“The only job Lauren does is play on the organization’s Facebook page.”

That’s what they said. They were speaking in ignorance, clearly. But I have to admit. It still hurt. A lot. It was like a good swift kick to the gut that catches you off-guard. Your gasping for air, wondering if you’ll ever breathe again, and when you recover you’re surprised how quickly you crumbled.

For a moment, I internalized—I allowed my ministry and it’s worth to be defined by someone else, someone who didn’t understand it. Then the oxygen came rushing back, and I was appalled that I’d doubted my calling, my passion so easily.

My job is to identify, teach and implement new ways to communicate His story and work in a fast-changing world. And I love it. I get to step outside traditional modes, challenge established norms, and contribute to new paradigms.

Breaking molds isn’t easy because at the heart of it is change, and change makes some people uncomfortable. It makes some people scared. It makes some people mad. When you’re fighting for change, people will doubt you, criticize you, mock you, belittle you. You can crumble under the ill-begotten misconceptions, or you can fling them off your back like the dead weight they are. You can conform, fitting nicely in the tidy box remaining well inside the lines. Or you can transform, reaching beyond the self-imposed limits to something greater than yourself.

Me? I’m going with the “fling and transform” method. I sincerely hope you’ll join me, but if not, I won’t take it personally.

Just keep your feet to yourself.

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Earlier this year, we got this amazing automatic hand dryer in the bathrooms at work. I LOVE it. It dries hands in 16 seconds flat (I timed it). And by “dry,” I don’t mean “slightly damp.” We’re talking “unafraid-to-touch your iPhone” dry. Truly amazing technology my friends.

Imagine my surprise when I learned only three people in the building are using it. Everyone else opted for the paper towels (which are still available).

Huh? You mean they’re still using those thin scratchy paper towels when they could be using the 16 second, automatic, hand-drying wonder? You could scrub for 10 minutes with these paper towels and your hands still wouldn’t be completely dry, albeit very raw.

Turns out people aren’t using the automatic hand dryer because they’re “too noisy” and they “just prefer the paper towels.”

I never noticed the noise, and the paper towels are less absorbent than sand paper. So I’m at a loss. Why would so many people reject the automatic hand dryer (clearly a revolutionary advancement in hand drying technology), in favor of some flimsy, rougher-than-sand paper towels (which are clearly not getting the job done)? I guess I’m just an early-adopter.

As people we get comfortable using “these” tools (and only these) to accomplish “these” tasks. When a new tool comes along, it’s in our nature to fight it because, well, just because. It’s new, it’s different, it’s not what we’re USED to. Now let’s apply this to ministry. If our goal is to connect and build relationships and a tool comes along that might help, shouldn’t we give it a chance? Who knows, it might end up being like the automatic hand dryer and the scratchy paper towels.

Ever feel like you’re using the automatic hand dryer while everyone else is still using paper towels?

Sometimes that’s how I feel about using Social Media.

I hear it at every conference and from every pastor and from myself: What’s the point of FourSquare? Even Social Media guru Leah Jones made the comment “I don’t see the point yet, but I’m sticking with it [FourSquare] because I know it’s coming.” Well, it’s here.

FourSquare’s finally (finally!) given all organization’s a way to engage people checking in at their locations. Read about it on the FourSquare Business Page. The short of it: businesses can offer special promotions via FourSquare to the “mayor” (the person with the most check-ins at their location), persons who check-in a certain number of times at their location, or persons who meet some other requirement that the business specifies.

Great. So what’s the point? How can churches capitalize on this opportunity? Here are my thoughts…

Get Visitors to Raise a Hand

Some people don’t feel comfortable filling out a visitor card with their name, address and phone; raising a hand when you ask if there are any visitors this week; or wearing a badge that says “I’m new, please talk to me.” So consider adding FourSquare as another way, albeit more subtle, for visitors to say, “I’m checking out your church.” Just remember, it’s up to you and your church to do the rest.

Get People into your Chairs

One Saturday my husband and I went on a major shopping trip, solely because we wanted to check-in at lots of places for major points on FourSquare. Another time we visited a nearby Smoothie shop because a FourSquare pop-up told us about a buy-one-get-one-free deal when you check-in. It may sound insignificant, but FourSquare got us in the door which, most of the time, is the hardest part. Think about using FourSquare to get both members and guests into your chairs on Sunday mornings. Just remember, it’s up to you and your church to do the rest.

You Tell Me…

No really, you tell me. The opportunity for organizations to engage through FourSquare is only one week old. I’m dying to hear your thoughts and ideas on general ways to implement with a missional focus.

In what ways could FourSquare (or some variation thereof) become an effective part of your outreach and community building strategy?

I’ve been trying to find the best way to accomplish everything I want to before I’m 30, and after much thought I think i have the answer:

If I never sleep, I can get it all done.

Here’s the shortened list:

Learn to be as good a photographer as Grace Schofield and Bill Bangham.

Become a master of interactive multimedia for the web like Chris Sinclair.

Lead an amazingly comprehensive and relevant blog resource for churches on the web like ChurchCrunch.

Be the ultimate in web development like John Saddington.

Grow and lead a top-notch ministry communication effort like Brandon Pickett.

Understand the in’s and out’s of all that is CSS like Chris Coyier.

Grasp the fundamentals of social media coaching in the relaxed, upbeat style of Natiiv’s Leah Jones.

Know all the insanely profound truths of business marketing, branding and niche development like Seth Godin.

Connect, relate, and invest in people like Earl Grey.

Yup, I’m sure I could do all this by the time I’m 30 so long as I never sleep (riiiiight). But then I awoke (because I was surely sleeping) and realized this:

If I became all these people, I wouldn’t be me.

Here’s to the journey folks.

What’s your unique and personal groove?

Disney Channel got it Right

Disney gets a gold star for their ad. Check it:

I’m a Mom. I work. Family time, while important to me, can be hard to find. I’m a fan of Disney and their channel because my daughter loves to watch them. So a “Family Night Special” on the Disney channel is right up my alley. I can even RSVP ‘Yes’ and instantly be connected with 2700 other people who will be grabbing their family time the same day, same time, and in the same way. Genius. And all from the convenience of my facebook profile. I love it!
Now let’s look at someone who got it wrong. Horribly wrong

Zombieland Marketers Got it Wrong…Horribly Wrong

I hate horror and gore. I don’t care if it’s funny. I can’t handle blood, guts, or anything like it. Nothing against those of you who can. “To each his own” I say.

But why, oh why, then would Zombieland Marketers decide to market their movie to me? Using a picture of blood, guts, and gore no less! Check it:

Ew! Ew! Ew! I can’t say it enough! Know your audience. Zombieland marketers, I’m certainly not going to see your movie, so why are you wasting your money marketing to me?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGbLWQYJ6iM

Highly Recommended Because…

The playbook walks you through setting up a social media strategy from A to Z. Although it’s meant for businesses, I think Church’s can get just as much out of this playbook. It’s an important read for anyone considering building an effective and comprehensive social media presence for their ministry.

Below is a screenshot from the discussion on mapping a blueprint for your brand’s “online footprint” in Section 2:

Checklists

My absolute favorite part of this e-book (aside from the fact that it’s free) is the overviews, insight summaries and checklists they provide for setting up your brand on any of the major social media platforms. From YouTube to Twitter, they cover it all!

Below is a screenshot of the Facebook checklist:

It’s Free!

Best of all it’s free, so why wouldn’t you give it a try?

This was dual-posted on my BCM/D Media in Ministry blog

The Difference between a Page and a Blog Post

Page (Static)

A page is static. The content doesn’t change and if it IS frequently changing, then you should be using a blog for that content. When you edit the content on a page (and I don’t mean alter one sentence or fix some typos; I mean straight up CTRL+A Delete the content) you lose the previous content. Gone forever. Period.

Writing an article on a Web page and deleting it to post a new one is tantamount to a writer burning every copy of his last book to make way for his new book. Ridiculous*, right? So why do organizations insist on doing this with old content (actually a lot don’t, just the archaic ones, which are frequently churches/state conventions…sigh).

*It’s actually not ridiculous if the information relates to an outdated product price, but that kind of information should be handled by a database anyway, not by manually deleting the old content from your site.

Blog (Dynamic)

When you add new content to a blog you don’t have to delete the old content to make room for the new stuff. The old content is automatically archived for users to look through later on or not. It’s really up to them. And that’s my point, it really should be up to them, not you. You don’t know if your users will need to reference that information later on so leave it. Besides, there’s no cost for additional posts on a blog.

Why you shouldn’t make a Landing Page an About Page

It’s a Waste of Space. No Really, it is.

After I’ve visited your site once, I already know what your Church, ministry, or organization is about. I don’t need you to remind me EVERY time I visit. Landing pages should be dynamic, constantly changing. New, relevant, exciting, and interactive content keeps people coming back. If the same “Our goal is…, Our Mission is…., We strive to…” is there, then what’s my incentive to return?

And if you’re audience is such that they HAVE to keep coming back (for example, to register for mandatory events/trainings), take advantage of that! It’s a great opportunity to tell them about new events, products, campaigns. I mean, if they’re going to be visiting your site anyway, why not take this time to share what you’re doing?

It’s Not Going to Convince Me.

If the first thing I see when I pull up your children’s ministry page is 5 paragraphs on how great you think your ministry is, I’m moving on… I’m sure you think your ministry is great, it’s your job. I want to see what your ministry is doing. Show me. Don’t tell me.

Include the latest updates/news/events from your ministry (or all your ministries if we’re talking about a church home page).  Use articles, pictures, video, testimonials, social networks. Use blogs or databases or other solutions to automatically archive your old content for new users to look through.

If that looks good, then maybe I’ll click that “About” page link (you know, the one you’re going to include on that new and improved home page) so I can read about your mission and vision.

It’s Not Interactive.

Websites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are gaining in popularity. What do they have in common? They are relational and interactive. Use your landing page as a portal. Point me to content I can discuss with other readers and the author, show me where to go to add my own photos and videos to your site, and best of all invite me to be a part of an online community centered around your ministry/organization.

Now we’re talking about a landing page I’ll be back to visit between major events. Who knows, maybe I’ll even recommend your organization to all my friends.

The Importance of Strategy

Don’t get me wrong. “About” pages are still important (it’s annoying when a site refuses to tell you who they are or what they do). Consider putting a link to your about page on your exciting and dynamic landing/home page, so people who want to know what you think about your ministry can find it. Otherwise, let your ministry/organization speak for itself.

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