1. With Nancy Chafin, Director of Communications Diocese of Virginia

2. Your channels
Church Website
E-Newsletter
Social Media
The Press

3. The Church Website Two audiences; two goals
Website through the Diocese; $10/month
Home page photos
Don’t be sexy; be useful – use words with your pictures
Surface lots of content – balance cleanliness with ease of use
Carefully plan what’s above the fold, keep home page wide not tall
Cross reference like crazy
What’s good content? Practical and spiritual, share your best ideas

8. Newsletters Who’s your audience? How often? When? Special editions
What’s good content – calendar items, request for volunteers, other ideas?
It is just a calendar laundry list? – sermons, feed spiritually
The subject line – open rate
Length of items
Header: In this issue
Photos – stock photos
Platforms – Constant Contact , Mail Chimp
Mobile optimizing – options, see analytics

10. Social media The Why and How The What - Creating Content Two audiences
Less formal, real
Build community outside the building – extension of fellowship at church
Passive not active – in their feed
How to grow audience – follow others, post often
How to increase engagement: Create conversations: ask questions; ask for submissions on topics; respond to comments
Ambassadors; parishioners, share your joy in your church life?
The What - Creating Content
Photos, SHORT video – increase reach, get permission for kid photos
Sources for content –events, spiritual, what happened, what’s coming up, link to sermons, other web content, cross pollinate, re-use
Creating content with graphics – canva.com
Stay sane – calendar content – Facebook and Hootsuite

15. Mostly Free Resources Stock photography Canva – for graphic design
Pixabay:
Unsplash:
Splitshire:
Epicantus: (more abstract)
Picjumbo:
Canva – for graphic design
flyers
Social media
Constant Contact – for eNewsletter
Hootsuite – to schedule social media $19/month

16. Media Relations Good and bad coverage Work your connections
Newspapers – small markets need news
Public radio
A secular angle/interest
Pitching story – offer total package

17. 5 Communications Don’ts
Don’t constantly recreate the wheel
Don’t send too much too often
Don’t bury the lead
Don’t ignore your mobile presence
Don’t overthink it, sometimes good enough is good enough

18. 10 Communications Do’s Keep your audience in mind
Photos, photos, photos
Cross pollinate
Be brief, grab them fast and get noticed
Include a call to action
Steal content liberally
Keep a schedule
Create community
Feed your followers spiritually
Ask the Diocese for help!