Market Your Website: Don’t be dressed up with no place to go!

Get up, get out and do something!

Imagine the time it takes to get ready for a major event – one that calls for a tuxedo. If you’re like me you may even pull out the badger haired brush, some shave oil and a straight edge razor. What can I say – I’m a classic kind of guy. As for my other half…I won’t even get into the amount of time she takes to get ready… however the only thing you will hear come out of my mouth is, “Babe, you look amazing!”  One thing I have learned over the years is how to keep the peace. Can I get an Amen!

The point is, you’re not going to spend all that time getting ready just to sit at home on the couch.

Why would you treat your organization any different? There are ministries that have put their time, talent and resources into having an amazing website but their online presence is sitting at home right now watching TV in a tux!

You can have the best product and service in the world with the most dynamic content known to man, but if you can’t be found then what’s the point?

Here are a few quick tips that can help you gain visibility and increase the strength of your church’s online presence.

Tip #1 – Let’s be Social

This is all about Social Media Sharing. Earlier this month we published an article that discusses RSS Feeds, Semantics and Social Media. It has some more information you might find useful in this area. I’d suggest taking a look once you are done here.

To keep it simple, Social Media is being a participant in online networks that allow you to interact with others, share and exchange information. Some of the most popular, are communities like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. You’d be amazed at how dedicating just a couple hours per week to connect with people, can positively impact your ministry.

In “How to Tap the Power of Social Media to Forge Customer Loyalty”, Brett Relander talks about how effective Social Media can be in forging customer relationships. Social media is one of the most powerful tools you can use today.

Tip #2 – Be a Content King..or Queen

In his Forbes article, Mike Templeman effectively defines Content Marketing as, “… the act of a company, business, or organization producing and promoting informative content to engage and interact with their target audience.” It’s true that content marketing has been defined in so many ways. Templeman’s article takes a look at a more accurate definition of the term. When you have a minute go over to Forbes.com and read, “Content Marketing Doesn’t Work.

Our theme here is to keep it simple and in doing so let’s talk briefly about what it is and the impact that Content Marketing can have on your business.

Content marketing is not tied down to one type of platform or media. It can be almost anything. The gist is to create various types of quality content and market that content by way of distribution through various channels. It has to be engaging to your intended audience. Content Marketing can become a science and it is crucial to have a strategy. One of the most popular content strategies involves the use of video. Ever seen a video go viral? Sure you have and it was likely a Content Marketing strategy.

Here’s just a few forms of content marketing:

  • Blogs
  • Videos
  • Quizzes
  • Infographics
  • Online Surveys
  • Email Newsletters
  • Slide Presentations

…the possibilities are almost endless.

One of the most important things to remember is that whatever type of content you are producing, you must make quality count. The better the quality is the more effective it will be – not to mention, valuable to the recipient. It’s better to take more time creating it than trying to push out less than stellar work hoping for a quick return. Investing time and being methodical will always prove better in the long run.

Tip #3 – Follow the “Knows” it always “Knows”

If you “know” anything about anything you will “know” what’s popular – “know” what I mean? I’m sure you are getting the point here.

You have go to know what people want to know. In other words – what are the current trends in your industry or even outside trends that you can find a way to relate to your industry? It’s possible to take a current trend that is generally unrelated and find some key point that allows you to create relative content that links back to you.

Knowing what trends are out there is a powerful weapon to have in your marketing arsenal. Just by taking the first two tips you will see that trending could help in creating an effective content campaign or chiming in on the current social media buzz with some of your own original content.

Knowing trends will give you an all around advantage in almost any marketing approach you use. So you need to know – what people need to know. A great place to start with this is by going to Google Trends. Follow the knows.

If you got some useful value out of this information, please comment below and don’t forget to share this post!

 

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