Kent Elliott
Methods of reaching our community has changed over the decades. As we all know, there is nothing better than reaching those already in our circle of influence we come in contact with on a weekly basis. This would include coworkers, neighbors, fellow classmates and also hobbies that allow you to interact with others. This has always been one of the greatest ways to reach those that do not know Jesus. We could borrow a marketing term and call these “warm leads” that are easier to convert (pun intended).
But what about the very cold leads? These are leads that that you have never met, you are not sure if they are even interested and have a very low conversion rate (same pun). Because of this, you have to use a totally different approach. The methodology to reach those “cold leads” has to be reaching the thousands, not the handful. Why is that? Simply put, it is going to take many more leads to convert the few. In order to do this, you have to have find a solution that is cost effective, so you have a better ROI (another borrowed business secular term). To get the best return on your investment, you must find a solution to reach the multitude for a great price.
In a recent blog I wrote called, “Reaching Your Community Through Streaming”, I talk about the social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram and the incredible opportunity you have to reach tens of thousands of households and individuals for very little money. I use them and I recommend you do the same. Not just posting any content but being intentional about targeting relevant substance (not just upcoming events) that will draw the attention of your city and community you are reaching. This is very important, and every church should have it in their marketing budget to spend “x” amount of dollars a month on boosting. Should you stop with just social media? As the infomercial guy says, “wait, there’s more!”.
Have you ever heard of Connected TV devices like Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV? These devices are known in the technical term as OTT (over the top), however, in simpler terms, they are streaming devices that easily connect to your home TV or are built into your Smart TV. These devices allow you to develop and launch apps that you can stream your church’s video content on. I cannot express how important this is for the church as a tool of evangelism. Many people may never enter the doors of your church until they experience a service online. When they are able to come to your service digitally first, there is a higher possibility that they will visit you in person. Think about it this way, they may never hear the message of the Gospel if we do not penetrate the walls of their homes through these connected TV apps.
Your first priority as a church for streaming is to find a platform that allows your church to have its own private channel that you have full control over. One option is FaithStream. FaithStream helps churches and ministries build and maintain Netflix-caliber connected TV apps on the most popular streaming devices like Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV, IOS and Google Play. You can find more information at www.faithstream.video.
Kent W. Elliott
President and Lead Consultant
FaithWorks Image Consulting