With screen time rising and more and more users turning to the internet for answers, your church’s online presence is more important than ever. It’s easy to join social media platforms and publish a basic website for your church, but improving that online presence to attract more church guests can be a challenge. Follow these five simple tips if you want to improve your church’s online presence.
Include Important Information on your Website
When someone in your community wants to visit your church, chances are they’ll check out your website. And when they visit your website, they’ll be looking for information to make their first visit easy and less awkward. Make sure this information is available on your website home page and any other pages designed for new visitors, like a New Here page, About Us page, or Plan Your Visit page.
If you’re not sure which information to include, consider details like your church address (so people don’t have to look up driving directions or guess where you’re located), service times, what you offer for kids, and how to dress (you can either describe how service attendees dress or, better yet, include pictures of people talking in the lobby). If you’re looking for a great example of this concept, check out Life.Church’s “What to Expect” page: https://www.life.church/who-we-are/what-to-expect/
Post Your Sermons Online
Another great way to improve your online presence is to post your sermons (or full services) online. Some churches choose to do this through live streams (on platforms like Facebook and YouTube), while others choose to pre-record sermons and post them later.
For a non-believer or a believer looking for a new church, watching a sermon in advance can make it easier to show up in person for the first time. Sermons show a glimpse into your theology, but also show people the style of your church – whether it’s upbeat and energetic or more casual and relaxed.
Sermons improve your online presence in more ways than one. In addition to showing visitors what to expect, sermons posted on YouTube and Facebook can help your church rank in search results. A higher ranking for popular keywords will help people find your church, increasing your number of potential new visitors.
When naming your online sermons, consider names that speak to a visitor’s felt need – such as “how to get rid of anxiety” instead of “sermon on Philippians 4”. Even though both titles could be relevant, felt-need titles will increase your Search Engine Optimization and improve your church’s online presence and ranking.
Post on Social Media
Another place new visitors will look is your church social media accounts. These accounts (most commonly Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube) are a great way to give people a glimpse into the life of your church ministry. Even if you can only post a couple of times a week, make an effort to share photos and event graphics so new visitors can see what it’s like to be connected at your church.
Not sure what to post? Consider pictures and videos of events, kids ministry, Sunday services, small groups, and other church ministries. You can also post event graphics to show that your church is active and offers events to the community, but try to post more photos and videos than graphics. Media showing people’s faces tends to perform best on social media, likely because social media users (like you and me) organically post more pictures and videos than graphics on personal accounts. Making your social media look personal, while still presenting a professional image, will convey a message that people are welcome at your church.
If you’re looking for examples of church social media accounts, check out Soul City Church, Radiant Church, and Watermark Church.
Claim your Google Business Profile
A Google Business profile is a free online tool allowing businesses to manage their online presence on Google. If you’re looking for a simple way to improve your online presence, claim and post on your church’s Google Business profile.
The actual steps to claim this profile change from time to time, but you can always find the latest instructions through a quick Google search. You can also visit Google’s business website to get the process started. Once you prove to Google that you reside at your current location, Google will allow you to upload photos of your church, post free updates to the community, and let people give you reviews. This increases your online credibility – both with Google, and with community members who are considering visiting your church.
Tell People their Next Step
People are much more likely to take their next step if you tell them what that step is! When someone visits your website Home page, what do you want them to do next? What about when they visit your kids page, groups page, or events page? What do you want an online visitor to do after they skim your Facebook page or watch one of your YouTube videos?
Make sure Next Steps are clear and easy to find. Include a Call-To-Action on every page on your website. If someone is checking out your Groups page, make it easy to find the button to register for a group. If someone is visiting your Kids page, tell them how to pre-register their kids or get in touch if they have questions. When a visitor watches 3 of your YouTube videos, ask them to like and subscribe so they see more of your content. Make the Next Step clear and easy and you’ll increase the effectiveness of your online presence.
Ready to take your online presence to the next level? The five simple tips in this article are easy to implement right away. Increase your online engagement by including important information on your church’s website, posting your sermons or services online, keeping your social media accounts current and active, claiming your Google Business profile, and telling people their next step no matter where they encounter you online.