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Church Communications Today
Neal F. Fischer
Director of Communications
for the ELCA South Carolina Synod
neal@scsynod.com

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All this modern technology
is making us antisocial

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All this modern
technology
is making us
antisocial.

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To be fair…
In both cases people are being social in a
way.
The newspaper informed people. There was
a common bond.
“Did you see that article in the newspaper
this morning?”
It promoted discussion and discourse. Did
you every talk around a water cooler?

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To be fair…
Social media does the same thing.
“Did you see the video on YouTube?”
Social media takes the newspaper one step
further as you can share the link to the
content.
People share stories of common interest with
each other.

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How do we communicate the
message well?
Have a plan.
Create a strategy.
Execute it.
Analyze the results.
Iterate to make it better.
Repeat.

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Organization Communications
Pyramid

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Organization Communications
Pyramid
The organizational big idea is who we are
and what we do.
Joining neighbors,
serving boldly,
loving all,
through Christ.
This informs everything we, as synod, should
be doing with our communications.

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Organization Communications
Pyramid

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Organization Communications
Pyramid
Internal/external communications strategy.
We need to use all forms of communications
including print, electronic, and video to get
our big idea out to the world.
We must also use these forms of
communications to support and inform an
internal audience.

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Organization Communications
Pyramid
Through the rest of this year I will be working
with the Communications and Technology
Table to develop a tool I call “The Grid.”
• Primary Audience
• Purpose
• Timing/Frequency
• Responsible Party
• Content Guidelines
• Strategic Focus

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Organization Communications
Pyramid

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Organization Communications
Pyramid
Website Strategy
Your website is home base for everything
else.

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Organization Communications
Pyramid
How powerful are websites?
61%
of people surveyed said that when they look
for a new church that they visit the website
before they think of stepping through the
door.
(Center for Church Communication)

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Organization Communications
Pyramid
Scary thought –
Only
78%
of churches have a website.
This means that 22% of all churches are
ignoring 61% of those seeking a church
home.

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Organization Communications
Pyramid
How do we harness the power of the
website?
Have accurate information.
If you put up dated information, make sure
the event hasn’t already past.
Your 2014 VBS information isn’t helpful now
and will show potential visitors that you don’t
care about the website. They will wonder
what else you don’t take care of.

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Organization Communications
Pyramid
Does your congregation have accurate
information listed with the find a
congregation listing on ELCA.org?

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Organization Communications
Pyramid
Note: The ELCA has integrated information
about leaders, congregations, organizations,
etc. into one unified system. They are aware
of some data discrepancies and have been
working to correct them. Please report
corrections to the ELCA Constituent Care
Team.
constituent.care@elca.org

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Organization Communications
Pyramid

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Organization Communications
Pyramid
Social Media Strategy
Our social media outlets are outposts for
building relationships and pointing people
back to home base for more information.

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Social Media
Who
Uses
It?

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Social Media
Image from Eric Qualman video.

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Social Media
50% of all internet
bandwidth in the UK is
used for Facebook.
Now imagine what
happens when someone
has a bad experience
At the store
At a restaurant
At a congregation

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Social Media
How important is social media?
90% of people base their
choices on online and peer
recommendations over
advertising.
Does your congregation engage online in a way
that will build relationships that people will
recommend to their peers?

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Social Media
“We don’t have a choice on
whether we do social media,
the question is how well we
do it.”
- Eric Qualman, author of the #1
international best seller Socialnomics

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Technology
Kids today are learning on
chromebooks and iPads
not chalkboards.

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Technology
More books are purchased to be read on
eReaders than in paper.

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Technology
50% of the worlds commerce is done on
mobile devices. More people in the world
own smartphones

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Technology
Than toothbrushes
We must start thinking mobile first.

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Technology
By 2018 video will account for more than
2/3rds of mobile usage.
Hence 2/3rds of organizations are increasing
their funding for video right now.

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Technology
Some things to think about.
Free Wi-Fi is offered at every Starbucks. Does
your congregation offer it? Do you make it
easier to share positive things?
People are already tweeting and posting
status updates about the church, a sermon,
and the direction of the church as a whole.
As leaders, will we shepherd productive
conversations or choose to ignore the
conversation already taking place?

34.
Suggested Books
The Social Media Gospel by Meredith Gould

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Suggested Books
The Social Church by Justin Wise

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Suggested Books
What Would Google Do? By Jeff Jarvis

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Suggested Books
The Agile Church by Dwight J. Zscheile

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Suggested Books
Outspoken by Tim Schraeder edited by Kevin
Hendricks

39.
Thank you.
Thank you for allowing me to present to you
today. I hope you found it helpful. If you
need more information please don’t hesitate
to contact me.
Neal F. Fischer
Director of Communications
for the ELCA South Carolina Synod
neal@scsynod.com