Communications presentation to South Carolina Synod Retired Rostered Leaders

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

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3. Title asdf All this modern technology is making us antisocial

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5. Title asdf All this modern technology is making us antisocial.

6. 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?

7. 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.

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

9. Organization Communications Pyramid

10. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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

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

16. 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)

17. 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.

18. 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.

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

20. 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

22. 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.

23. Social Media Who Uses It?

24. Social Media Image from Eric Qualman video.

25. 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

26. 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?

27. 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

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

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

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

31. Technology Than toothbrushes We must start thinking mobile first.

32. 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.

33. 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

35. Suggested Books The Social Church by Justin Wise

36. Suggested Books What Would Google Do? By Jeff Jarvis

37. Suggested Books The Agile Church by Dwight J. Zscheile

38. 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