Yesterday, we looked at the basics of how to use Pinterest. At the end of 2011, it sprung into the top ten social media sites based on usage and it seems poised to see continued growth this year. The format is simple. You share the things (pictures and videos) you think are cool by pinning them to a virtual bulletin board. And since organizations and businesses are a part of people’s lives, brands are already starting to embrace Pinterest.
Social media newbie Pinterest ended 2011 strong. Rapid growth pushed it into the top 10 social media sites based on usage. And now, like anything popular the business and non-profit world is trying to figure out how to use Pinterest as a marketing tool. Since Pinterest wants to connect people based on their similar interests, brands and organizations, who are interesting to a lot of people, want to be in the fold.
If you’re not familiar with Pinterest, here’s a basic rundown. The idea is...
A new year means many of may be looking to do something new with your church’s website. If you’re starting from scratch or tweaking what you already have, here are a few things to keep in mind.
It all starts with vision. What is the purpose of your website? Who is it supposed to serve? How does it fit it with all the other communication things you do? Casting vision is a step that people like to skip mainly because it can lead to difficult decisions. Yet if you fly past vision, your...
As we jump in to 2012, it can be a time to look ahead at some big picture things we can do during the upcoming calendar year. And for me there are a few ideas that are really stuck in my head of ways churches can become stronger communicators in 2012.
Narrow your communication stream and simplify your message. Too often, church communication is scattered and uncoordinated. Instead of using a medium that makes sense for a congregation, churches try to use everything. That leads to...
As a post holiday haze floats around the office, I was talking with a friend about his experience at his church this Christmas. While his review of the events was positive (saying the services were a great mix of songs, scripture, tradition and dance) there was one thing he said really stood out.
“If I knew it was going to be this good, I would have invited more people. It’s just hard to know from year to year what my church will do.”
Word of mouth and personal invites are the greatest...
I hope you find time during the busyness of Christmas to take a breath, relax and celebrate. As you reflect on the season, my prayer is you realize all the work you’ve done to get ready for Christmas at your church makes a difference. You play a part in communicating the good news of great joy that Jesus Christ is born. And His birth was just the beginning to a radical life that changes people's lives forever. Merry Christmas from all of us at Church Juice and thanks for the faithful...
Jon Acuff had a great post at Stuff Christians Like this month about how we covet the lives people share though social media. He gives some great conclusions about the effects of doing so. You can’t love the friends you covet and we often forget that social media gives us only a best-life-possible snapshot of someone. The post really is a great read. Check it out—if for no other reason than a real, but crazy, story of a crazed Cabbage Patch Kids employee who wouldn’t let a family put a...
There is something great about videos where a simple story is told in a new, different and sincere way. Last year, St. Paul’s Church in Auckland, New Zealand, did this great modern take on kids doing a traditional Christmas pageant.
This year, they followed up that video with one done in a very similar manner.
There a few things we can learn from these videos that are worth thinking about before we jump into shooting our own video projects.
There is a lesson for churches in Tebowmania. You can only be true to who you are and can’t control what other people say or think about you.
As a longtime Denver Broncos fan, I hesitate in even writing about this because there is such passionate love and hate that comes in even mentioning the name Tim Tebow. But as someone who lives in the Chicago area, and listens to sports talk radio the day after a Bears loss to the Broncos, I realized that even after nine weeks of Tebow as starting...
Here we are in the midst of the Christmas season. For many of you, you’re well on your way through the plans you’ve laid out for Christmas. After all, Christmas prep starts when the weather’s still warm. Yet, with just a few weeks left until Christmas, are there still some things you can do to make sure your church has the best impact that it can? Here are a few things I think are worth considering and can be accomplished relatively easily if you still need to do them.
