Prepare Your Online Communications for Christmas (+ a FREE Marketing Kit)

With the Advent season underway and Christmas right around the corner, your church is likely a very busy place!

Amidst all the hustle, don’t forget about the importance of attracting visitors to those amazing services you are planning. Local visitors might be without a church home—they might even been actively searching for one—so their attendance represents a huge opportunity!

As you prepare to share the story of God’s plan for salvation through Jesus Christ, take a little time to prepare your church communications to encourage attendance.

You can implement the ideas below easily, even if you’re busy. Just download the free marketing kit (with social media templates, email banners, and more) to get started!

Let’s build on last week’s blog post and the idea of developing a content framework that leads visitors to your church website.

Home Base (church website)

Ultimately, you want your online visitors to walk through the church doors. Their last stop online should be your church website.

• Use a banner on the home page
  A visually interesting banner with a Christmas-y design will catch your visitor’s eye. While the design should communicate a holiday theme, go for something simple and elegant to match the tone of your services (you don’t want your website to look like Buddy the Elf got hold of it!).
   
• Prominently display service times
  This is the first piece of information visitors will likely want to see. Include these on the banner but avoid too much text otherwise. Save that for the landing page (see below).
   
• Include clear call-to-action
  Link the banner to a landing page about your Christmas worship services where visitors can get all the information they need.
   
• Create a landing page
  This landing page is your true home base in this case! Include details about your Christmas worship services along with an online form where they can RSVP to a service. Focus on sharing the information most relevant to visitors:

Service times
Do the service times work for my schedule?

Directions
Where is the church located? How do I get there?

What the services are like
What can I expect at this service? Will I feel comfortable? What should I wear?
When should I arrive? What do I do when I get there?

• Create an RSVP form
  Perhaps you’re thinking, why do I need an RSVP? Well, an RSVP is more for the visitor. Once they RSVP, they might feel more personally committed to attending worship. On the form, ask for their name and email address; you can ask for other information too, but keep in mind that the longer the form, the less likely people will be to fill it out.
   
• Send a follow-up email that includes a calendar item
  Once visitors have used your form to RSVP, send them an confirmation email that includes a calendar item. Here’s a great article about making calendar events. This will let visitors add your worship service to their Outlook, Gmail, or iCalendar. It will remind them about the service as Christmas approaches, making it even more likely they will actually attend!
   

Media Empire (email & blog)

Your media empire includes longer-format communication tools like emails or a church or pastoral blog. Use these tools to connect with your members, encouraging them to invite people to Christmas worship and providing them with the tools to do it.

• Create an email invitation
  Develop an email that your members can forward quickly and easily to invite others to your church. Include a header image and text that your members can use or modify as they wish, such as this:

Hi! Just wanted to invite you to Christmas service at my church this year. We have services on Christmas eve and Christmas day. I’ll be attending the ______________ service and I’d love to see you there!

• Write a blog post
  In this post, encourage readers to witness to others this Christmas season. People are sometimes more willing to go to church this time of year, and this can open the door to more regular attendance.
   
• Post a video on your blog
  Use your blog to share the personal video invitation to Christmas worship services from the pastor.
   

Outposts (social media)

Use your social media channels to reach those would-be visitors where they already are. Social media is a great way for your church to connect with potential visitors directly and indirectly through their family and friends (your members).

• Update the church’s social profiles
  Display service times and the landing page URL in your Facebook and Twitter cover photos.
   
• Design a post your members can share
  Make it easy for your members to personally invite others to church this Christmas. Create Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts they can share on social media that include service times and a URL for your landing page about Christmas services.
   
• Create and share a brief video
  Capture a quick video of the pastor personally inviting people to Christmas worship this year.
   
• Share an inspiring video
  Content that inspires people to think about the real reason for Christmas, such as this video about Advent, can instill a desire to go to church. By including a link to your landing page along with the video, you’ll present your church as a great place to go this Christmas!

Free Marketing Kit

Prepare your church’s communications with this free marketing kit!
Download by clicking the button below.