New church? Here are the first things you should do to get awareness.

When you're launching a new church, it's normal to want to spread awareness about it quickly, and there are a variety of ways to get the word out to people. That's actually good news because the variety of ways to promote a new church makes it easier for you to build a marketing plan that perfectly fits your church. The best approach is often combining several marketing tactics to achieve a multi-layered approach that effectively reaches potential folks.

Claim Your Digital Real Estate With a Great Website

The internet has changed the way people interact with one another and the way people everywhere do business, so having an online presence is a vital foundation for your marketing efforts. Whether you choose to simply use the site as a way to spread awareness of your church or use it as a central place for resources, calendars, media, etc... it becomes your digital real estate. Make sure it's optimized for search, post fresh content frequently and add an email signup form so you can keep your people up to date with your church and your community.

Enjoy the Power of the Internet

Along with your website, the internet offers some other powerful ways to tell potential churchgoers about your parish. These include social media, video and directory listings.

• Social Media: The popularity of social media creates a huge opportunity for churches to begin a conversation with people who are interested in you. Sites like Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and Instagram (Gab, Parler, MeWe and so on) are all excellent for this approach to social media marketing.
• Video Content Creation: Video is also emerging as a prime example of a media form that people respond to in a positive way. Video may be added to your website, posted on social media sites or posted on sites that only provide video streaming, like YouTube or Vimeo.
• Directory Listings: Many people go to directory websites when looking for a Parish to attend. It's also often free to create a listing with these sites, so it's an economical way to put the word out about your church.

Advertise to Reach Your Community

Many of the ways to reach new people and tell them about your church have a long-tail feeling to them because they center around building an online presence. Sometimes, however, going with 'old school' tactics - meaning investing in advertising is the fastest way to reach people. Advertising can be utilized both online (Facebook Ads, Adwords, etc) or using traditional approaches like radio, TV, direct mailing and newspaper ads.

Plan Events That Intrigue Potential Parishioners

People love freebies and fun activities or even volunteer opportunities, so planning events that speak to the playful or service side of human nature is a positive way to get visitors to come to your parish. You could also form a strategic alliance with another company or charitable organization which allows you to tap into their audience, putting your information in front of that organization's customer base when they also share the information. That way, both organizations mutually benefit from the alliance.

Churches who use effective marketing strategies and focus their marketing efforts to reach potential attendees where they hang out, whether online or physically, get the best results. Do you want some help spreading the word about your church? Send us a message here if you're ready for professional help with your digital marketing efforts.