"Having an interest in how churches leverage tech could've made me more sensitive." That's one of the thoughts I had after an experience with a church online. This experience? Because I couldn't find their website I searched for them on Facebook. I asked for service times until 363 days later. No kidding. Two days shy of a year, I got a response. I chose "response" because it wasn't an answer to my simple question: "What are your service times?" ... Read More
Should I Use Canva for my Church?
Canva is an online drag n' drop design program. Either through its an app for Android or iOS or through the web portal you can choose from thousands of pre-designed templates for various layout needs and simply edit with a massive library of fonts and graphics till your heart is content. Should I Use Canva? It is mostly free! There is also a premium version. This makes it especially enticing for churches and church communication teams that don't have the budget to hire a professional graphic ... Read More
Facebook Group Admin Update
If you have not been following the news, Facebook has been quietly making some changes to their platform beyond the security issues. For many, these are actually much needed for any forum type online area. The fact they are only just now coming out is absurd, but that Facebook seems to be the innovator with them is great. What are you talking about Jeremy? What updates? ... Read More
Facebook Group Questions
For those of you who run a Facebook group, whether for your church or organization, you know that getting the right people in the group is important. Just because you have a thousand people in your group does not guarantee anyone will be engaged. This new tool introduced late last year helps you to screen out people that you may not want to join or to ensure they understand what they are agreeing to. Definitely a tool you need to consider and one we are using for our Facebook group. ... Read More
The ChurchMag Facebook Group
Did you know that we have a ChurchMag Facebook Group? Because we do. ... Read More
Facebook’s Data Disaster & Your Church Member Data [Podcast #205]
We kick-off this episode with John Wilkerson's comments he shared regarding our podcast a few weeks ago -- Publisher vs InDesign? -- and then dive head-first into the Facebook data disaster drama. What can Church Techs and leaders learn from all of this? Jeremy refers to his recent blog post on the subject (you can read that here) and we all realize that church data security is serious business. Talk to us on @ChurchMag using #cmagcast, send us an email at [email protected], or submit your ... Read More
What Churches Can Learn From Facebook Data Controversy
Have you heard about the Cambridge Analytica controversy, better known by mass media as the Facebook data leaks? If you look into the details of this, data was not leaked, but it most definitely was mishandled and privacy lost. I want to take a look at this controversy of protecting user data with the lens of the Church and come up with some best practices that churches need to implement today if they want to avoid catastrophe. Note: this is in no way comprehensive, but at almost a thousand ... Read More
Your Church Facebook Marketing Strategy
I have created a sample marketing strategy to help your church use this amazing platform called Facebook. This is certainly not a comprehensive strategy and I would be glad to consult with any church on their marketing strategies, but here is a good start at taking your Church’s Facebook presence to the next level. Summary This is going to be a very simple strategy with one goal in mind: to build awareness of your church in the community and the surrounding areas and to convert Facebook ... Read More
Katie Allred Talks Facebook Groups [Podcast #201]
We are excited to talk with Katie Allred this week! She is the co-founder of the very awesome Church Communications Facebook Group. With over 15,000 members, it is easily the most robust Church comms community on the planet. You can find Kaite on Twitter, read her blog posts on ChurchMag, but make sure you at least sign up for the cool stuff on the Church Communications website. Ask Katie a question via @ChurchMag using #cmagcast, send an email at [email protected], or submit your ... Read More
The Shift From Comments, To No Comments, To Comment On Facebook
In days of old, you know, when blogging started, the number of visitors and views mattered most. The next important thing was the number of comments. For many, comments are an important way of measuring engagement and success. An important part of the engagement. Over the years, we've had 'successful' bloggers and marketers emphasize their importance. Then, some of the same, sang a different tune. They disabled comments on their blogs. After some time, commenting made a comeback. Now, there ... Read More