured by the Geek Girls that it was possible to create a page on Facebook (a for your organization, not the same as a user profile and preferable to groups for this use) without connecting your fans to your personal profile, participants were encouraged to use the web (including Facebook) to create relationships.
For some ideas of ideas to create conversations, and therefore relationships, online, check out the ELCA's Facebook page (you don't have to be on Facebook to see that link).
A topic that has come up for me several times in the last few weeks has been what attracts and retains members. While great website and engaging newsletters are useful communication tools and while good programming gives people stuff to do at church, they're not the end of the story. The comment that made the most sense to me is that the most appealing congregations are excited about something.
Another concept I've been exploring lately has been making sure an organization's image and written mission statement match up. If there is dissonance in the actual and formal descriptions of a congregation, that creates confusion. The formal description may attract a member expecting one thing and turn them off when they find another (or they may like the actual identity but feel uncomfortable with the formal written statements).
Putting these two together leads me to today's advice - study your congregation, find what it is excited about, and reflect that in your communication. Be creative with that excitement, don't just end every sentence with an exclamation point! That can get really old, really quickly. Use adjectives (but sparingly, that makes them more meaningful), make sure what's important to the congregation is actually getting talked about, and share good news when it happens rather than just listing upcoming events like items on a grocery list.
If you have any examples from your congregation or elsewhere, please feel free to share them in the comments section.
