A former staff member of Big Idea Productions [creators of VeggieTales] and Willow Creek, Dawn Nicole frequently contributes to today’s leading-edge thinking of integrating Christianity and culture but is best known as a change agent who is intent on stretching imaginations, connecting people and making a difference.

Dawn participated in the M2LIVE webinar series sharing on 5 Ways Social Media Can Kill Your Brand. Here’s my notes and you can check out Dawn’s here.

• Over 500 billion minutes per month are being spent on Facebook.
• One of the fastest-growing demographics is middle-aged women.
• Twitter is growing fastest in the age 12-16 demographic.
• People are now connecting with brands through social media.
• Everything is moving mobile.
• Over 30% of people who are connecting to social media are doing it through their smartphones and mobile devices.
• Hear how Park is using texting.
• Technology can be leveraged for “holy” things.
• Some churches are allowing people to text in prayer requests.

1 – To be unprepared

• Organizations are rushing into the space out of a fear of being left behind.
• Since social media is free, many people are jumping into it without thinking about why.
• “If you fail to plan you are planning to fail.”
• Being unprepared will kill your brand.
• So many people are throwing darts without a bulls eye in mind.
• We have to have a clear, defined target.
• Planning is a key component of effectively using social media.
• There is no perfect fix.

2 – Having the wrong people lead it.

• Social media channels can get delegated down to the wrong person.
• It’s not the job for a tech person… they often don’t have the larger picture in mind.
• You need to look at social media as one of the first ways your church interacts with the public.
• Whoever is spearheading you communication channels needs to be involved in the flow of social media.
• Social media isn’t a siloed function of organizations.
• You have to have a cohesive identity in how you are expressed in social media.
• The people you put in leadership of social media will be “brand ambassadors” for your organization.
• Social media isn’t a task to tackle.
• It’s not an item on your checklist.
• Communications is another channel to deliver your vision.

3 – It’s not set it and forget it.

• It’s not uncommon for organizations to set up multiple accounts but have no one championing it.
• “If you build it they will come” doesn’t work anymore.
• If you build it, they expect a response.
• Silence on social media is worse than not having a social media presence.
• Every communications channel has its own rhythm.
• Content is king when it comes to blogs.
• Audience interaction determines the rhythm of other channels.
• Check Facebook and twitter hourly and daily and respond when appropriate.
• It changes the way we communicate and will impact our daily activities.
• Social media isn’t something everything should do.
• How does it fit around what you do well?

4 – Not Adding Value

• SPAM applies to content.
• People are looking value.
• Don’t just repeat what people have already heard.
• Leverage it to give new, relevant information to your audience.
• It’s not about YOU, it’s about your audience.
• How can you meet their needs?
• Social media is a two-way conversation.
• It’s also a listening tool to connect with your audience.
• You don’t have to always know the answer.

5 – Expecting miracles.

• Technology isn’t the end-all-be-all.
• Social media isn’t a substitute for other media channels.
• Print still has a place in most places.

Some examples of social media impact:

• Greenpeace vs Nestle
• OldSpice YouTube campaign
• TSA backlash

Closing Thoughts

• People have always had conversations but social media gives people a public platform to amplify them.
• Google removed front doors. It made everything accessible.
• Don’t get overwhelmed… you don’t have to do everything at once.
• Think through what you want to accomplish and how it fits who you are as a church.
• Does it matter to the people you are trying to reach?
• Planning will help your efforts become more fruitful and effective.
• Choose channels that are manageable. Try one at a time.
• Experiment and let people know about it.
• Experimenting gives you freedom to adjust.
• Don’t be afraid to collect information.
• Don’t be afraid to ask people questions to find the right channel.
• Conversation beats everything.

If you missed the webinar, you can watch it here.

I was going to post some notes but my friend Jerod at ChurchJuice took some notes while he was watching. Check them out here.

Also, here’s a few links to some blog posts / notes on texting:

• To Text or Not to Text – guest blog post on ChurchMarketingSucks.com.
• Texting from the Pews to the Pulpit – article from COLLIDE Magazine.
• Communications Revolution Part 1: Texting – the first time we used texting at Park in 2008.
• Tough Questions – examples of some questions texted in during our services at Park.
• Text Polling in Service – first time we did a text poll in service.
• Diving into Text Messaging – notes from Dawn Nicole Baldwin’s session at Echo 2009.
• Cutting Through the Static : Texting – great resource if you are starting out.
• Rethinking Capital Campaigns - how we used texting in a recent capital campaign.

Also, if you have been thinking about doing texting at your church, my friends at Jarbyco are offering a special deal now through this Friday. You can get $50 off your first texting campaign if you connect with Jarbyco by 5 PM CST this Friday [10/8].  You don’t need to run the campaign by that date, just claim your $50 by emailing prizes@jarbyco.com!

We’ve been using Jarbyco for texting at Park for over 2 years now and have loved working with them. If you are looking for someone to work with to get your church texting, definitely contact them.

One of the unique things we incorporated into this campaign was texting.

We’ve been using texting at Park for over two years now, both in our weekend services as well as a means to communicate important announcements and events.

During the campaign we used texting in some new ways that helped extend our message, engage our audience, and communicate information about the campaign.

Opt-in Text Group
At the beginning of the campaign we set up an opt in group for people to get text reminders throughout the sermon series.

During the week we texted questions for them to consider, highlighted what was coming up, and texted various verses and quotes on generosity and giving. It was also a great way to communicate announcements related to the campaign.

We announced the opt in group the first week of the [IN]VEST campaign and had over 950 people [that’s over ½ of our church] sign up to receive them.

It was a huge success and something we’ll consider repeating for future series as way to help people continue the conversation around our messages.

Text Polls

We’ve done text polls in service before, but for this series specifically, we wanted to ask some tough questions and challenge people’s understanding and motivation for giving.

There’s two distinct benefits to doing text polls in service:

1 – They create a shared experience. We all come into church with different experiences, thoughts, and ideas. Many people just  spectate and never engage in the service. Something as simple asking people a question invites them to participate, and in doing so, see that there are other people in the room who feel the same way they do.

One of the questions we asked during the series was, “Do you think people outside of the church view the church as being generous?”

2 – They help the speaker gauge the audience.

Texting in service can help bridge the gap between the speaker in the audience. And, it can help the speaker know where the audience is coming from or their understanding of a particular topic. In the few times we’ve done text polling the audience’s response has helped refine our pastor’s message and made the content more applicable to people’s experiences.

One question we asked toward the end of the campaign was what people’s primary motivation for giving was. It was a great way for our teaching pastors to see how our church viewed the topic of giving.

Commitments via Text

We printed about 3,000 paper commitment cards for people to fill out indicating how they’d like to commit to our campaign. Less than 100 printed cards were returned.

It took some creativity to make it work, but thanks to our friends at Jarbyco we were able to create a way for people to text in their commitment to the campaign.

Since our campaign was called [IN]VEST, we created the keyword IMIN and asked people to text in if they’d like to respond via texting. Nearly ¾ of our commitments for the campaign came in via texting!

The Results

• 455 households are [IN], representing roughly 600 adults – that number reflects the number of new people in our church since we did our last two campaigns!
• People committed to invest in hundreds of lives to help their friends cross the line of faith.
• People committed to invest in nearly 50 different neighborhoods around the city
• Our church has committed to fighting many different injustices, the greatest being those around education, human trafficking, and poverty.
• Our primary financial goal going into the campaign was to pay down 2 debts totaling $2 million.
• Thanks to those who continued to fulfill their pledges from previous campaigns and the new [IN] pledges we have enough commitments to meet our goal of paying off the 2 notes totaling $2 million!

Closing Thoughts

This was by no means a perfect campaign. There are probably many things we could have done differently, but it worked.

We didn’t follow a prescribed path, but charted our own course that was reflective of our congregation’s thoughts and experiences around a tough subject.

We focused more on the holistic aspect of stewardship instead of zeroing in on money. As a result, people are focusing on creative ways they can invest, make a difference in their neighborhoods, and in the lives of their friends.

More than anything else, we recognized there were many new faces in our audience and used the campaign as an opportunity to share our vision, tell our story, and invite them to invest in our future.

I think the only person I talk to on the phone for longer than 10 minutes is my mom. And that’s only because she can’t text.

Beyond texting, mobile technology is altering the way we interact and engage with information. While for years, the computer screen has been the “first screen” people see, the mobile screen is now the first place people go to.

iPhones, Blackberries and SmartPhones are now a lifeline for most people… so, it would make sense, that in thinking through how to better communicate and engage with your audience that your church would consider using text messages.

When we were considering using texting at Park, we decided to start simple: using it as a way to notify people about important information [service time/location changes, daylight savings time, etc).

So, we put together this little video and encouraged people to sign up.

It worked.

In under two months, we had nearly 1,000 people signed up to receive text alerts from us.

That taught us a valuable lesson: this was something our people would engage with, therefore it would be a great communication channel for us to consider.

I think many people are quick to jump on the texting bandwagon because it’s hip and cool, and everyone else is, but the truth is, depending on who your audience is, it might be a hit or a total miss.

For us, and our young demographic at Park, it makes sense that we’d engage people with texting. However, that might not be the case if you have an older congregation.

When people have called and asked for advice about how to roll out texting in their churches, I always tell them to start small. Try it out for a weekend or find an inexpensive service and try it out. See how people respond.

The proof is in the numbers.

I was part of a conversation not too long ago where someone mentioned their church had introduced texitng but not many people were using it. They asked for advice on what to do to get more people engaged with it, and I said, “try something else.”

Not to be a downer, but that’s just the truth. That's not to say if you don't get a great initial response you should kill it. It takes people time to latch onto new ideas, so give them some time. But, if after a few tries, people aren't responding how you anticipated, it might be a good idea to think of a new idea.

However, if the adult population isn’t ready to text, your youth group most certainly is.

The avereage teenager sends over 1,700 text messages per month. And while I don’t think every church needs to use text messaging in their services, I completely believe every youth group needs to begin to implement texting into their services.

I’ve shared some different ways Park has used texting in an article "To Text or Not to Text" on  ChurchMarketingSucks.com and have notes from Dawn Nicole Baldwin’s session on Texting from ECHO, so I won’t get into HOW you can use texting, just read the notes!

But as for why… because it’s a way communication is changing. It’s another point of contact. It’s another way to get your message out there.

Some cautions… don’t rush into it. Introduce it gradually. And don’t SPAM people with messages. At Park, we send no more than 2 or 3 text alerts per month.

Who to go with… there’s a number of GREAT texting companies out there. At Park, we’ve partnered with Jarbyco, but there’s other great service providers out there including TextHub and EzTexting.com.

Some questions to consider as you think about tuning into texting…

1. What’s the average age of your church? If you tend to have a younger congregation (under 35), then texting might be a good thing to try out. If you tend to be a bit older, you may want to reconsider.
2. What do you want to do with texting? Do you want to use it to send out alerts? Do you want to use it in your services? Have a plan in how you want to implement texting.
3. What is your lead pastor’s relationship with texting? If it’s something they get, it will be an easier sell if you want to introduce it into your weekly services.
4. What’s your magic number? Based on the total number of weekly attendees at your church, before you launch into it, I’d set a goal [ maybe 25-35% of your total weekend attendance ] and say that if you hit that number that you will keep going.
5. Is your youth group texting yet? If not, I’d honestly put more priority in making sure you are connected to your youth group via texting. In any church,they will be the ones who will respond and engage with texting the most.

Final Thoughts…

Texting is just one of many new opportunities we have through mobile technology to advance the message of the Gospel and literally put it right in people’s hands. It’s changed the way we communicate and can potentially change the way you communicate and interact with your church.

A former staff member of Big Idea Productions [creators of VeggieTales] and Willow Creek, Dawn Nicole frequently contributes to today’s leading-edge thinking of integrating Christianity and culture but is best known as a change agent who is intent on stretching imaginations, connecting people and making a difference.

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How Texting Works

• Think of your phone as a tool for connecting with your audience in an intentional and controlled way.
• Texting is permission based.
• We have to think differently about texting than we do any other communication channel (i.e. direct marketing, email, etc).
• We need to be intentional and keep the special privilege and relationship we have with people.
• Some people say texting began in 1989 with a Motorola beeper.
• Japan first adopted text messaging; America is a bit behind.
• Texting the Great Debate. Texters in all countries use “lol”, “u”, “brb” and “gr8.”
• ~(_8^(\)   – Homer Simpson
• When American Idol used texting for voting, we got it.
• In the 3rd quarter of 2006, over 12 billion texts were passed through AT&T’s network.
• 87% of the US population has mobile phones.
• Over 110 billion text messages are sent every month (up 1,000% from a few years ago).
• Adults send/receive 357 text messages per month on average; compared to 204 phone calls.
• Teens/young adults send 1,742 text messages per month.
• Texting is a communication channel of the future.
• 87% of 13-27 yos send text messages… 73% of 15-37 year olds… 44% of 28-39 year olds; 18% of 40-49 year olds.

Textology Terms

• SMS – Short Message Service
• Shortcode – Your “address” … hard to create/approve with all carriers.
• Keywords – tell the system what to do. There’s more flexibility with keywords.

Applications of Texting in Church

• Text-to-Screen – user initiates contact. (asking questions to the pastor, etc); allows church.

1. Granger Community Church did a whole weekend called “Ask Anything” where people could text in their questions to the pastor.
2. Park Community Church does Q&A in every service. (that’s me!)

• Surveys & Polls – allows people to share their opinion and gets people engaged so they can participate, not just listen.
• Text Alerts – church initiates conversation with their church. Churches set up texting groups to alert them about upcoming events and news.
• Promos - an opportunity for an audience to engage and win something… think radio content.
• Bouncebacks – get people specific information about events/opportunities. (Example, you have a BBQ… you can have people text the word BBQ to your shortcode and a message bounces back to them with info about the BBQ).
• Two-Way Messaging – think ChaCha. Example: During church service times, you could allow people to text questions and have someone respond to them personally. (Mental note: We need to do this at Park!) It’s a great way to give them next steps… can change the way you communicate.

Bottom line… you need to check out Jarbyco!

Dawn Nicole Baldwin is a strategist with a passion to help churches reach people more effectively. She lives this out as founder and lead strategist of AspireOne and as a senior partner with Jarbyco, a mobile communications firm specializing in live events that works with organizations such as Park Community Church, Lifechurch.tv and Youth Specialties.

A former staff member of Big Idea Productions [creators of VeggieTales] and Willow Creek, Dawn Nicole frequently contributes to today’s leading-edge thinking of integrating Christianity and culture but is best known as a change agent who is intent on stretching imaginations, connecting people and making a difference.

About Cynthia Ware
Cynthia Ware is a consultant with an in depth expertise in two areas: online technologies and strategic church development.

Equipped with two decades of pastoral ministry and a Master’s Degree in New Media, Cynthia helps Christian leaders develop online communication strategies to compliment their ministry goals. She consults pastors, churches, ministries and non-profits in how to use their online presence to enrich and expand their ministry reach.

Besides consulting, she is an active public speaker & writer. This year she has presented at Biola University, the Internet Ministry Conference, Willow Creek’s Group Life Conference, the Dynamic Church Conference, Innovation3 and The Idea Camp.

Her personal blog, The Digital Sanctuary, encourages Christian leaders to explore, embrace and employ participatory media technologies to serve the Kingdom of God. Additionally, she is a co-contributor to several other online sites including Digital, the Leadership Network’stechnology blog. She is also an officer for many online Christian networks, websites and internet resources.

Since 2001, Cynthia and her husband Bob, an associate pastor, have lived in the greater Los Angeles area with their two teenage children and a lot of computers.

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Social Media – a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many).

• The church has existed as a monologue.
• We don’t want to be talked at, we want to be talked with.
• We don’t want to be talked to, we want to be talked with.
• We cannot project what our trajectories will be like through social media.
• Christianity is spread virally.
• Technology is opening a new door and opportunity for the church.
• Check out a new book called SimChurch… not released yet, about the number of people Christians are reaching online.
• Social media allows us to connect hubs and connect people with like-mindedness and passions and connect them.
• People now drive and author content.
• We need to shift our mindset in how we think how we should communicate.
• Facebook, Twitter, Web, YouVersion have changed the way we communicate.
• 250 million people are on Facebook.
• 4.6 million people are on Twitter.

What does that mean for us?

1. We can avoid it.
2. We can realize it’s already there, already happened, it’s free, and figure out what can we do with it.

Facebook

• The connections that happen online become far more tightly connected and woven than it used to through social media (e.g. when you post something to Facebook and people respond to it.).
• It’s not about publishing your sermon, it’s about finding places for people to connect in real and authentic ways (even though it’s virtual).
• Websites should not be static, they should be dynamic and link to social media.
• Use social media to start conversations.
• Key to Facebook is the number of people that are on it… the most vital dimensions of ministry are often on the edges.
• Courageous Church was pioneered via Facebook.
• Found an ad blast on Saturday is more effective than an ad a day.

Free & Paid Services

• File sharing is critical to new media.
• Flickr and YouTube are free, most people have accounts there.
• If your website is connected to YouTube or Facebook, there’s a high likelihood your website will be used as a “place” not just a “space.”
• Free spaces created interconnectivity.
• Ning is a great social media tool to use.
• Most churches pay per user for services like Unifyer, Cobblestone, etc which give churches a level of control and moderation. And they give a “safe zone” for members.
• Where you put your money is where your investment will be.
• Most churches see the web as being a vital part of their ministry, but don’t fund to staff and manage it.
• First-time visitors will come from your webpage first.
• If you opt for a private online community, connect it to Facebook, don’t abandon it.

Interactive Tools & Services

• Tokbox – video calls.
• Jarbyco – text messaging.
• Cover it Live & UStream – interactive chats.
• Usually the church is being seen as “slow” when it comes to these things. But, the Church seems to be blazing the way in thinking through how we can leverage these new social media platforms.

Churches to watch: LifeChurch.tv, Park Community Church (right on!)

• Each church has an opporutnity to innovate in their own way in accordnace with their own calling.
• That’s different than jumping in on other people’s  ideas.
• Salt loses its seasoning… it becomes like another instead of being it’s own unique flavor.
• Who do we want to reach? What do we want to accomplish? And how can technology help us get there?
• We need real life touch and connection but not miss the free connection points technology allows us.
• Go to where people are already at.

iCampuses

• Many churches are launching internet campuses.
• There’s not a “one size fits all” approach.
• Community is key.
• iCampuses to watch: LifeChurch.tv, New Hope, North Point, Flamingo Road

7 Deadly Sins of Social Media

• Lust – loving your audience is great, but take it slow. Don’t stalk or overwhelm your audience.  No one wants to be spammed by their church.
• Gluttony – don’t bite off more than you can chew.  Start slow with a few things instead of trying to do it all at once.
• Greed – it’s hard to shake hands while you’re reaching for someone’s wallet. Don’t pressure people to volunteer… don’t stalk people to do things they haven’t asked. Texting is permission based. Treat those relationships like gold.
• Sloth – avoid the temptation to “set it and forget it.” We need to be intentional!
• Wrath – there are a lot of people out there itching fora punch in the nose, but don’t be the one to give it to them. Be careful what gets posted in any social media channel.
• Envy – don’t be dissuaded by other people “doing it better than you.” Stay focused on the mission God has set before you.
• Pride – stay humble, rock star.

Questions to Consider When Diving into Social Media:

• What’s the goal?
• What is the best tool?
• How much does it cost?
• How will we create buy-in?
• When will we evaluate?
• How will we measure success?

It is worth it to experiment. The goal is to use the technology, not the technology using you. It’s a tool for enhanced communication. What works best for you might not work for someone else.

Key things to watch are GLOBAL and MOBILE.

Your congregation should be moving to paperless.

Churches should not have “turn your phone off” signs, they should have turn your phone on signs.”