The lesson of the swoosh
How many times do you think you've seen the Nike swoosh logo and read the phrase "Just do it."? A few hundred? A thousand? Imagine you asked your church this Sunday to fill in the tagline that goes under the swoosh logo—do you think 100% of people would be able to do it from memory? 75%? 50%?
Not everyone may be able to recall the phrase "Just do it." Its association with the Nike swoosh and the reality some still might not recall from memory illustrates how much it takes for messages to truly stick in people's minds.
What your church and Nike have in common
If some people won't remember Nike's tagline that goes with their logo that they've seen hundreds of times, will they remember the messages you're trying to instill in them? Will they remember important things like why you exist, what vision you're pursuing, and their role in that mission? We all run that risk if we do not communicate with clarity and frequency. You know what I know. We all take in many points of information daily. It's easy for important things to get lost. But, as the Church, we can be proactive as we communicate with our people. Clear, compelling, and relevant messages are worthy of repeating. Let's look at a few ways that might be helpful as we seek to help our communication stick with our people.
3 Tips You Can Implement Today
1. If it's worthy of saying once, it's worthy of saying again
When we're tired of saying something, people are just hearing and understanding it. Don't think your essential messages and information are getting old to people. If it's worthy of saying once, it's likely worthy of repeating over and over again.
2. Use multiple lines of communication
Our churches include people of all backgrounds, ages, and tech-savviness levels. It's a best practice to communicate something as many ways as possible (ex. Verbal announcements, video, print/sign, social media, email, etc.).
3. Think about those not "here" yet
Think about your messages from all perspectives, not just from your most committed "insiders." How will someone understand this social media post if they have never been to your church? How will an update be interpreted by someone who doesn't follow Jesus? As we communicate, being warm and personal helps us build potential bridges for those who may not call our churches "home" yet.
Let's be clear, compelling, and relevant with the things we communicate. Our churches have some of the most important news ever for people, so let's not be afraid to communicate often, in multiple ways, and be mindful of all kinds of people who may hear from us.
